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Advancing Mining Processes to Make Better Materials for Use in Lithium Ion Batteries
American Manganese Inc has developed a low-cost, environmentally friendly hydrometallurgical process to recover manganese (Mn) from lower grade resources. American Manganese has applied for a patent for their hydrometallurgical process that produces electrolytic manganese metal with low energy and water consumption. American Manganese commissioned R&D contractor, Kemetco Research Inc to determine uses of Artillery Peak manganese resource material to generate high value alternative products. Chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) and lithiated manganese oxide (LixMn2O4) for use in rechargeable batteries were the areas researched.
The research was successful in producing CMD from Artillery Peak resource material with low cation impurities and avoiding processing steps that are known to introduce metallic impurities in the final product. Cation impurities cause capacity fade, whereas metallic impurities are known to cause catastrophic failures (such as fire and explosions) in lithium ion batteries. Working rechargeable lithium ion coin cell battery prototypes were produced from the CMD material.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Catastrophic failure of Li Ion batteries caused by metallic impurities that may be introduced from the mining of raw materials
• Conventional mining process to recover MnO2 used to make LiMn2O4
• Research on a new mining process that avoids steps known to introduce metallic impurities to recover MnO2 used to make LiMn2O4
Presenter
Norman Chow – President – Kemetco Research, Inc.
Norman earned a B.A.Sc. and M.A.Sc. in Metals and Materials Engineering from University of British Columbia. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (P. Eng.) in British Columbia. He has over 15 years of technology development and contract research experience. He is the President of Kemetco Research Inc., which he formed after acquiring the Industrial Process Division of BC Research Inc. BC Research had been in operation for over 60 years as an R&D contractor.
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Maximizing Battery Performance and Reliability for Electric Vehicles and Energy Storage
FREE Webinar – Voltaiq is a proud sponsor of this event.
As automakers and utilities transition away from non-renewable energy sources, batteries have become essential for efficient energy storage and delivery. Companies are working intensely to deliver higher capacity and more robust batteries to power their products, but ad hoc development processes cannot keep pace with the volume of battery data being generated. In addition, understaffed battery development teams are unable to leverage their data to accelerate development or improve production and manufacturing.
In this webinar, we will outline the challenges that the battery industry is facing and how big data analytics can virtually eliminate manual data management and provide powerful capabilities that deliver rapid insights into a battery’s design that dramatically accelerate the development process and results in products with greater performance and reliability.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Recognizing the challenges and bottlenecks in battery development today
• Automating the battery data collection, data cleaning, and data management process
• Identifying design issues earlier with predictive analytics
• Leveraging metadata to understand the impact of materials, processes and test conditions
Presenter
Dr. Tal Sholklapper – Co-Founder and CEO at Voltaiq
Dr. Tal Sholklapper is a co-founder of Voltaiq and serves as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Before co-founding Voltaiq, Dr. Sholklapper was the lead engineer on a DOE ARPA-E funded project at the CUNY Energy Institute, developing an ultra-low-cost grid-scale battery. Prior to his work at CUNY, Tal co-founded Point Source Power, a low-cost fuel-cell startup based on technology he developed while at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and UC Berkeley. Dr. Sholklapper has a BS in Physics and Applied Mathematics and an MS and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from UC Berkeley.
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Electric Vehicle and Hybrid Sales and Market Prospects Through 2020 – It’s Not What “They” Say
Some industry observers have proclaimed that the electric vehicle market in the U.S. is failing. While overall sales have declined somewhat in recent months, this view is simplistic and short-sighted. A number of key products are at the end of their life cycle, with new versions on the way, and a variety of all-new products are coming. Strength in trucks and crossovers currently works against sales of these vehicles, but that will also change going forward.
The increase in product offerings is led by a number of factors including consumer interest, regulatory requirements and government incentives in the U.S. and elsewhere, technology and cost improvements, and an interest by various automakers in making a corporate statement.
The role of dealers has been a problem that has received little attention. There are methods to address this issue, but they are often not utilized.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Current Issues Affecting Sales
• Product Actions and Sales Forecast by Vehicle Type – Micro Hybrids, Mild Hybrids, Regular Hybrids, Plug In Hybrids, Battery Electrics, and Fuel Cells
• Key Trends by Vehicle Type – Now & Going Forward
• Importance of Regulatory Policy Including California Zero Emission Vehicle Rules and EPA/NHTSA Midterm Review
• Various Automakers Have Very Different Strategies to Electrification
Presenter
Alan Baum – Principal, Baum & Associates
Alan Baum formed Baum & Associates in August 2009. He has a long record of analyzing the impact of alternative fuel vehicles as well as advanced technologies in internal combustion engines that provide improved fuel economy. Alan has been a contributor to a number of studies in this area including “Driving Growth: How Clean Cars and Climate Policy Can Create Jobs” and other projects analyzing the impact of fuel saving technologies on the auto industry. Since the 1980s, Alan has produced a detailed automotive production forecast and provided analysis of the automotive and medium- & heavy-duty truck markets.
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Adding Intelligent Battery Management to Lead-Acid Energy Storage Systems
Lead batteries are resilient and have a low likelihood of catastrophic failure. However, their lifespan can be significantly reduced when operated outside of manufacturer specifications. The extension of lead battery life through active battery management is becoming a compelling value proposition for vendors of lead-based energy storage systems.
The evolving regulatory environment governing energy storage safety is also impacting how both lead and lithium chemistries are to be managed moving forward. Join Nuvation CEO Michael Worry to explore the reasons why active battery management is becoming adopted in large-scale lead battery applications, and how the changing regulatory environment is impacting lead-based energy storage.
This webinar will focus on the following key topics:
• Controlling off-gassing in vented and VRLA lead batteries
• Emerging functional safety regulations and UL 1973
• Using a BMS to reduce the levelized cost of energy
• Automating stack connection sequencing in a multi-stack ESS
• Lead-based energy storage system deployments
Presenter
Michael Worry – CEO at Nuvation Energy
Michael Worry founded Nuvation in 1997 and has grown the company into a thriving electronic products and engineering services firm with offices in Sunnyvale, California and Waterloo, Ontario Canada. He is the CEO of Nuvation Energy, a provider of battery management systems and engineering services for large-scale energy storage systems.
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