New Type Of Anode For Lithium-Ion Batteries/Clean Diesel Study.

Start-Up Plans New Type Of Anode For Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Technology Review (11/6, Bourzac) reports that Amprius, "a start-up based in Menlo Park, CA, plans to sell a new type of anode for lithium-ion batteries that, the company says, will let electric vehicles travel farther and mobile devices last longer without a recharge." The company's "lithium-ion anodes are made of silicon nanowires, which can store 10 times more charge than graphite," and "according to the company, electric vehicles that run 200 miles between charges could go 380 miles on its batteries, and laptops that have four hours of run time could last for seven hours between charges." Earlier this year, "Yi Cui, Amprius founder and assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford, demonstrated nanostructured silicon anodes that meet silicon's theoretical charge storage capacity without breaking." Amprius has since "made a number of improvements in the nanowire growth process to make it compatible with large-scale manufacturing," according to an official.

Michigan Tech To Lead DOE-Funded Clean Diesel Study.

The AP (11/6) reports, "Michigan Technological University engineers are leading [a] three-year study" into "ways to cut the pollution from diesel exhaust without reducing fuel economy." The study, which is "funded largely by the U.S. Department of Energy," also will receive "in-kind and technical help...from diesel makers Cummins Inc. of Columbus, Ind.; Deere & Co. of Moline, Ill.; and Navistar Inc. of Warrenville, Ill," as well as sensor and pollution control makers. "Scientists from Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., also are participating."