[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6056\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ENew batteries could soothe e-car drivers\u2019 range anxiety\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have found a way to combine the fast-charging batteries used in hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius with the long-lasting batteries carried by fully electric vehicles such as the ones developed by carmakers including Renault and Tesla.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded\u0026nbsp;SuperLIB project has developed a way to intelligently shift the charge between the two types of batteries, and they have conducted simulations which show that the technology could extend the range of electric cars by up to a sixth.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Currently \u2026 you can use for a full electric vehicle maybe 70 %, maybe 80 % of the stored energy, and we want to extend this to 90 %, 95 % by the combination of the high-energy and high-power parts,\u2019 explained Dr Volker Hennige from engineering company AVL, who coordinates the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-bg-bluelightest tw-p-12 tw-my-12 tw--mx-16\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3 class=\u0022tw-font-sans tw-font-bold tw-text-blue tw-uppercase tw-text-lg tw-mb-8\u0022\u003EEnvironmental credentials\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-inline-block tw-w-1\/6 tw-h-1 tw-bg-blue tw-mb-8\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EEfforts are also underway to increase the environmental friendliness of electric cars by limiting the amount of raw materials used to build the batteries.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded SOMABAT project, which finished in 2013, developed a new type of lithium battery by creating new materials for the electrodes and electrolyte from sources including agricultural waste products. The new electrolyte material was solid, which greatly reduced the chances of short-circuit and fire and improved the safety of the batteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project also aimed to make 50\u0026nbsp;% of the materials used in the battery recyclable. Accurec, an industrial partner on the project, designed a bespoke process that could recycle up to 60\u0026nbsp;% of the battery materials. The project partners are now working to further improve the materials developed during SOMABAT and find other applications of the new chemistries.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat they do is\u0026nbsp;use the long-lasting battery as \u2018a big buffer\u2019, while the higher power hybrid-style battery deals with periods of high acceleration and enables faster charging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis allows for better kinetic energy recovery for increased driving range and extends the battery life of the long-lasting battery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe group has now completed the hardware implementation of the new battery and will work with their industrial partners Fiat and Volvo to put the fully integrated design into a commercial electric vehicle.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Such a phase typically takes three to five years,\u2019 said Dr Hennige.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIron-air\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s technology that could be used on the road soon, but there are a number of radical ideas that are still at the development stage which could have a major impact on battery life, including using the reaction of metal with air.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018This limitation in energy density of the battery means in practice a reduction in the driving range of these vehicles, which is the largest obstacle faced by electric cars today to enter the market,\u2019 explained Dr Alberto Garc\u00eda from Technalia, a partner on the NECOBAUT project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENECOBAUT is looking at incorporating advanced nanomaterials into batteries. Based on the reaction of metal with air, the technique could theoretically enable a battery to store eight times more energy than traditional batteries, although this has not been demonstrated in real-world tests since the design was first trialled in the 1980s.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBatteries convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy by chemical reactions and they can be made from a variety of raw materials, though their basic design is the same. Each cell of a battery (a typical electric vehicle has hundreds of these cells) consists of a positive electrode (a metal compound), an ion conductor (electrolyte) that can be a liquid or solid, and a negative electrode (normally graphite, a form of carbon).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team will use metal-based nanomaterials to increase the surface area of the electrodes available for chemical reactions. It is hoped this new approach will take the storage capacity of the batteries closer to their theoretical limit.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \n\n\n\u003Col class=\u0022ecl-timeline\u0022data-ecl-auto-init=\u0022Timeline\u0022 data-ecl-timeline\u003E\u003Cli\n class=\u0022ecl-timeline__item\u0022\n \u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__tooltip\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__tooltip-arrow\u0022\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__label\u0022\u003E2009\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__title\u0022\u003EThe European Green Vehicles Initiative is launched\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022ecl-timeline__content\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe performance of electric and hybrid cars continues to improve. As concern about resource scarcity and climate change grows, the European Green Vehicles Initiative is launched to promote the development and use of electric vehicles. The initiative aims to get half a million electric and hybrid vehicles on the road in the EU by 2016, with a target of 5 million by 2020.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cimg src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/European%20Green%20Cars%20hybrid%20car_FINAL.JPG\u0022 alt=\u0022\u0022 \/\u003E\nOn a per capita basis, Estonia has the largest number of electric vehicles in the EU, and has deployed charging stations nationwide. Creative Commons Noebu\n\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ol\u003E\n\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-uaomydckqioblzti2bbeoishoo2tptgksjegiwlokt8\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-uaOMydCkQIObLztI2BBEOIshoo2TpTGksJEgiwLOkt8\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]