Batteries

Ultracapacitors have been the next big thing in energy storage for well over a decade. And while automakers have been hung up on their far greater price (per energy stored), and prices haven’t decreased all that significantly, there are some indications that automakers are softening in their...

South Korean battery maker LG Chem continues to be on a roll, signing up automakers left and right that plan to use its lithium-ion cells in new electric cars. The latest to join the roster that includes Audi, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai, Renault, Smart, Volkswagen, and Volvo is the Chinese...

A British company unveils an electric bicycle to demonstrate its new battery chemistry.

There's been a rash of Toyota Prius battery thefts in San Francisco, and speculation that the stolen packs are being peddled as cheap replacement parts.

Determining the economic benefits of home energy storage requires some calculation.

Toyota Camry Hybrid battery packs will be used to store power from solar panels at Yellowstone National Park.

Turbocharger cooling demands overtax batteries in V-8 BMWs.

The quarterly earnings calls held by Tesla Motors are always a chance to hear CEO Elon Musk describe the Silicon Valley carmaker's operations and outlooks. But last week's call was a first: The bulk of the questions by financial analysts weren't about the company's electric cars. Rather than...

Catch up on the latest battery and fuel-cell research news.

Tesla will be just one of several companies looking to exploit an expected energy-storage boom.

Tesla unveils its new line of batteries for energy storage.

Tomorrow night, if its strong hints are accurate, Tesla Motors will announce that it plans to offer lithium-ion battery packs for home and business energy storage. Such storage comes at a cost on top of that of the photovoltaic solar panels that generate the energy. But the promise is that such...

Researchers develop a hybrid supercapacitor that can charge quickly, but has the energy density of conventional batteries.

Ten years ago, startup lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems was the darling of business media, poised to enter the big leagues of electric cars after successfully selling its cells to power-tool makers. Then came the Fisker Karma, U.S. government grants, a factory in Michigan, the economic...

Five years into the era of modern electric cars, the biggest cost remains the battery pack. Now there's data to confirm that not only are the costs of the battery cells falling, but that they are falling at rates pretty much in line with historical declines. A study published last month not only...

Companies are engaged in a legal battle over different versions of a battery-cathode chemistry.

Tesla's battery chief says Japanese suppliers need to take greater risks to work with the carmaker.

General Motors is unconcerned about low fuel prices, its battery-development chief says.

A new study shows a rapid drop in lithium-ion cell prices in recent years.

Volkswagen will decide whether to get more involved with battery startup QuantumScape.