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The Passing of Dr. Shep Wolsky |
It is with profound sadness that I regret to announce the passing of the founder of the International Battery Seminar, Dr. Shep Wolsky.
Shep was a veteran of WWII, and served in the Navy as an electronic technician. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Boston University in 1952 and spent 10 years working on the development of the transistor and its first commercial application, a transistor-powered hearing aid. He was Vice President of R&D at Duracell for 15 years and helped introduce Li-metal, Li-sulfur dioxide and Li-thionyl chloride batteries. He aided Sony on the introduction of the Li-ion battery and obtained the first U.S. government approval for the transportation of Li-ion batteries. Having authored more than 100 technical papers, Shep also consulted on the development of batteries with many clients around the world. In addition to his scientific and technical involvement with lithium ion batteries, Shep was an accomplished writer, with several of his plays having been published and produced. He founded the widely respected International Battery Seminar series in 1983.
Working on the International Battery Seminar until his passing, his passion and impact on the worldwide battery community was profound and he will be deeply missed. In recognition of Shep's tremendous contributions to the field over so many years, the Annual Battery Innovator Award, given at the seminar each year, will become the Shep Wolsky Battery Innovator Award, in his honor.
Phillips Kuhl, President, Cambridge EnerTech
FEATURED ARTICLES
Printed and Bio-Sourced Lithium Ion Batteries for Wearable Technologies
Commentary Contributed by O. El Baradai, J. Schleuniger, S. Fricke, C. Bosshard, CSEM SA, Switzerland
Continuous progress in electronic devices, in particular portable electronic gadgets, is creating new opportunities and products to revolutionize our daily life. However, these ubiquitous portable devices with different functions require highly efficient power sources to sustain their use. Batteries are essential for powering such portable electronic devices.
Transparent Processes from the Powder to the Cell
Commentary Contributed by Maximilian Sackerer, Senior Business Consultant for Battery and Fuel Cell Manufacturing, Siemens AG
Powerful lithium-ion batteries are a key component both in electric vehicles and for the decentralized storage of electricity from renewable energy sources. Acceptance by car drivers depends on the capacity, safety, durability, and costs of the batteries and this, in turn, will determine the future of electric mobility. All these properties have to be brought up to a worldwide competitive level in the mass production of lithium-ion cells, and continuously improved.
Why Proper Cell Balancing is Necessary in Battery Packs
Commentary Contributed by Anton Beck, Battery Product Manager, Epec
When a lithium battery pack is designed using multiple cells in series, it is very important to design the electronic features to continually balance the cell voltages. This is not only for the performance of the battery pack, but also for optimal life cycles. The use of cell balancing enables us to design a battery with larger capacity for an application because balancing allows the battery to achieve a higher state of charge (SOC). A lot of companies choose not to use cell balancing at the start of their design do reduce cost but without the investment in the cell balancing hardware and software, the design does not allow the SOC to approach 100 percent.
NEW PRODUCTS
OPTIMA Yellowtop with DIN Fitment
OPTIMA Batteries is expanding its product lineup to fit more vehicles with a DIN fitment solution. The OPTIMA Yellowtop will be available for purchase in the spring of 2018 in DIN group sizes H6 and H7. The Yellowtop chemistry is well suited for the high-energy demands and cranking power needed in DIN applications.
Enevate Announces Five-Minute Extreme Fast Charge Battery Technology for Electric Vehicles
Enevate Corp., a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology company, has announced HD-Energy Technology for Electric Vehicles (EVs), which features extreme fast charging in five minutes with high energy density and long driving range that adds up to 240 miles (390 km), or up to 50 miles (80 km) range with a 60-second charge.
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Batteries | Charging | ICs & Semiconductors | Components
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Taming 'Dendrites' Could Bring Better Lithium-Ion Batteries
Researchers have learned the mechanisms behind a common type of failure in lithium-ion batteries caused by the formation and growth of "dendrites," findings that could aid in the design of faster-charging and longer-lasting batteries. Dendrites are lithium formations that grow inside the batteries. Because they grow faster while exposed to large electrical currents needed for fast recharging, the dendrites limit recharging speed.
Schneider Electric and NGK Partner to Promote Large-Capacity Energy Storage System
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Würth Elektronik eiSos, a manufacturer of electronic and electromechanical components, has announced its collaboration with Semtech Corp. by integrating its transmission coil, WE-WPCC, with Semtech's LinkCharge LP (low power) platform, an innovative wireless charging solution that concurrently charges multiple, low-power devices using a single transmitter.
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