Tech Talk

April 2024
­Battery-powered Train Sets UK Distance Record

Great Western Railway's ;atest trial has seen a battery-powered train travel 86 miles without recharging.

  There are a great many advantages in the electrification of railways, such as higher efficiency and less pollution, but there are also a good many disadvantages. For example, electrification is a huge cost in the terms of infrastructure, and the rail tracks usually have to be closed while the lines
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Date:
04/23/2024
Better Batteries Require a Rethink

Graphic abstract

­ It is no exaggeration to say that scientists around the world are working on every aspect of lithium-ion batteries to improve their performance. Consumers are crying out for extended battery life on cellphones, and also longer range and faster charging for EVs, among a million other things. More energy
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Date:
04/16/2024
­Space Solar Takes Major Step Forward

­Space Solar Takes Major Step Forward

  Over the last decade or so, the uptake in renewable energy has soared. We are now extracting more and more energy out of the environment instead of relying on coal and other environmentally damaging carbon fuels. If advances in renewable technology continue at the same pace as they have done, in the near
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Date:
04/10/2024
Li-ion, Na-ion Comparisons in the Real World

The Na-ion battery is now available to purchase

  I have written a lot about different battery chemistries in this column over the last few years. There are a huge number of researchers around the world working on either new battery chemistries, or trying to improve the ones we currently use. It’s a slow process, and those advancements could take
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Date:
04/02/2024