MIT engineers, led by Professor Gerbrand Ceder, have developed a type of high-speed tunnel for transporting electrical energy through lithium iron phosphate. Why should we care what those snooty MIT engineers are up to? Because this new process could allow for smaller and lighter cell phone batteries that recharge in a matter of seconds rather than hours. It could also lead to a quick recharge of batteries in electric cars, potentially solving the long recharge inconvenience for drivers.
Li-on battery
by Shaila Luther on March 11, 2009
by Serkan Toto on July 7, 2008
Last week Panasonic presented [JP] a new electric bicycle to be released on the Japanese market on August 20. The so-called Vivi RX 10-S will cost $1,400. Panasonic hasn’t said yet whether they will bring the bicycle to overseas markets as well.
The bike’s main feature is a braking system that can recharge a 10Ah Li-ion secondary battery, which weighs 2.5kg, has a rated voltage of 26 V and is located next to the rear wheel. Every time the owner brakes, a mini motor mounted on the front wheel generates power. According to Panasonic, charging the battery via this method alone proves to be almost impossible however. The recharging system fails when riding faster than 24km/h.
Panasonic says in internal experiments, the regenerative braking system extended the assisted travel range from 90km to 125km when riding in normal mode. Using the bike’s automatic mode, the maximum distance owners will be able to cover is 182km.
The so-called Vivi RX 10-S comes with an aluminum-made frame and weighs 25.7kg. The company says it aims at selling a total of 3,000 bicycles in the first year.
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