$963,389 was recently awarded to Princeton University to develop longer-lasting, rechargeable, alkaline batteries for electric vehicles. The money is from a Department of Energy (DOE) grant.
If this project is successful, electric vehicles could have cheaper batteries that last even longer. Without a doubt, they would help the EV industry to explode.
“This is very exciting news, and I heartily congratulate Princeton University for keeping New Jersey’s in what we perhaps are most admired for by the rest of the country: the development of breakthroughs that make people’s lives better and the world a better place,” US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) on Friday. “There is a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for electric vehicles being brought to market, and for many the environment and economic advantages of their use are self-evident. I eagerly Princeton University’s research unlocking the chemical secrets that will help make electric vehicles ready for daily for daily commutes, weekend errands and road trips around this great, innovating nation of ours.”
The researchers of this alkaline battery project are focused on using inexpensive and abundant materials to make this battery technology inexpensive and also reliable. As usual, the focus is practicality, and it should be!
The new battery chemistry being developed is supposed to require minimal shielding and packaging, both of which add to the weight and cost of batteries. Even if these new batteries aren’t lighter than mainstream lithium-ion batteries, if they is cheaper, more of them can be used to increase driving range. We’ll see where this research goes and keep you updated.
Top Image Credit: linkahwai / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
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