PNNL-Led Grid-Focused Alliance Drives Sodium-Ion Battery Innovation
The Sodium-ion Alliance for Grid Energy Storage, led by PNNL, is focused on demonstrating high-performance, low-cost, safe sodium-ion batteries tested for real-world grid applications.
Method and Apparatus for Smart Battery Charging
Unlike most electric loads, electric vehicles are mobile. Consequently, one cannot necessarily know that an electric vehicle will be configured safely for any of the charging stations at which it might try to charge. Limitations might be imposed by any of the components, including battery packs, power electronic chargers, premise plug and wiring infrastructure. Furthermore, preferences (and perhaps hard limits) will be imposed by the electric utility, which might insist, for example, that electric vehicles charge off peak, or by vehicle owners, each of whom might wish to assert preferences that will affect charging costs and convenience. This invention describes a fuzzy approach for accommodating such limits and preferences from numerous sources.
Building a Better Battery—Faster
Researchers at PNNL have developed a software tool that helps universities, small business, and corporate developers to design better batteries with new materials that hold more energy.