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March 2023

March 2023 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 47 No. 3

March 2023

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March 2023 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 47 No. 3

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 March 2023 • Vol. 47 No. 03

Contents
Features
45
10 Products of Tomorrow

18 Leveraging Machine Data to Improve the Bottom Line

22 Artificial Intelligence in Design Engineering

25 SAE WCXTM 2023 Preview: Paving the Future

of Mobility

45 NASA Spinoff: Sensors Read Minds and

Restore Movement
30
48 3D-Printed Prostheses — Accessible and Affordable

Solutions
27 Aeronautics
37
27 Shark Skin Inspires Functional Surface Film for Aircraft

27 Biomimicking Hummingbirds for Better Drones

28 Using Small Drones to Monitor Volcanoes

29 Aerospace Vehicle Entry Flightpath Control

30 Electrical/Electronics Departments
8 Click
30 Serial Arrayed Waveguide Grating 12 5 Ws
14 Q&A
30 Health Monitoring with Skin-Like Electronics 16 Videos of the Month
47 Advertisers Index
31 Wearable Electronics for Continuous Cardiac,
Respiratory Monitoring

32 Bioelectronic Devices Enable Real-Time Sensing

New for Design Engineers
33 Sensors 43 New on the Market

33 Impact and Trajectory Detection System

33 Sensor Can Detect Scarred or Fatty Liver Tissue

(Sensors continued on page 6)

4 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

You probably already use PROVEN

40
Tadiran batteries,
but just don’t know it!

YEAR
OPERATING

LIFE *

If you have a smart automatic water, gas,

electricity, or heat meter in your home.
If you have an electronic toll collection
transponder, tire inflation sensor, or
emergency E-CALL system in your car.
If you have a GPS tracking device on
your trailer, container, or cargo.
If you have wireless sensors, controls, or
monitors in your factories and plants.
If you use electronics with real-time clock or memory back-up in your office.

If you have never heard of Tadiran Batteries, it is only because you

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batteries to operate over 40 years depending on device operating usage. However, this is not an expressed or implied warranty, as each
application differs in terms of annual energy consumption and/or operating environment. www.tadiranbat.com
 Contents

34 Suture of the Future Fights Infection

Product of the Month
36 Room Temperature Oxygen Sensors QLS 820, an additive production system by
Nexa3D, Ventura, CA, is designed for high vol-
ume production of thermoplastic components.
37 Robotics & Automation

37 Lunar Surface Navigation System

37 Electronic Skin Sensor Decodes Human Motion

43

38 Motion Control Using Micro Controllers

On the Cover
The factory of the future is connected, intelligent, and
must have highly productive production environments.
40 Health & Biotech Machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are
taking predictive maintenance to a new level of perfor-
mance. AI may appear futuristic, but the technology has
40 Conductive Cellulose Thread Shows Promise for Healthcare advanced to the point where it is becoming a practical tool
Applications to make sense of data and improve the bottom line. Read
more about the power of AI in the features on pages 18
and 22.
41 Color Blindness-Correcting Contact Lenses (Image: Shutterstock/asharkyu)

41 Bioprinted 3D Cardiac Patches Could Reverse Scar Formation

After Heart Attacks

Permissions: Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or Wood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923). For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy
personal use of specific clients, is granted by Associated Business Publications, provided that license by CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. The fee code for users of the
the flat fee of $3.00 per copy be paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center (222 Rose Transactional Reporting Service is: ISSN 0145-319X194 $3.00+ .00

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6 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

TAKING THE NOISE
OUT OF E-MOBILITY

© eiSos
WE meet @
embedded world
Hall 2, Booth 110

Noise free e-mobility Highlights

e-Mobility is no longer a question of tomorrow and the number of e-vehicles is • Large portfolio of EMC components
increasing day by day. Handling EMI noise is becoming more and more crucial, • Design-in-support
when it comes to design new electronic devices and systems. Würth Elektronik • Samples free of charge
offers a wide range of EMC components, which support the best possible EMI • Orders below MOQ
suppression for all kinds of e-mobility applications. With an outstanding design-in • Design kits with lifelong free refill
support, catalogue products ex stock and samples free of charge, the time to
market can significantly be accelerated. Besides ferrites for assembly into cables or
harnesses, Würth Elektronik offers many PCB mounted ferrites and common mode
chokes as well as EMI shielding products.

www.we-online.com/emobility

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 CLICK
VIDEO PODCAST
BLOG

3 Program Goals for the James Webb Space Adding Vibrations to Electronics to Reduce
Telescope in 2023 Vibrations
This year, the James Webb Space Telescope will transition Researchers have demonstrated a counterintuitive way to
into its second official year of science operations, or Cycle 2. protect atomically thin electronics: adding vibrations to reduce
Will Webb find life-supporting molecules or elements in the vibration issues. The team’s trick is to “squeeze” a thin droplet
atmosphere of other expoplanets? Here are three aspects of of liquid gallium on graphene devices, which are then painted
the observatory’s in-orbit operations to watch for this year. with a protective coating of glass — gallium oxide.

Watch this video and more on Listen

Learn
to this
more
episode
on at
TechBriefs.TV TechBriefs.com/podcast
TechBriefs.com/blog

QUESTION
BLOG INTERVIEW
QUIZ
OF THE MONTH

A Drone to Protect Bats from Wind Turbines 6 Pioneering Women in Aerospace and
A research team has found a solution to wind turbines killing Aeronautics
millions of bats who fly into their blades: A drone-mounted From flying planes to leading space missions and conducting
technology that transmits a combination of ultrasonic signals groundbreaking research, women have been contributing to
and light. This deters the bats, forcing them to fly at a higher the aerospace and aeronautics industry for decades. Take this
altitude — allowing the turbines to operate continuously. quiz to learn more about six such trailblazing women.

Find
Read
themore
answer
onon ReadTake
the full
the interview
quiz on at
TechBriefs.com/blog TechBriefs.com/tb/stories/quiz
TechBriefs.com/blog

Instagram: @TechBriefs Twitter: @TechBriefsMag Facebook: @TechBriefsMagazine LinkedIn: Tech Briefs Media

8 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

Take the Lead in
Medical Device Design
with COMSOL Multiphysics®
Multiphysics simulation plays an essential role in the production of
innovative life-saving medical devices and treatments. The ability to mimic
human body–medical device interactions in an accurate model helps inform
design decisions, accelerate the development of safe and effective products,
and support regulatory processes.

» comsol.com/feature/medical-innovation
 This column presents technologies that have

Products of
applications in commercial areas, possibly
creating the products of tomorrow. To learn

Tomorrow
more about each technology, see the contact
information provided for that innovation.

u Metallic
Snowflake
Scientists in New
Zealand and Australia uMolecular Motor
working at the level of A multidisciplinary
atoms have created team led by Northwestern
something unexpect- University has made an
ed: tiny metallic snowflakes. That’s significant be- electric motor you can’t
cause coaxing individual atoms to cooperate in de- see with the naked eye: an
sired ways is leading to a revolution in engineering electric motor on the mo-
and technology via nanomaterials. To create metal- lecular scale. Only 2-nm
lic nanocrystals, the researchers have been experi- wide, the molecular mo-
menting with gallium, a soft, silvery metal which is tor is the first to be produced in abundance. The elec-
used in semiconductors and, unusually, liquifies at tric molecular motor specifically is based on a cat-
just above room temperature. Metals were dissolved enane whose components, a loop interlocked with
in gallium at high temperatures. Once cooled, the two identical rings, are redox active, i.e., they under-
metallic crystals emerged while the gallium re- go unidirectional motion in response to changes in
mained liquid. Such nanoscale structures can aid voltage potential. The motor is easy to make, operates
electronic manufacturing, make materials stronger quickly, and does not produce any waste products.
yet lighter, or aid environmental clean-ups by bind- This early work — a motor that can convert electrical
ing to toxins. energy into unidirectional motion at the molecular
level — has implications for materials science and
Contact: Paul Panckhurst particularly medicine, where the electric molecular
Phone: 022-032-8475 motor could team up with biomolecular motors in
E-mail: [email protected] the human body.

Contact: Megan Fellman

Phone: 847-491-3115
E-mail: [email protected]

u Screen-Printed Electrodes
The glittering, serpentine structures that power wearable electronics can be cre-
ated with the same technology used to print rock concert t-shirts. The study, led by
Washington State University researchers, demonstrates that electrodes can be
made using just screen printing, creating a stretchable, durable circuit pattern
that can be transferred to fabric and worn directly on human skin. The research-
ers used a multi-step process to layer polymer and metal inks to create snake-like
structures of the electrode. The study showed the electrodes could be stretched by
30 percent and bend to 180 degrees. While this study focused on ECG monitoring, the screen-printing process can
be used to create electrodes for a range of uses, including those that serve similar functions to smart watches or
fitness trackers. Such wearable electronics can be used for health monitoring in hospitals or at home.

Contact: Jong-Hoon Kim

Phone: 360-546-9250
E-mail: [email protected]

10 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

 Sponsored Content

EXPERT Insight
Optimizing Connector Designs for Spaceborne Electronics
Low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems are providing the world significant new methods of surveying, communicating, and sharing informa-
tion. With increased focus on LEO, a constant design evolution is occurring from deep space exploration to LEO-based constellations. Satellite
systems are moving rapidly from single units or devices to fully interconnected electronic networks operating on centralized computers. In
this interview, Travis Neumann, Special Project Manager at Omnetics Connector Corporation, discusses how connector designs are evolving to
meet the needs of spaceborne electronics.

Tech Briefs: New satellites and space electronics now require transition into high reliability micro and nano types. Technology like
interconnection design planning for each individual function and that used in servers such as blade mount or stackable connections
where they will be performing. What are some of the key envi- promotes assembly for those looking to create large constellations.
ronmental factors designers need to keep in mind while planning Additionally, there are users of wired investigating flex circuit solu-
circuitry for satellite systems? tions for their CubeSat for better management of the harness and
connections between boards.
Travis Neumann: We already know that in
satellite applications size and weight are a Tech Briefs: Besides size, space, and weight what are additional
big deal. We want the electronics to be small environmental effects to consider?
and lightweight and the first thing to ask
as a designer is what do I need? When you Neumann: A popular one is shielding. There is significant radia-
consider power and signals, there are really tion in space, and the further out you go, the more aggressive it
two ways to slice this. It’s in terms of the becomes. We get a lot of requests for back shells and plated braid-
current or voltage needs. Current will dictate ing. As shielding is an “in addition” type of solution, weight starts
the size of the conductors where voltage can to come into the play. Thermal cycling is another consideration.
affect spacing. Next question relates to how many of these connec- Materials should be chosen with a wide enough operating range
tions do we need? Using the number of connections you need, what they don’t fatigue from repeated hot/cold cycles when orbiting the
the voltage or current rating of those connections is, or signal in Earth. Outgassing is another consideration to prevent deposition
terms of speed, and work from there to determine what’s going to of material onto optics and controls.
be your best solution.

Tech Briefs: Satellites collect and trans-

mit data to a main system as well as
provide constant communication and in-
formation back down to Earth. Increased
data volume often poses a challenge. How
are new materials and circuit designs
solving this problem?

Neumann: Increased data is definitely a

challenge. The other thing that’s been hap-
pening in the last couple of decades is data
compression. They process as much as they
can right at the sensor as there has been a
push to do as much processing as you can
locally. Increased data drives the movement
toward higher data rates in terms of transmission. Low loss board Tech Briefs: As the LEO-based space economy progresses, what’s
materials are used for the high-speed digital data transmission we the outlook for nano-connectors in space-grade electronics?
see today. Spacing of the circuits through use of digital electronics
locates processing power near the sensor(s). Impedance controlled Neumann: I think we’re on the front end of significant growth.
traces and wires, surface finishes and the materials used have all In 2015, there were 9,000 to 10,000 satellites in orbit. Today nu-
shifted to support our modern day data consumption needs. merous companies are sending up hundreds or even thousands
of satellites to create constellations to deliver images, high-speed
Tech Briefs: As engineers design and build newer space devices data, GPS, and more to the world. There are many connections from
they are cramming additional functions and applications into board to board and board to component for power signal, flight
extremely tight spaces. How have connector and cable designs controls, communications, and far more uses than I can think of
evolved to meet the needs of spaceborne electronics? that have need for small, ruggedized connectors.

Neumann: Omnetics has been small cable and connectors for quite
some time and we see customers moving down in size. Where they Watch the full interview with Travis Neumann
might have used the traditional large military connectors, there is a

Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 11

5 Who
Ws of
headline headline
headline headline
Ice-Shedding Coating
line
Hadi Ghasemi, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engi-
neering at the Cullen College of Engineering, has devel-
oped a sprayable ice-shedding material that is 100 times
stronger than others.

What
The primary challenge in developing ice-shedding materials
is finding materials with both low ice adhesion and good du-
rability. The principle of the new “fracture-controlled materi-
al” lies in the fact that for detachment of any external solid
object from a surface (like ice from an airplane wing), force
must be applied, and that force will inevitably lead to forma-
tion of some cracks at the interface. These cracks, or frac-
tures, grow until full detachment of the object from the sur-
Professor Hadi Ghasemi has developed a de-icing spray in
face. Through a new concept developed by the researchers, which detachment of an object can be accurately controlled
detachment can be accurately controlled and accelerated. and accelerated. (Image: UH Cullen College of Engineering)
According to Ghasemi, in this new concept through material
design, the crack formation and growth can be significantly
accelerated and external objects can be easily removed from
the surface. The concept is implemented to develop materials
that are highly durable, and ice does not attach to these mate-
rials. The coating has been tested by Boeing under erosive
rain conditions at 385 miles per hour and has outperformed
current state-of-the-art aerospace coating technologies.

Where
University of Houston, TX

The sprayable ice-shedding material has low ice adhesion and

good durability. (Image: UH Cullen College of Engineering)

Why
To combat the dangers of icing. This new concept of fracture-controlled materials paves the way for innovations in
materials for aerospace, wind energy, and other industrial applications where icing is an issue.

When
Ghasemi will continue refining the ice-shedding coating through the company Elemental Coatings, which has been
awarded a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract from the United States Airforce to
further develop anti-icing protection for large military jets.

Contact Prabhpreet Gill, Technology Licensing Associate, Office of Technology Licensing, at [email protected],
609-258-3653,
For more information, or visit
contact Inez https://innovation.princeton.edu
Hutchinson at [email protected]; 713-743-7593.
12 www.techbriefs.com Tech
Tech Briefs,
Briefs, Month
March 2023
2022
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 Q& A
Tunable, Narrow Linewidth, Chip-Scale Lasers
Mateus Corato Zanarella, a Columbia Tech Briefs: What is linewidth?
University researcher is the lead author of
a Nature Photonics article describing the cre- Zanarella: An ideal laser would emit a single wavelength with
ation of tunable visible-light lasers small zero-linewidth, basically the purest color possible. In practice,
enough to fit on a fingertip, which produce a laser always has some linewidth, a small range of frequencies
very pure colors from near-ultraviolet to around the center frequency of the light. That’s due to the fluc-
near-infrared. tuations of the wavelength of the laser. So, narrow linewidth ba-
sically means very pure color.
Tech Briefs: What are some applications that would ben-
efit from a very small, chip-level laser? Tech Briefs: Could you describe some applications?

Mateus Corato Zanarella: The applications depend on the Zanarella: Quantum optics is an important one, where scien-
wavelength of the emitted light. We made lasers at visible wave- tists use light to trap and manipulate atoms or ions to function
lengths from near-ultraviolet, which is about 400 nanometers, up as quantum bits. They do so by targeting very specific atomic
to near infrared (NIR), which is about 780 nanometers, covering transitions using lasers with very narrow linewidth. Through
blue, green, and red in between. There are several applications the manipulation of quantum bits, this technology can enable
for each of these wavelengths. The most notable is quantum op- quantum computing.
tics, which can leverage the narrow linewidth and precise tun- Visible lasers are also used in laser displays, providing wide
ability of the lasers we created. color gamut and enhanced image quality. And miniaturization
is important to enable very compact devices, say for a laser scan-
ning display for AR or VR goggles.
Bioimaging is another application. Fluorescence imaging uses
lasers to excite fluorophores and then collects the light to image
tissues and other biological samples. In neuroscience, there are
THWART MOTHER NATURE neural probes that use light to control and read the response of
TODAY. neurons in the brain using a technique called optogenetics.

Temperature changes will destroy your electronics. Tech Briefs: What’s the approximate size of these
You don’t have to trade the safety of your electronic components?
components for the sake of limited space. Protect
them with a compact & responsive thermo
thermostat. Zanarella: The waveguide cross section changes throughout
the chip, but it’s about 300 nanometers wide and 175 nanome-
ters tall. The chip with the devices to make one laser is about a
millimeter long and less than half a millimeter wide. The laser
diode itself is sub-millimeter, so the chip-scale laser system is on
the order of millimeter long and sub-millimeter wide.

Tech Briefs: Would your laser be less expensive than

already existing lasers?

Zanarella: Yes — standard commercially available tunable

and narrow linewidth lasers are benchtop and cost tens of thou-
KTO 111 Small Thermostat sands of dollars, whereas our chip-scale lasers cost 10s of dollars
— three orders of magnitude less.
Compact design
Quick, tool-free wiring
Tech Briefs: What are your next steps?
Innovative push-in terminals create solid connections
that don’t come loose Zanarella: Our next step is to optically and electrically pack-
Easily adjustable temperature controls age the chip-scale lasers to turn them into portable standalone
units that can be easily deployed to different applications.

Read the full interview on www.techbriefs.com.

14 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

INNOVATE
TRANSFORM OUR FUTURE
APPLICATIONS OPEN 20 MARCH – 5 MAY
AWARDS UP TO $500K

R&D FUNDING PROGRAM AREAS OF INTEREST

The National Reconnaissance Office Director’s Innovation Apertures
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and creative ideas that transform overhead intelligence
Remote Sensing
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 REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock.com
Videos of the Month
A New and Improved Method of Solar Water Splitting
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a
new kind of solar panel that is nearly 10 times more efficient
than previous tech of its kind. “In the end, we believe that
artificial photosynthesis devices will be much more efficient
than natural photosynthesis, which will provide a path toward
carbon neutrality,” said Zetian Mi, Professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering.

Cheap, Efficient Method to Weld Metal, Plastic

Researchers have developed a method for welding metal and
polypropylene. “We’ve patented the process and we’re already
working with equipment makers to develop commercial
equipment that can be licensed to automakers and other
manufacturers,” said Pingsha Dong, the Robert F. Beck Collegiate
Professor of Engineering.

Novel Coating Supports Clean Energy for the Future

Fei Peng, Associate Professor of Materials Science and
Engineering at Clemson, is leading research to develop a new
type of coating for the blades of turbines powered by hydrogen.
“When we think long term and what the Earth will look like for
our kids, we need to consider how we can generate clean energy
in the future,” said Peng.

Growing Macroscale, Modular Materials from Bacteria

Bioscientists at Rice University have introduced centimeter-
scale, slime-like colonies of engineered bacteria that self-
assemble from the bottom up. It can be programmed to soak up
contaminants from the environment, among many possible
applications. “We’re making material from bacteria that acts like
putty,” said Rice Bioscientist Caroline Ajo-Franklin.

16 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

 spr ing!
ning this
Retur

BATTERY
+ - + - + - + AND + - + - + - +
SUMMIT
ELECTRIFICATION

April 4-5, 2023

The two-day Battery & Electrification Summit returns
this April to discuss the latest battery and electric power
developments impacting the mobility industry.
Join the FREE event to learn how teams at Sionic Energy, Pacific
Illus_man/Shutterstock.com

Northwest National Laboratory, NAATbatt International, and more

are leading the charge in renewable energy advancements.

Topics include:
• Will Solid-State Batteries Become Dominant? • The Future of Electric Cargo Transportation
• Improving Performance With Machine Learning • Recycling and Second Lives of EV Batteries
• The EV Charging Infrastructure • Anode Advancements: The Rise of Silicone
• Thermal Management and Runaway Prevention • Efficient Batteries With Better EV Architecture

Hear from these pioneers:

Robert “Bob” L. Galyen Marshall Miller, Ph.D.
CTO, CATL; Chairman, SAE International Sustainable Freight Research Program
Battery Standards Steering Committee; Director, Institute of Transportation Studies,
CTO, NAATbatt International University of California, Davis

Alpha Lee, Ph.D. Surya Moganty, Ph.D.

Ping Royal Society University Research Fellow,
Liu, Ph.D. Chief Scientific Officer, Sionic Energy
University
Professor of Cambridge and Director,
of Nanoengineering
Sustainable Power and Energy Center, UCSD

Jun Liu, Ph.D. Andy Richenderfer, Ph.D.

Battelle Fellow, Pacific Northwest National Senior Research Engineer, Thermal
Laboratory; Innovation Center Director, Management Fluids, The Lubrizol Corporation
Battery500 Consortium

For a complete list of sessions and presenters, visit

www.techbriefs.com/BES-April23
Presented by Platinum Sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Contact: [email protected]

Leveraging Machine Data
to Improve the Bottom Line

B
efore smart components, industry ML and AI can map the big three —
lived in a break/fix mechanical uptime, quality, and energy or any com-
world where maintenance per- bination. ML and AI can be vendor ag-
sonnel practically looked at a ma- nostic, focusing not on the brand of
chine and knew how to correct the issue. component or type but on the data. And
In those days, long runs of the same prod- its presentation of actionable informa-
uct led to fewer changeovers, meaning tion fits comfortably within the end us-
fewer adjustments. Today, machines are er’s workflow. The customer decides on
far more complex and difficult to analyze. where, when, and how to display infor-
Tight margins mean that downtime can mation and is not required to adopt the
be catastrophic to a company and unde- vendor’s ecosystem.
tected quality issues are equally bad. While it is impossible to expect that
Industry has developed from break/fix these systems will perform similarly, it is
to preventative maintenance, to predic- not out of the ordinary for plants to im-
tive maintenance, which relies on smart AI provided early detection of wafer defects in prove process transparency by 100 per-
a wafer sawing process. The AI solution low-
components to detect out of spec condi- ered annual waste per machine by $100,000. cent, lower waste by over 50 percent
tions. Machine learning (ML) and artifi- (Image: Festo) and product rejection costs by over 45
cial intelligence (AI) are taking predictive percent. Machine availability can be
maintenance to a new level of perfor- vanced” predictive maintenance are prac- improved by over 25 percent. Un-
mance through early identification of out- tical tools for improving the bottom line. planned downtime can fall by more
of-spec conditions and being able to com- And they are available now. than 20 percent.
municate with the crew either through These systems typically map data to What data is involved in learning the
trend’s dashboards or in easy-to-under- learn a component, machine, product, healthy state of a system? The answer is
stand sentences presenting key facts of the or energy system’s healthy state. Once basic operational data that may already
situation. This leads to higher uptime, the map is in place, anomalies are easily be resident in the system. This includes
greater quality, and overall improved identified by the AI software, which then speed, distance, pressure, flow, current,
throughout. ML and AI systems for “ad- prompts corrective actions. temperature, environmental factors

18 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

such as humidity, torque, number of cy-
cles in a component’s lifecycle, and
product appearance, weight, and con-
figuration. AI builds a digital bridge be-
tween this operational data and infor-
mation technology.

Real-World Examples
In an automotive battery assembly
cell, AI monitored motor currents, ac-
tuator position, the presence and ab-
sence of batteries, and battery weight.
After mapping data for a healthy state,
the system recognized anomalies. The
AI system generated messages that were
sent via an IoT gateway to the cloud to
be displayed on a trend’s dashboard.
The data required for healthy versus
unhealthy state already existed based
on the machine’s motion. The develop-
ment team layered AI over this data, At an auto plant, AI continuously monitored the plant’s welding guns. This solution decreased un-
mined it at the bottom where all the planned downtime on the welding line by 25 percent. (Image: Festo)
action occurred, and then provided in-
formation displayed graphically to op- 2,500 welding gun robots equipped AI aggregated the data on the 2,500
erations personnel. with compact servo-pneumatic clamps. robotic welding guns and then, utilizing
At a premium car production plant in Using an AI system, the plant instituted gateways, sent data to cloud-based dash-
Europe produces on average 1,000 cars continuous welding gun monitoring of boards that provided easy-to-understand
per day. Welding is a core body-in-white cylinder and valve operating data and visualization of operating conditions.
process there. The plant has a total of associated parameters. The plant now has, in effect, an asset

Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 19

Predictive Maintenance

management system on every robotic to increase data points for predictive systems. Others wanted alerts sent to mo-
welding gun. Unplanned downtime fell maintenance. The AI solution monitored bile devices. Many asked whether they
by 25 percent. six pneumatic cylinders for predictive could have easily understandable messages
At a silicon wafer plant, wafers are maintenance and monitored compressed identifying what the problem was, where it
sawed from silicon cylinders in a process air consumption for predictive energy sav- was, and what corrective action should be
that takes more than eight hours. Poor ings. Anecdotal information indicates im- taken. These requests led developers to un-
cuts impact quality and lead to high re- proved energy efficiency and uptime. derstand that the system must support the
jection rates. The AI software mapped Adding hardware and sensors to an exist- end user’s workflow or the OEM’s HMI.
healthy cutting data utilizing more than ing machine enabled an AI-based asset To be successful, as mentioned earlier,
40 system parameters, environmental management system. these systems must be vendor agnostic
data such as humidity, and geometrical and must give the operations the ability
data. Anomalies led to early detection of Identification of Anomalies, to decide where the software platform
defects. AI-derived maps were used to Now What? can live directly on the system (on edge),
improve accuracy in quality assessment Early in the ML/AI development pro- on premises servers, or in the cloud. It
sampling. These led to a higher level of cess, the idea was that all the data would must be flexible enough to enable con-
identification of true defects during be pushed into the cloud and displayed nections to internal maintenance man-
quality observation. The wafer plant on vendor-created dashboards. The solu- agement software or spare parts manage-
now saves up to $100,000 per machine tion seemed reasonable — a direct line ment system to create an integrated
per year through reductions in late de- from machine to the cloud for anytime/ end-to-end solution.
fect detection. anywhere monitoring. The hurdle was AI may appear futuristic, but this solu-
This energy savings application for ice that customers had their own dashboards tion has advanced to the point where it is
cream production differs from the previ- and own way of displaying data. experienced by the user as a practical tool
ous examples because the data necessary It became clear that customers wanted for improving the bottom line.
to measure pneumatic air consumption, the AI healthy/not healthy data available
which was the goal of the project, was not in the manner most convenient for them, This article was written by Frank Lati-
available on the machine. To remedy the whether on their own dashboards, resident no, Product Management Electric Auto-
situation, the plant added hardware to on the premises, on edge, or all three. mation, Festo North America (Islandia,
digitally collect air pressure and flow data. Some customers wanted the data integrat- NY). For more information, visit www.
The plant also installed additional sensors ed with their maintenance management festo.com/us/en/.

20 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

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 Artificial Intelligence
in Design Engineering
I
n the age of industry digital transfor- events. CV AI learns from the visual data and combinations of those features, are
mation, there is a data type that has collected to provide predictions and ac- extracted by performing calculations
received minimal focus yet can have tionable insight on images, videos, and and manipulations. These layers of fil-
significant impacts on a company’s live streams. ters perform convolution operations to
success — visual data. A benefit to CV AI is that it allows for detect patterns in the image. Finally, an
About 80 percent of all impressions changes and updates similar to the way output layer makes the prediction, and
from our five sensory organs are from people process things. It can be given that result is a detection or classification.
sight alone, meaning the majority of our feedback to improve the confidence in The object detected is identified and lo-
brain’s decision-making is a result of what the predictions, but if a new variable calized in the frame.
we see. Visual data is the easiest, most needs to be detected, the computer vi-
abundant type of data we can generate sion models can be retrained based on Designs of the Future
using various types of imaging technolo- new data, new variables, and feedback. Design engineers of advanced ma-
gies, but it continues to be underutilized. CV AI is camera agnostic, meaning chines and systems such as robotics,
Computer Vision with artificial intel- it can be used with any type of imaging drones, inspections systems, manufac-
ligence (AI) is capturing this abundant technology. It also leverages the latest turing lines, and brand-new factories are
visual data and making sense of it for de- in deep-learning technology, which is embedding various types of 2D and 3D
sign engineers, quality teams, production based on artificial neural networks such imaging technologies along with CV.
teams, and more. Understanding Comput- as convolutional neural networks (CNN) Robots and drones of the future need
er Vision AI (CV AI) technology is the first and recurrent neural networks (RNN). to be able to perceive their environments
step to recognizing how it can work for you. The way CNN work is to provide visual for more advanced maneuvering and
Kitreel/Shutterstock.com

data in the form of images and videos, manipulation of objects. To do these, the
Computer Vision AI which are images at some frame rate. latest imaging technologies provide accu-
CV AI is a computer processing and The visual data consists of pixels. The rate visual data to the CV system, which is
making sense of visual data. Its capabili- pixels are filtered through many layers then making sense of that visual data by
ties can detect and classify different types when it is inputted and through these detecting and classifying what the images
of defects, people, objects, actions, and layers’ features, such as edges, colors, and video are showing.
22 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
 Instead of an autonomous robot in two major parts are joined in a welding grounds, shapes, colors, sizes, lighting,
route stopping because an object is in process, cameras can monitor the process and environments.
proximity, the robot is able to understand and CV can determine the weld quality. Because CV AI allows for changes and
more precisely what is in its path and de- In an instance where porosity is detected, updates, it can evolve with a user’s needs.
termine if it can go around it. In a case the welding engineer for the production For example, if new variables need to be
where a robot detects a box in its path, it line or even a machine itself can make ad- detected, the computer vision models
can then confidently adjust its path plan justments to the process in near real-time. can be retrained based on new data, new
to go around the stationary box, virtually By doing so productivity and quality is im- variables, and feedback. It can also learn
losing no time. In more advanced use cas- proved and risks are mitigated. to ignore variables or conditions that
es, drones are used to inspect surfaces of change but do not matter when making
critical assets for damage or defects. CV A Unique Imaging Solution detections and give feedback to improve
is used to detect and classify defects and CV AI is much more powerful than the confidence in the predictions.
provide further analytics on what defects smart AI image sensors or rules-based CV AI can also eliminate the risk of
were found and where. vision as a whole. Usually “smart” vision valuable knowledge leaving with a per-
The factory of the future is connect- sensors leverage pre-trained models that son because it learns and retains visual
ed, intelligent, and needs to be able to are not retrainable from the perspective inspection requirements in complex
ensure highly productive production of the camera. Even “edge” training production environments. Retaining
environments. One of the key enablers smart AI sensors are highly limited to the that tribal knowledge is also impactful
is CV. The technology is empowering most basic applications. Some sensors or when onboarding new employees, as it
AR tools, advanced quality inspections, AI systems rely on open-source tools that reduces weeks and even perhaps months
smarter robots, and intelligent safety are trained on datasets that could be sub- of training time.
and security systems. Design engineers ject to biases or inconsistent labels. One of the most appealing attributes
are integrating cameras into machine Rules-based vision uses decades old of CV AI is that it is camera agnostic and
designs and production lines at the de- rules that are based on the specific ob- can work with any type of imaging tech-
sign phase. ject, lighting, camera, lens, and ambi- nologies on the market, including cam-
Quality and production effectiveness ent conditions. These rules are good era technologies such as resolution im-
is ensured when intelligent tools are in- for simple detection applications but ager, visible light, invisible (NIR, SWIR),
tegrated in critical areas. For instance, fail when contending with detecting X-ray, thermal, industrial cameras, CCTV
in assembly and joining processes where things in changing or challenging back- Cameras, microscopes, and borescopes.

Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 23

TB Highland Technology Ad 0323.indd 1 2/15/23 11:48 AM
Artificial Intelligence

Understanding How CV AI Can What’s Next SCADA, MES, WMS, ERP, Databases,
Impact You If you’ve decided that your design engi- Security, etc.
To understand if CV AI could be neering process can benefit from CV AI, • Partner with proven talent with a track
beneficial to your design engineering there are simple steps you can take to do to of deep-learning AI. Industry-leading
process, you should ask yourself these get started with this technology and ensure engineering is what is empowering the
questions: that it’s a good fit for your organization: greatest gains for manufacturers utiliz-
• Are the challenges faced in your de- • Consult with a CV AI platform compa- ing this technology.
sign engineering process visible by ny that can review your interests, appli-
some form of camera technology or cations, and goals for using CV AI. Industry digital transformation is mak-
any spectrum that provides image or • Consider a PoC trial to learn how the ing its way into all aspects of operations
video? technology can help and integrate into from leveraging tools that have these tech-
• What aspects of your operations can your systems and operations. nologies incorporated into them, to incor-
image or video detections and analyt- • Ensure that it compliments your opera- porating the technologies into new designs.
ics bring value? tions by allowing your cross-functional Manufacturing is expected to grow rapidly
• What insights do you want to gain from departments to build, test, deploy, and across many regions. The competitive ad-
CV AI? manage pre-made and custom detec- vantage will be for those that incorporate
• What systems will CV AI integrate into tors for their needs without needing to technologies which maximize throughput
so that action can be taken because of be a degreed data scientist. and quality. CV AI is one of the key tech-
detections and analytics, i.e., machine, • Ensure suitable deployment modes for nologies that will be incorporated into
MES, or ERP? your needs, such as Cloud (public/pri- new designs of robotics, machines, and
• Is there a one-off need, or can this span vate), On-prem, and edge. production lines within the factories of
across the operations? • Confirm that the CV AI platform is today and tomorrow. This will enable ro-
• Does the platform empower your SMEs camera technology agnostic so that it botics and machines with advanced visual
to easily build their own detectors with- can work with any technology. Applica- perception to do more faster and adapt to
out needing to be data scientists? tion needs vary throughout operations changing conditions and environments.
and different imaging technologies
By looking at these areas of your man- and resolutions may be needed. This article was written by Adam Bennett,
ufacturing process, you can gauge how • Use an application that can integrate Sales Director, Matroid (Palo Alto, CA). For
and where CV AI will be most beneficial. in your current systems, i.e., PLC’s, more information, visit www.matroid.com.

24 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

 SAE WCX™
2023 Preview:
Paving the
Future of Mobility

P
roviding a forward-thinking look into the latest trends • Electronics/Connectivity/Vehicle IoT/Smart City/Infra-
and innovations as well as cutting-edge mobility re- structure/Active Safety: WCX will also feature sessions on
search, SAE’s WCX World Congress Experience, will safety-critical systems, ADAS and autonomous vehicle system,
be held from April 18-20, in Detroit, MI. As the largest AI and ML in vehicle-level application, smart transportation
technical mobility event in North America, WCX will provide and infrastructure, embedded systems and software, chargers
the education, networking, and business development need- and charging electronics, cybersecurity, IoT/Blockchain, and
ed to keep pace with industry evolution. From software design many other automobile electronics topics.
and cybersecurity to electrification and automation, stay • Emissions/Environment/Sustainability/Thermal Manage-
ahead of the curve by connecting with the brightest minds in ment: This track will cover topics including vehicle emis-
mobility tackling the biggest challenges and opportunities in sions, environmental impacts, climate control, thermal
the industry. management, thermal modeling, emissions measurement,
SAE International is always on the cutting edge, leading dis- end-of-life strategies, alternative energies, and electrifica-
cussions around how integrated vehicle connectivity translates tion strategies.
to a potential space for mobility, the place of electricity, hydro- • Integrated Design: This track will address subjects critical to
gen, and other low carbon fuels in powering the vehicle of to- future vehicle development and design, such as CAD/CAM,
morrow, and just what exactly it will take to reach Level 5 in simulation, modeling, design optimization, and reliability-
SAE’s Levels of Automation. At WCX 2023, engineers can par- based design.
ticipate in live panel discussions, keynotes, and breakout tech- • Materials and Lightweighting: Subjects critical to future ve-
nical sessions with subject matter experts across the industry. hicle development and lightweighting will be highlighted
in this track. Sessions will focus on advanced analysis, de-
Technical Sessions sign, and optimization of materials, composite materials,
The cornerstone of WCX, technical sessions maximize the
learning experience with more than 1,000 hours of cutting-edge
technical content from leading subject-matter experts. WCX
2023 will feature over 200 technical sessions across 11 different
topics covering the latest technical advancements and regula-
tions impacting our industry today. This year’s technical sessions
topics will include:

• Advanced Powertrain: This track covers theoretical develop-

ments and provides information on real-life applications to
industry in the areas of process capability, productivity, reli-
ability, design, global supply chain integration, and manufac-
turing performance.
• Body/Chassis/Occupant Protection and Pedestrian Safety/
Structure: In this track, subject matter experts will present ses-
sions on issues around human factors, safety systems, vehicle
dynamics, accident reconstruction, pedestrian, vehicle im-
pact, crashworthiness, tires, lighting, and restraints.
• Electric Propulsion: This track will cover topics including
advanced hybrid and electric vehicle powertrains, electric
motor and power electronics, advanced fuel cell vehicle ap-
plications, as well as engineering solutions for future auto-
motive propulsion.
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 25
SAE WCX Preview

load simulation and vehicle performance, as well as fatigue

analysis and design.
• Military Ground Vehicles: This track will serve as a forum to ad-
dress the unique challenges, current gaps, and emerging technol-
ogies related to the design, development, and manufacturing of
military ground vehicles. The scope includes modeling, simula-
tion, performance analysis, optimization, testing, and validation.
• Motorsports Engineering: This track will focus on the links
between motorsports, the mainstream automotive industry
and the academia, as well as Formula SAE.
• New Battery Energy Storage: With a focus on electrification,
this track will cover advanced battery technologies, materials
characterization and modeling for EVs and battery safety.
• Smart Manufacturing: Experts will address subjects critical to
smart manufacturing such as Industry 4.0, additive manufac-
turing, and digital twin.

Leadership Summit Roundtables

The Leadership Summit is a series of roundtable discussions
developed by the Technical Advisory Group of WCX™ World
Congress on the “business of technology” such as technology de-
velopment, consumer acceptance, regulation and their impact on
vehicle design and development by technical executives in the
mobility ecosystem. Thought-provoking roundtables on the busi-
ness of technology will be part of the Leadership Summit, featur- EDGE Knowledge Bar
ing topics including Keynote: In Pursuit of Zero, Diversity Leading Another unique experience at WCX 2023 is the EDGE™
Innovation in Mobility; Software Defined Vehicles and their Im- Research Reports’ Knowledge Bar, where attendees can get
pact on the Future of Mobility; Battery: Today, 2030, and Beyond. help problem-solving issues on unsettled and established
technologies in a casual “small group” environment. At-
Learning Lab tendees are encouraged to come prepared with questions to
Featuring new technology from exhibitors, this engaging an assembled group of subject matter experts. Each expert
space will provide an peak into the future of mobility at this will lead 40-minute “expert discussions” on the critical tech-
engaging space. The Learning Lab provides attendees access to nologies moving the advancement of design, deployment,
information on new technology and services from the OEM and development of future vehicles forward. Some of the
and supply chain communities. It accommodates interactive topics to be discussed include vehicular AI and ML, EV
and one-on-one presentations where engineers and suppliers charging and infrastructure, automated road sensors, and
can discuss the latest mobility products. These presentations smart manufacturing.
are designed to also address concepts or innovations that could
impact attendees’ development strategies. Networking Events
WCX is where the community gathers to make connections
and build relationships — its where business happens. Wheth-
er you’re a C-level executive, engineer, or R&D professional,
WCX offers opportunities to reconnect with your peers and
make new connections with mobility professionals from around
the world to help you build a powerful network. Between daily
networking breaks on the exhibit floor, to special events such as
the WCX Gala and the 2023 Ford Super Duty Vehicle Event,
there are several networking opportunities each day to help
you make the most out of your WCX experience.

Exhibition Floor
Like every year, the event will feature an Exhibition Floor
where attendees can network with industry leaders and experi-
ence previews of the newest products on the market demon-
strated by OEMs, suppliers, and technology companies.
From talks on mass deployment of autonomous and electric
vehicles, to software defined vehicles and smart manufacturing,
to the latest in research and development, WCX 2023 will con-
vene engineering leaders to explore mobility opportunities
and address its biggest challenges.
For more information and to register, visit wcx.sae.org/
registration.
26 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
Aeronautics
Shark Skin Inspires Functional Surface Film for Aircraft
A new surface technology improves fuel efficiency and reduces CO2 emissions.
Lufthansa Group, Munich, Germany

F ollowing nature’s example, Lufthansa

Technik and BASF have jointly devel-
oped the functional surface film Aero-
aerodynamics at flow-relevant points of
the aircraft such as the fuselage or the
engine nacelles. As a result, less fuel is
lasting several months, the European
Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has
now granted Lufthansa Technik a Supple-
SHARK for commercial aircraft. The required. By covering 950 square meters mental Type Certificate (STC) for the se-
film is modeled on the microscopic of a Boeing 777-300ER’s outer skin, for ries application of this technology on two
structure of shark skin and is applied to example, annual savings of around 400 Boeing 777 models.
the aircraft’s outer skin. It directly reduc- tons of kerosene and more than 1,200 In the future, all 12 long-haul B777-
es aircraft drag, cuts kerosene consump- tons of CO2 can be achieved. 300ER aircraft at SWISS will fly with the fu-
tion and thus CO2 emissions. The Lufthansa Group will be the first el-saving surface technology. The same ap-
AeroSHARK consists of millions of airline group in the world to equip more plies to Lufthansa Cargo’s current fleet of
ribs around 50 micrometers in size, than 20 long-haul aircraft in its fleet with 11 Boeing 777F freighters. The first SWISS
known as riblets. They imitate the prop- aerodynamic sharkskin film. Following ex- aircraft equipped with AeroSHARK (regis-
erties of shark skin and thus optimize tensive testing and a certification process tration HB-JNH) has already been in
scheduled service since October 2022. This
aircraft had also completed the flight test
program for the certification it has now re-
ceived. The Boeing 777 aircraft in Frank-
furt and Zurich are scheduled to be modi-
fied with the riblet films next.
“For a more sustainable future in avia-
tion, we are consistently driving change in
our industry. Our ambitious goal: a neu-
tral CO2 balance by 2050. Already by
2030, we want to halve our net CO2 emis-
sions compared to 2019,” said Christina
Foerster, Member of the Lufthansa
Group’s Executive Board, responsible for
Brand and Sustainability. “By covering
more than 20 aircraft with the new shark-
skin film, we will reduce the Lufthansa
Group’s CO2 footprint by more than
25,000 tons annually,” she added.
AeroSHARK consists of millions of ribs around 50 micrometers in size, known as riblets. They imitate
the properties of shark skin and thus optimize aerodynamics at flow-relevant points of the aircraft For more information, contact Media
such as the fuselage or the engine nacelles. (Image: Lufthansa Group) Relations at [email protected].

Biomimicking Hummingbirds for Better Drones

New insights into how hummingbirds produce wing movement could lead to design
improvements in drones.
Penn State, University Park, PA

H ummingbirds fly like insects but have

the musculoskeletal system of birds.
According to Bo Cheng, the Kenneth K.
ment. Using a novel modeling method,
Cheng and his team of researchers gained
new insights into how hummingbirds pro-
the wings,” said first author and Penn
State mechanical engineering graduate
student Suyash Agrawal. “The traditional
and Olivia J. Kuo Early Career Associate duce wing movement, which could lead to methods have mostly focused on measur-
Professor in Mechanical Engineering at design improvements in flying robots. ing activity of a bird or insect when they
Penn State, hummingbirds have extreme “We essentially reverse-engineered are in natural flight or in an artificial en-
aerial agility and flight forms, which is why the inner working of the wing musculo- vironment where flight-like conditions
many drones and other aerial vehicles are skeletal system — how the muscles and are simulated. But most insects and,
designed to mimic hummingbird move- skeleton work in hummingbirds to flap among birds specifically, hummingbirds
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 27
 Aeronautics

are very small. The data that we can get the wing. And that torque is something in the pitch and up-down directions but
from those measurements are limited.” we use to calibrate our model.” With this keep the wing loose along the back-and-
The researchers used muscle anatomy model, the researchers uncovered previ- forth direction, so their wings appear to
literature, computational fluid dynamics ously unknown principles of humming- be flapping back and forth only while
simulation data, and wing-skeletal move- bird wing actuation. their power muscles, or their flight en-
ment information captured using mi- The first discovery, according to Cheng, gines, are actually pulling the wings in all
cro-CT and X-ray methods to inform their was that hummingbirds’ primary muscles, three directions. In this way, the wings
model. They also used an optimization al- that is, their flight engines, do not simply have very good agility in the up and down
gorithm based on evolutionary strategies, flap their wings in a simple back and forth motion as well as the twist motion.”
known as the genetic algorithm, to cali- motion, but instead pull their wings in While Cheng emphasized that the re-
brate the parameters of the model. Ac- three directions: up and down, back and sults from the optimized model are predic-
cording to the researchers, their approach forth, and twisting — or pitching — of the tions that will need validation, he said that
is the first to integrate these disparate parts wing. The researchers also found that it has implications for technological devel-
for biological fliers. hummingbirds tighten their shoulder opment of aerial vehicles. “Even though
“We can simulate the whole recon- joints in both the up-and-down direction the technology is not there yet to fully mim-
structed motion of the hummingbird and the pitch direction using multiple ic hummingbird flight, our work provides
wing and then simulate all the flows and smaller muscles. essential principles for informed mimicry
forces generated by the flapping wing, “It’s like when we do fitness training of hummingbirds hopefully for the next
including all the pressure acting on the and a trainer says to tighten your core to generation of agile aerial systems,” he said.
wing,” Cheng said. “From that, we are be more agile,” Cheng said. “We found For more information, contact Sarah
able to back-calculate the required total that hummingbirds are using similar kind Small at College of Engineering Media Re-
muscular torque that is needed to flap of a mechanism. They tighten their wings lations; [email protected].

Using Small Drones to Monitor Volcanoes

Researchers analyze volcanic gases with the help of ultra-lightweight sensor systems.
Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany

T he main gases released by volcanoes are

water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur
dioxide. Analyzing these gases is one of the
best ways of obtaining information on volca-
nic systems and the magmatic processes
that are underway. The ratio of carbon di-
oxide levels to those of sulfur dioxide can
even reveal the likelihood of an impending
eruption. Drones are employed to carry the
necessary analytical systems to the site of ac-
tivity. However, because of their size, trans-
porting the drones to their operation sites
has to date required significant expense.
A team headed by Professor Thorsten
Hoffmann at Johannes Gutenberg Uni-
versity Mainz has recently been assessing
the potential for using a small, portable
observation drone in remote regions.
This very compact drone system can even
be conveyed on foot to sites that are ex-
tremely difficult to access. In addition, it The research drone in action on the island of Vulcano at the southern boundary of the Aeolian
requires only minimal flight and adminis- Islands. (Image: Hoffman group)
trative preparations for operation as an
aerial observation platform. For some time already, researchers alterations to this ratio have been ob-
Gas discharges from volcanoes mainly have assumed that the analysis of such vol- served immediately prior to eruptions of
consist of water vapor, carbon dioxide, atile emissions could play a central role in several volcanoes, among which was Etna.
and sulfur dioxide. Released gas emis- improving the prediction of volcanic Unfortunately, the practical side of
sions are among the few chemical signals eruptions. A particularly promising pa- compiling a continuous time series of
that provide evidence of the processes oc- rameter when it comes to the surveillance gas compositions represents a major
curring in magmatic systems that are lo- of changes to volcanic activity is the ratio challenge. Direct manual sampling by
cated deep below the surface and are of concentration of carbon dioxide to sul- means of climbing the volcano is ardu-
thus otherwise inaccessible. fur dioxide in the released gases. In fact, ous and time-consuming, not to men-
28 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
tion the potential dangers should an emission sources that are otherwise dif- sites and suitably track the activity there,”
eruption suddenly occur. On the other ficult or even impossible to access, such said Niklas Karbach, lead author of the
hand, stationary monitoring equipment as fumaroles in steep, slippery terrain corresponding paper that has recently
often does not record representative or older parts of the plume that are typ- been published in Scientific Reports.
data on gas compositions, mainly due to ically located in downwind areas and at In collaboration with volcanologist Dr.
changing wind directions. higher altitudes. Nicole Bobrowski of Heidelberg Univer-
Measurement drones can overcome Only larger drones have so far been sity and the National Institute of Geo-
these problems and have already been employed for the monitoring of volca- physics and Volcanology (INGV) in Cata-
used to measure the chemical charac- noes and, of course, this has proved nia, the Mainz-based research team has
teristics of volcanic gases. In particular, problematic in view of the remoteness of been trialing a tiny commercial drone
the risk to volcanologists of being en- the regions in which most volcanoes are weighing less than 900 grams equipped
dangered by sudden changes in volca- to be found. “It is for this reason that with miniaturized, lightweight sensors.
nic activity is significantly reduced by small, easily transportable drones are an For more information, contact Dr.
the greater distances involved. More- essential prerequisite if we want to get to Thorsten Hoffmann at t.hoffmann@
over, drones make it possible to reach isolated or difficult-to-access volcanic uni-mainz.de; +49-6131-39-25716.

Aerospace Vehicle Entry Flightpath Control

A control system that can be feasibly integrated with a Deployable Entry Vehicle (DEV).
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

F uture high mass missions to Mars, ad-

vancements in hypersonic aerospace
vehicle design, and evolving science
lating sideslip. Exploiting the dihedral
effect, in combination with significant
aerodynamic forces, enables faster bank
Additionally, the flaps are commanded
and controlled to rotate into or out of the
flow. This creates changes in the vehicles
goals are stretching the performance accelerations than could be practically aerodynamics to maneuver the vehicle
capabilities of traditional entry systems. achieved through typical control strate- without the use of thrusters. MMCS con-
NASA’s Pterodactyl team at Ames Re- gies, enhancing vehicle maneuverability. sists of moveable masses that are mounted
search Center has developed a novel yaw- This approach enables vehicle designs to several ribs of the DEV heat shield, steer-
to-bank control system for a non-tradition- with fewer control actuators since ing the vehicle by shifting the vehicles Cen-
al vehicle configurations, such as a roll-specific actuators are not required to ter of Mass (CoM). Shifting the vehicles
Deployable Entry Vehicle (DEV), that can regulate bank angle. CoM adjusts the moment arms of the forc-
be folded and stowed. The approach pro- The proposed control method has es on the vehicle and changes the pitch
vides vehicle stabilization, steering, and been studied with three actuator systems, and yaw moments to control the vehicles
precise targeted landing. This control ar- Flaps Control System (FCS); Mass Move- flightpath. RCS thrusters are mounted to
chitecture is agnostic to control actuators ment Control System (MMCS); and Reac- four ribs of the open-back DEV heat shield
and can be used with any aerospace vehi- tion Control System (RCS). FCS consists structure to provide efficient bank angle
cle with a strong dihedral effect and/or of a flap configuration with longitudinal control of the vehicle by changing the vehi-
different guidance control variables. flaps for independent pitch control, and cles roll. Combining rib-mounted RCS
This novel flightpath control system lateral flaps generating yaw moments. thrusters with a DEV is expected to provide
exploits the dihedral effect to control The flaps are mounted to the shoulder of greater downmass capability than a rigid
the bank angle of the vehicle by modu- the vehicles deployable rib structure. capsule sized for the same launch.
The technology has several potential ap-
plications including aerodynamic bodies
that require deployable control surfaces
on articulating bodies; guidance and con-
trol of DEVs with high-precision landing of
small payloads sent from planetary bodies
back to Earth (e.g., biological samples
landed near scientific facilities), and in-
creasing down-mass capabilities to plane-
tary bodies such as Mars reentry vehicles
and precision space launch or ballistic mu-
nitions industry.
Flaps Mass Movement RCS NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please con-
tact Licensing Concierge at Agency-Pat-
[email protected] or call at
202-358-7432 to initiate licensing discus-
sions. For more information, visit https://
Multiple, independent control system configurations. (Image: NASA) technology.nasa.gov/patent/TOP2-303.
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 29
Electrical/Electronics
Serial Arrayed Waveguide Grating
An arrayed waveguide grating that splits up an optical signal into wavelength channels to
enable higher spectral resolution.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Green Belt, MD

D ispersive optical elements are

important for many applica-
tions. In bulk, free-space optics,
length between the paths. To design
this on a photonics chip requires sig-
nificant area. The serial AWG creates
prisms, and gratings are often used. a single path, equivalent to the lon-
In optical waveguides, particularly in gest path in the parallel AWG and
integrated photonics, arrayed wave- split off fractions of the optical signal
guide gratings (AWG) are most com- at various points along the way to cre-
monly used. AWGs split an optical ate the equivalent path lengths. Serial
signal into different wavelength Arrayed Waveguide Grating re-uses
channels. Serial Arrayed Waveguide the same path instead of needing in-
Grating enables higher resolution dependent parallel paths.
wavelength separation. The technology has several applica-
Traditional AWGs split the optical tions including optical communica-
signal into multiple parallel paths tions, remote sensing/LiDAR, and
each with a different path length. beam steering.
This new approach creates the differ- Serial Arrayed Waveguide Grating enables higher resolu- NASA is actively seeking licensees
ent path lengths by splitting the sig- tion wavelength separation. (Image: NASA) to commercialize this technology.
nal into essentially one long path in Please contact NASA’s Licensing
which the different channels are period- In traditional AWG, there are multiple Concierge at Agency-Patent-Licensing@
ically split off the main path in the de- parallel optical paths, each with a differ- mail.nasa.gov or call at 202-358-7432 to
sired fraction. This has the net result of ent engineered path-length. For high initiate licensing discussions. For more
requiring much less space on-chip for resolution, you want many different par- information, visit https://technology.
comparable optical path differences. allel paths and large differences in path nasa.gov/patent/GSC-TOPS-302.

Health Monitoring with Skin-Like Electronics

New wearable electronics paired with artificial intelligence could transform screening
for health problems.
Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, and University of Chicago, IL

F lexible, wearable electronics could be

used for precision medical sensors at-
tached to the skin, designed to perform
analysis of the tracked health data while
minimizing the need for its wireless
transmission.
into a skin-like stretchable material. The
key material in any electronic device is
a semiconductor. In current rigid elec-
health monitoring and diagnosis. Such a Such a device would need to collect tronics used in cell phones and comput-
skin-like device is being developed in a proj- and process a vast amount of data, well ers, this is normally a solid silicon chip.
ect between the U.S. Department of Ener- above what even the best smartwatches Stretchable electronics require that the
gy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory can do today. And it would have to do semiconductor be a highly flexible mate-
and the University of Chicago’s Pritzker this data crunching with very low power rial that is still able to conduct electricity.
School of Molecular Engineering (PME). consumption in a very tiny space. The team’s skin-like neuromorphic
Leading the project is Sihong Wang, As- To address that need, the team called “chip” consists of a thin film of a plastic
sistant Professor in UChicago PME with a upon neuromorphic computing. This semiconductor combined with stretch-
joint appointment in Argonne’s Nanosci- AI technology mimics operation of the able gold nanowire electrodes. Even
ence and Technology division. brain by training on past data sets and when stretched to twice its normal size,
Worn routinely, future wearable elec- learning from experience. Its advantag- their device functioned as planned with-
tronics could potentially detect possible es include compatibility with stretchable out formation of any cracks.
emerging health problems such as heart material, lower energy consumption, As one test, the team built an AI device
disease, cancer or multiple sclerosis, and faster speed than other types of AI. and trained it to distinguish healthy elec-
even before obvious symptoms appear. The other major challenge the team trocardiogram (ECG) signals from four
The device could also do a personalized faced was integrating the electronics different signals indicating health prob-
30 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
 “The planned upgrade of the APS
will increase the brightness of its X-ray
beams by up to 500 times,” said Joe Str-
zalka, an Argonne Physicist. “We look
forward to studying the device material
under its regular operating conditions,
interacting with charged particles and
changing electrical potential in its en-
vironment. Instead of a snapshot, we’ll
have more of a movie of the structural
response of the material at the molecu-
lar level.” The greater beamline bright-
ness and better detectors will make it
possible to measure how soft or hard
the material becomes in response to en-
Wearable electronics combined with AI might one day process massive amounts of health informa- vironmental influences.
tion in real time. (Image: UChicago’s PME) “While still requiring further develop-
ment on several fronts, our device could
lems. After training, the device was more Argonne. Exposure to an intense X-ray one day be a game changer in which
than 95 percent effective at correctly beam revealed how the molecules that everyone can get their health status in a
identifying the ECG signals. make up the skin-like device material much more effective and frequent way,”
The plastic semiconductor also un- reorganize upon doubling in length. added Wang.
derwent analysis on beamline 8-ID-E at These results provided molecular level For more information, contact Chris-
the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a information to better understand the topher Cramer at [email protected]; 630-
DOE Office of Science user facility at material properties. 252-5580.

Wearable Electronics for Continuous Cardiac, Respiratory

Monitoring
The small sensor allows detection of subtle movements.
American Institute of Physics, Melville, NY

A highly sensitive wearable sensor for

cardiorespiratory monitoring could
po­tentially be worn continuously by car-
15

10
Voltage (mV)

diac patients or others who require con- 5

stant monitoring. 0

The small and inexpensive sensor, an- -5

nounced in Applied Physics Letters by AIP -10

Publishing, is based on an electrochemi- -15

cal system involving two ionic forms of 15.5 16 16.5 17 17.5 18 18.5
Time (Sec)
iodine, I– and I3–. A solution containing
these electrolyte substances is placed 5
into a small circular cavity that is capped
Voltage (mV)

with a thin flexible diaphragm, allowing 0

detection of subtle movements when

-5
placed on a patient’s chest. inhalation
Small motions that arise from the -10
exhalation
heartbeat and breathing cause the flexi-
ble diaphragm to move the I–/I3– solu- 0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (Sec)
30 35 40 45

tion into a narrow channel in the device,

where it is electrochemically detected by Wearable sensor attached to a patient’s chest (right). Heartbeat signal acquired from the sensor
four platinum electrodes. (left, top). Acquired breathing signal (left, bottom). (Image: Yong Xu)
“The sensor body was fabricated us-
ing Ecoflex 00-20, which has proven to The investigators created a mold for the on a rapidly rotating disk to produce the
be a very soft, strong, and stretchy sili- circular chamber and the associated nar- thin diaphragm. After the diaphragm and
cone rubber that is widely used in med- row channel. A solution to create Ecoflex chamber body were bonded together, the
ical simulation, orthotics, and prosthet- 00-20 was poured into the mold to form the investigators used a syringe to fill the cham-
ics,” said author Yong Xu. body of the sensor and was also spin-coated ber with the electrolyte solution.
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 31
 Electrical/Electronics

The resulting device is only 28-mm the chest contracts and expands during ratory diseases, such as COVID-19, which
wide and is skin-safe, so it can be at- breathing, functioning as a strain sensor. often leads to shortness of breath.
tached directly to the patient’s body. The The other way the sensor detects respira- “Symptoms in the early stage of infec-
device was able to detect the heartbeat tion is due to the way the volume of the tion could be subtle,” said Xu. “Wearable
with high sensitivity. A signal-to-noise ra- chest cavity changes during a breath, devices that are capable of accurate de-
tio of greater than 6:1 was achieved, modulating the heartbeat signal. In this tection of subtle respiratory and cardio-
which is considered good. way, respiration is detected indirectly vascular variation are of great interest,
Respiration can be detected by this de- through changes in the heartbeat. especially during the pandemic.”
vice in two different ways. Because of the The authors suggest their sensor could For more information, contact Larry
sensor’s stretchability, it deforms when potentially be used for diagnosis of respi- Frum at [email protected]; 301-209-3090.

Bioelectronic Devices Enable Real-Time Sensing

Such “smart” devices could power themselves by scavenging energy in the environment as they
monitor conditions in settings like rivers, farms, industry, and wastewater treatment plants.
Rice University, Houston, TX

I f a chemical spill in a river goes un-

noticed for 20 minutes, it might be
too late to remediate. Living bioelec-
can cause algae blooms. And there
were convenient sources of water to
test: Galveston Beach and Houston’s
tronic sensors developed by a team of Brays and Buffalo bayous.
researchers at the Rice University can With the physical constraints in
help. A team led by Rice synthetic bi- place, the labs first encoded E. coli to
ologists Caroline Ajo-Franklin and express a synthetic pathway that only
Jonathan (Joff) Silberg and lead au- generates current when it encounters
thors Josh Atkinson and Lin Su, both thiosulfate. This living sensor was
Rice alumni, have engineered bacte- able to sense this chemical at levels
ria to quickly sense and report on the less than 0.25 millimoles per liter, far
presence of a variety of contami- lower than levels toxic to fish.
nants. Their study in Nature shows In another experiment, E. coli was
the cells can be programmed to iden- recoded to sense an endocrine dis-
tify chemical invaders and report ruptor. This also worked well, and the
within minutes by releasing a detect- signals were greatly enhanced when
able electrical current. conductive nanoparticles custom-syn-
Such “smart” devices could power thesized by Su were encapsulated
themselves by scavenging energy in with the cells in the agarose lollipop.
the environment as they monitor con- The researchers reported these en-
ditions in settings like rivers, farms, capsulated sensors detect this con-
industry, and wastewater treatment taminant up to 10 times faster than
plants and to ensure water security, ac- the previous state-of-the-art devices.
cording to the researchers. The team sees engineered mi-
The environmental information crobes performing many tasks in
communicated by these self-replicating the future, from monitoring the gut
bacteria can be customized by replacing microbiome to sensing contami-
a single protein in the eight-compo- nants like viruses, improving upon
nent, synthetic electron transport chain Puck-like bioelectronics designed at Rice University the successful strategy of testing
that gives rise to the sensor signal. contain programmable bacteria and are attached to an wastewater plants for SARS-CoV-19
electrode that delivers a signal when they detect a tar-
“I think it’s the most complex pro- get contaminant, enabling real-time sensing. (Image: during the pandemic.
tein pathway for real-time signaling Brandon Martin) To that end, the team is collaborat-
that has been built to date,” said Sil- ing with Rafael Verduzco, a Rice Pro-
berg, Director of Rice’s Systems, Synthet- “You put the probes into the water fessor of chemical and biomolecular engi-
ic and Physical Biology Ph.D. Program. and measure the current,” she said. neering and of materials science and
“To put it simply, imagine a wire that di- “It’s that simple. Our devices are differ- nanoengineering who leads a recent $2
rects electrons to flow from a cellular ent because the microbes are encapsu- million National Science Foundation
chemical to an electrode, but we’ve bro- lated. We’re not releasing them into grant with Ajo-Franklin, Silberg, bioscien-
ken the wire in the middle. When the the environment.” tist Kirstin Matthews and civil and envi-
target molecule hits, it reconnects and The researchers’ proof-of-concept ronmental engineer Lauren Stadler to
electrifies the full pathway.” bacteria was Escherichia coli, and their develop real-time wastewater monitoring.
“It’s literally a miniature electrical first target was thiosulfate, a dichlorina- For more information, contact Jeff
switch,” Ajo-Franklin said. tion agent used in water treatment that Falk at [email protected]; 713-348-6775.
32 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
Sensors
Impact and Trajectory Detection System
Sensor pinpoints location of impacts and trajectory of the projectile using piezoelectric
polymer film.
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

I nnovators at the NASA Johnson Space

Center (JSC) have developed an Im-
pact and Trajectory Detection System
velocities. The sensor has been extensively
tested and works well in vacuum condi-
tions, ambient conditions, or under pres-
that is capable of determining the time sure conditions and can exist passively
and location of the projectiles impact as through the piezoelectric effect.
well as the trajectory of the projectile. The electronics do require power, but
The system can indicate the time and lo- they typically consume very low wattage.
cation of an impact and the trajectory of Temperature limits have minimal effect
that projectile using piezoelectric poly- on the piezofilm and the accuracy of the
mer film and sensors. film is almost 100 percent. Systems of
The technology is designed so that the this type could be useful in settings in
piezoelectric film covers the area of inter- which the occurrence of impacts and/or
est, regardless of size. This film has the the locations of impacts are not immedi-
characteristic that when it is mechanically ately obvious and there are requirements
impacted, it develops an electrical volt- to detect and quickly locate impacts to
age, which can be detected. When a tar- prevent or minimize damage.
get area of concern is covered by this film, Earth-based applications include situ-
it will give an indication of a projectile ations where it is necessary to quickly lo-
strike. By dividing the area into pixels, cate impacts to prevent or minimize dan-
and attaching sensors to each pixel, the Prototype of the impact detection system after ger from munitions, hailstones, burglary
impact location and time can be ob- an impact evaluation test. (Image: NASA) tools, or vehicular collisions.
tained. A computer connected to the sys- NASA is actively seeking licensees to
tem communicates with the electronics, pacts location on each panel layer and commercialize this technology. Please
processes the raw data, and displays the the direction or trajectory of the projec- contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
raw and processed data to the system user. tile. This information can help in deter- [email protected]
The system uses a communication and mining future safety measures and loca- or call us at 202-358-7432 to initiate li-
control subsystem that upon projectile tion placement for the area of interest. censing discussions. For more informa-
impact, performs a time discrimination This system is light in weight and sensi- tion visit: https://technology.nasa.gov/
analysis to determine the projectiles im- tive to a wide range of impact energies and patents/category/sensors.

Sensor Can Detect Scarred or Fatty Liver Tissue

Diagnosing liver damage earlier could help prevent liver failure in many patients.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

A bout 25 percent of the U.S. popula-

tion suffers from fatty liver disease, a
condition that can lead to fibrosis of the
these patients had fibrosis,” said Michael
Cima, the David H. Koch Professor of
Engi­neering in MIT’s department of ma-
er disease before it progresses to fibro-
sis, the researchers said.
MIT PhD recipient Ashvin Bashyam
liver and, eventually, liver failure. Current- terials science and engineering, a mem- and graduate student Chris Frangieh are
ly there is no easy way to diagnose either ber of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integra- the lead authors of the paper, which ap-
fatty liver disease or liver fibrosis. Howev- tive Cancer Research, and the senior pears in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
er, MIT engineers have now developed a author of the study. Fatty liver disease occurs when liver
diagnostic tool, based on nuclear magnet- The device, which is small enough to cells store too much fat. This leads to in-
ic resonance (NMR), that could be used fit on a table, uses NMR to measure flammation and eventually fibrosis, a
to detect both of those conditions. how water diffuses through tissue, buildup of scar tissue that can cause jaun-
“Since it’s a noninvasive test, you could which can reveal how much fat is pres- dice and liver cirrhosis, and eventually
screen people even before they have ob- ent in the tissue. This kind of diagnos- liver failure.
vious symptoms of compromised liver, tic, which has thus far been tested on Fibrosis is usually not diagnosed until
and you would be able to say which of mice, could help doctors catch fatty liv- the patient begins to experience symp-
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 33
 Sensors

takes about 10 minutes to obtain the re-

sults, but the researchers are now working
on improving the signal-to-noise ratio of
the detector, which could help to reduce
the amount of time it takes.
The current version of the sensor can
scan to a depth of about 6 mm below the
skin, which is enough to monitor the
mouse liver or human skeletal muscle.
The researchers are now working on de-
signing a new version that can penetrate
deeper below the tissue, to allow them to
test the liver diagnosis application in hu-
man patients.
If this type of NMR sensor could be de-
veloped for use in patients, it could help to
identify people in danger of developing fi-
brosis, or in the early stages of fibrosis, so
they could be treated earlier, Cima said.
Fibrosis can’t be reversed, but it can be
halted or slowed down through dietary
changes and exercise. Having this type of
MIT engineers have developed a diagnostic tool, based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), that diagnostic available could also aid in drug-
could be used to detect fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis. (Image: MIT) development efforts, because it could allow
doctors to more easily identify patients with
toms that include not only jaundice but The researchers thought that a similar fibrosis and monitor their response to po-
also fatigue and abdominal swelling. A detector could be used for identifying liv- tential new treatments, Cima said.
biopsy is needed to confirm the diagno- er disease because water diffuses more Another potential application for this
sis, but this is an invasive procedure and slowly when it encounters fatty tissue or kind of sensor is to evaluate human livers
may not be accurate if the biopsy sample fibrosis. Tracking how water moves for transplant. In this study, the re­searchers
is taken from a part of the liver that is through tissue over time can reveal how tested the monitor on human liver tissue
not fibrotic. much fatty or scarred tissue is present. and found that it could detect fibrosis with
To create an easier way to check for “If you watch how the magnetization 93 percent accuracy.
this kind of liver disease, Cima and his changes, you can model how fast the The research was funded by the Koch
colleagues had the idea of adapting a protons are moving,” Cima said. “Those Institute Support (core) Grant from the
detector that they had previously devel- cases where the magnetization doesn’t National Cancer Institute, the National
oped to measure hydration levels be- go away very fast would be ones where Institutes of Health, a Fannie and John
fore and after patients undergo dialysis. the diffusivity was low, and they would be Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship,
That detector measures fluid volume in the most fibrotic.” and a National Science Foundation
patients’ skeletal muscle by using NMR In a study of mice, the researchers Graduate Fellowship.
to track changes in the magnetic prop- showed that their detector could identify For more information, contact Abby
erties of hydrogen atoms of water in the fibrosis with 86 percent accuracy, and fatty Abazorius at [email protected]; 617-253-
muscle tissue. liver disease with 92 percent accuracy. It 2709.

Suture of the Future Fights Infection

The smart bandage can dispense antibiotics, monitor wound-healing biomarkers, and report
important data directly to doctors.
Technion Haifa, Israel

I t is a staple of science fiction to mock

sutures as outdated. The technique
has, after all, been in use for at least
that not only binds wounds together,
but also wards off infection and reports
the wound’s condition directly to doc-
healthy tissue. Some sutures degrade by
themselves — or should degrade — as
the wound heals. Others need to be
5,000 years. Surely medicine should tors’ computers. The study was pub- manually removed. Dressing is then ap-
have advanced since ancient Egypt. lished in Advanced Materials. plied over the wound and medical per-
Professor Hossam Haick from the Current surgical procedures entail sonnel monitor the wound by removing
Wolfson department of chemical engi- the surgeon cutting the human body, the dressing to allow observation for
neering at the Technion has finally doing what needs to be done, and sew- signs of infection like swelling, redness,
turned science fiction into reality. His ing the wound shut — an invasive pro- and heat. This procedure is painful to
lab created a smart, suture-less dressing cedure that damages surrounding the patient, and disruptive to healing,
34 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
 MAY 2 – 3, 2023
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The sensing part of MFDW. (Image: Technion)

but it is unavoidable. Working with these methods also means

that infection is often discovered late, since it takes time for
visible signs to appear and more time for medical staff to
come around and see them. In developed countries with good
sanitation available, about 20 percent of patients develop in- Co-located with In partnership with
fections post-surgery, necessitating additional treatment and
extending the recovery time. The figure and consequences
are much worse in developing countries.
Prior to beginning a procedure, the dressing — which is
very much like a smart Band-Aid — developed by Haick’s lab
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 35
 Sensors

will be applied to the site of the self release antibiotics onto the wound biocompatible and self-healing was the
planned incision. The incision will area, preventing infection. next step, and one that was achieved by
then be made through it. Following Most people discard their late-night postdoctoral fellow Dr. Ning Tang.
the surgery, the two ends of the wound cinema-inspired ideas. Not Haick, who, The new polymer is structured like a mo-
will be brought together, and within the very next day after his Eureka mo- lecular zipper, made from sulfur and nitro-
three seconds the dressing will bind it- ment, was researching and making gen: the surgeon’s scalpel opens it; then
self together, holding the wound plans. The first publication about a pressed together, it closes and holds fast.
closed, similarly to sutures. From then, self-healing sensor came in 2015. At that Integrated carbon nanotubes provide elec-
the dressing will be continuously mon- time, the sensor needed almost 24 hours tric conductivity and the integration of the
itoring the wound, tracking the heal- to repair itself. By 2020, sensors were sensor array. In experiments, wounds
ing process, checking for signs of infec- healing in under a minute, but while closed with the smart dressing healed as
tion like changes in temperature, pH, they had multiple applications, they fast as those closed with sutures and showed
and glucose levels, and report to the were not yet biocompatible, that is, not reduced rates of infection.
medical personnel’s smartphones or usable in contact with skin and blood. For more information, visit www.
other devices. The dressing will also it- Creating a polymer that would be both technion.ac.il.

Room Temperature Oxygen Sensors

Small, low-cost, low-power, mass-producible oxygen sensors with room temperature operation.
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA

T raditional oxygen sensors, including

potentiometric and amperometric
sensor designs, have significant draw- a Graphene-TiO2
b
backs, as metal oxide gas sensors require Au electrode

high temperature operation of about

Au
300 °C, and suffer from high power con- electrode
Substrate

sumption. NASA Ames Research Center 60 µm

has developed novel oxygen sensors

made of a hybrid material comprising
graphene and titanium dioxide (TiO2)
that is capable of detecting O2 gas at
room temperature and ambient pres-
sure. The sensors have fast response and
recovery times and can also be used to
detect ozone. The sensors can be inte-
grated into wearable-sized Internet of
1 cm 20 nm
Things (IoT) devices.
With ultraviolet (UV) illumination,
these sensors are capable of detecting
a. Sixteen identical oxygen sensors on a PCB chip with insert shows the detail of Graphene-TiO2
oxygen (O2) gas at room temperature deposited between gold electrodes. b. A SEM image of the Graphene-TiO2 hybrid material for oxy-
and at ambient pressure. The sensors gen sensing. (Image: NASA)
can detect oxygen at concentrations
ranging from about 0.2 percent to about materials are first synthesized as a hybrid sands or millions of units relatively easily
10 percent by volume under 365nm UV material. The synthesized graphene- as well as inexpensively via automated
light, and at concentrations ranging TiO2 hybrid material is then ultrasoni- wafer-scale manufacturing processes. Ap-
from 0.4 percent to 20 percent by vol- cated and then drop-casted onto a series plications include oxygen sensor manu-
ume under short wave 254nm UV light. of Interdigitated Electrodes (IDE) to facturers; automotive combustion con-
These sensors have fast response and re- form the sensors. Ultrasonication en- trol and emissions control applications;
covery times and can also be used to de- sures effective charge transfer at the chemical sensing; environmental moni-
tect ozone. This unique room tempera- graphene- TiO2 interphase. toring; laboratory safety; space suits and
ture O2 sensor provides significant The graphene and the titanium dioxide helmets, and more.
advantages in O2 sensing applications, may be present in the composite material NASA is actively seeking licensees to
especially those applications where high in different ratios to ensure optimal oxy- commercialize this technology. Please
operating temperature requirements gen detection. It is the combination of contact NASA’s Licensing Concierge at
cannot be met or would result in ineffi- graphene with TiO2 that yields a semicon- [email protected]
cient manufacturing processes. ducting material capable of O2 sensing at or call at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing
Since graphene is not intrinsically re- room-temperature operation. discussions. For more information, visit
sponsive to O2, and TiO2 is not respon- The sensor chip is mass producible https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
sive to oxygen at room temperature, the and has the potential to scale to thou- TOP2-300.
36 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
Robotics & Automation
Lunar Surface Navigation System
Reverse-ephemeris approach enables low-cost lunar navigation solution.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

S cientists at NASA’s Langley Research

Center have developed a novel concept
for a lunar navigation system based on the
eris data to a receiver on Earth for deter-
mining position at the receiver location.
For the reverse-ephemeris approach, the
ers ranging with analog translating tran-
sponders on a three-satellite constellation
in frozen elliptical orbits to provide contin-
reverse-ephemeris technique. Typically, receiver becomes the transmitter, and the uous coverage with service to 300 simulta-
range-related signal measurements from satellite instead serves more as a fixed ref- neous users over 1.8 MHz of bandwidth at
the Earth’s surface are used to locate and erence position with a known ephemeris. the transponder. Digital bases systems are
track orbital objects (satellites) and estab- This simplifies the satellite requirements possible too. As compared to GPS-based
lish the ephemeris describing their orbits. and mitigates potential navigational dis- navigation requiring four or more satel-
For this reverse-ephemeris lunar navigation ruptions that can otherwise arise in nav- lites costing hundreds of millions of dol-
concept, the process is reversed to give lu- igation systems that utilize satellite-based lars, the new NASA concept is based on
nar surface position fixes using the known communications, for example, from in- using only three smallsats.
ephemeris of a satellite in lunar orbit. terference, jamming, etc. Only a few inexpensive smallsats are
In conventional GPS navigation sys- The design consists of lunar surface required to implement a lunar naviga-
tems, the GPS satellite transmits ephem- S-Band (2,400 2,450 MHz) 10 W transceiv- tion system based on this concept. Lunar
navigation systems will be needed for
future Moon missions, including, for ex-
ample, for rover navigation, mining op-
erations, exploration, etc. The inventors
have conducted analytical simulations to
demonstrate the versatility of this inno-
vation when used to support route de-
termination for various autonomous or
manned lunar surface operations.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to
commercialize this technology. Please
contact Licensing Concierge at Agency-
[email protected] or call
at 202-358-7432 to initiate licensing dis-
cussions. For more information, visit
Reverse-ephemeris navigation uses range and range rate measurement to obtain lunar surface position https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
fixes and navigation using a known ephemeris of an orbiting object or satellite. (Image: NASA) LAR-TOPS-361.

Electronic Skin Sensor Decodes Human Motion

This system can track the motion of the entire body with a small sensory network.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea

A powered, single-strained electronic

skin sensor was developed that can
capture human motion from a distance.
Topographical
change Epicentral
motion
Sensor
Skin
The strain sensor, placed on the wrist, de-
codes complex five-finger motions in real
time with a virtual 3D hand that mirrors the Signal
original motions. The deep neural network
boosted by rapid situation learning (RSL) Skin-like
ensures stable operation regardless of its sensor
position on the surface of the skin.
Conventional approaches require multi-
ple sensor networks that cover the entire
curvilinear surfaces of the target area. The sensor collecting epicentral motion. (Image: KAIST)

Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 37

 Robotics & Automation

Unlike conventional wafer-based fabrica- areas at the point where they all con- ry network and facilitate the indirect re-
tion, this laser fabrication provides a new verge and then decouple the informa- mote measurement of human motions,
sensing paradigm for motion tracking. The tion entangled in the converged signals. which is applicable for wearable VR/AR
measuring system extracts signals corre- To maximize users’ usability and mobili- systems. The research team analyzed the
sponding to multiple finger motions by ty, the re­search team used a single-chan- sensor signal patterns into a latent space
generating cracks in metal nanoparticle nel sensor to generate the signals corre- encapsulating temporal sensor behavior
films using laser technology. The sensor sponding to complex hand motions. and then they mapped the latent vectors
patch was then attached to a user’s wrist to The RSL system collects data from arbi- to finger motion metric spaces.
detect the movement of the fingers. trary parts on the wrist and automatically The system is expandable to other body
The concept of this research started trains the model in a real-time demonstra- parts; for example, it is capable of extract-
from the idea that pinpointing a single tion with a virtual 3D hand that mirrors ing gait motions from a pelvis. This technol-
area would be more efficient for identify- the original motions. To enhance the sen- ogy is expected to find uses in health-moni-
ing movements than affixing sensors to sitivity of the sensor, researchers used la- toring, motion tracking, and soft robotics.
every joint and muscle. To make this tar- ser-induced nano­scale cracking. For more information, contact Pro-
geting strategy work, it needs to accu- This sensory system can track the mo- fessor Sungho Jo at [email protected];
rately capture the signals from different tion of the entire body with a small senso- http://nmail. kaist.ac.kr.

Motion Control Using Micro Controllers

Smaller systems can now take advantage of precise motion control by using modern
micro-PLCs combined with built-in stepper motor control.
AutomationDirect, Cumming, GA

A ccomplishing motion control with

digitally commanded electric mo-
tors is a responsive, precise, and ener-
technology has been available for many
years, the cost and complexity of inte-
grating the required multiple devices
A combination of two technologies —
micro controllers and stepper motors —
which have received recent improve-
gy-efficient approach suitable for a wide has made this approach impractical in ments, has changed the circumstances,
range of applications. But although the many cases. and now many types of hobbyist, com-
mercial, and industrial applications can
benefit from intelligent and practical
microcontroller- and electrical mo-
tor-based motion control.
The first development is industri-
al-grade programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) with built-in motion-specific in-
structions to perform most of the heavy
lifting with regards to programming,
and high-speed pulse train discrete out-
puts suitable for driving stepper motors.
Traditional solutions have required sepa-
rate dedicated motion controllers, or
premium PLCs.
It is now possible to specify smaller
PLCs, which can capably control a wide
range of equipment, with the native abil-
ity to command a motion “axis.” Not
only can a single axis be controlled, but
two or three can be operated in a coordi-
nated manner, which is extremely useful
for applications like 3D printers or CNC
machines with X/Y/Z positioning.
A compressed and simplified instruc-
tion set is included with these types of
PLCs and includes these three essential
commands:
• Homing: The ability to drive the hard-
ware to a known position (typically
with a limit switch) to verify or “home”
Figure 1: AutomationDirect CLICK PLUS PLCs are industrial-grade microcontrollers, with easy-to-use
built-in instructions for configuring essential multi-axis homing, velocity, and position moves. the axis calibration. There are multiple
(Image: AutomationDirect) common homing methods.
38 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
 M A T E R I A L S C H A N N E L

Sponsored by

FEATURED SPONSOR VIDEO:

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open-loop stepper motors to provide a motion control solution for all nanosilica filled epoxy system that meets NASA low outgassing
types of applications. (Image: AutomationDirect)
specifications.

• Velocity move: Motion operations usually need to operate at

www.techbriefs.com/tv/UV22
a target velocity, and the motor command must be able to
accelerate/decelerate either linearly or following an “S-curve”
to achieve desired velocity. Acceleration must be carefully Growing Materials
managed to smoothly handle payloads. from “Slimy” Bacteria
• Position move: For many applications, it is necessary to define Bioscientists at Rice University
have introduced slime-like colonies
a target position that the equipment must reach, while follow- of engineered bacteria that self-
ing a defined accel/decel and velocity profile to do so. The assemble from the bottom up.
ability to coordinate up to three axes for a position move is These customizable living materials
also important (Figure 1). show promise for health, energy,
and environmental remediation.
Standard AC induction or DC motors are economical and
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
fine for running at approximate speeds, but not accurate slime-like-materials
enough for motion applications. Servo motors represent a
high-performance closed-loop motion technology with equally
expensive and complex integration requirements. Cheap, Efficient Way to
Stepper motors are a third option, available in standard DC Weld Metal, Plastic
Researchers have developed
and newer high-bus-voltage AC versions. They also provide a method for welding metal
some of the best characteristics of servo motors, but with lower and polypropylene, a material
costs and simpler implementation. Stepper motors follow rap- commonly used in automobiles.
id pulse commands to perform small discrete step movements. It offers an affordable solution
that is stronger, safer, and more
They operate open-loop, but provide a good combination of environmentally friendly.
speed, torque, and accuracy, making them suitable for many www.techbriefs.com/tv/
types of projects. welding-plastic
The combination of modern PLCs with stepper motors
makes it easy and cost effective for users to implement coordi-
Novel Coating
nated one-, two-, or three-axis combined motion control (Fig-
Supports Clean Energy
ure 2). These products are straightforward to use, although
for the Future
developers will still need to make informed decisions about Fei Peng, Associate Professor of
motor sizing and homing/movement commands. materials science and engineering
Micro-PLCs with motion capability can also perform other as- at Clemson University, is leading
research on a new type of coating
sociated control, input/output, data acquisition, and industrial for the blades of turbines powered
internet of things (IIoT) functions — making them a good fit for by hydrogen.
many types of machine automation and other applications. www.techbriefs.com/tv/
This article was written by Conor Perry, Technical Product hydrogen-turbine-coatings
Manager for the HMI and CLICK product groups at Automa-
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www.automationdirect.com. www.techbriefs.tv

Tech Briefs, March 2023 39

TB TBTV Ad 0323_1.indd 1 2/21/23 12:08 PM
Health & Biotech
Conductive Cellulose Thread Shows Promise for
Healthcare Applications
The thermoelectric textile produces a small amount of electricity when heated on one side.
Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

“M iniature, wearable, electronic

gadgets are ever more common
in our daily lives. But currently, they are
often de­pendent on rare, or in some cas-
es toxic, materials. They are also leading
to a gradual buildup of great mountains
of electronic waste. There is a real need
for organic, renewable materials for use
in electronic textiles,” said Sozan Darabi,
doctoral student in the department of
chemistry and chemical engineering at
Chalmers University of Technology and
the Wallenberg Wood Science Center,
and lead author of a scientific article re-
cently published in ASC Applied Materials
& Interfaces.
Together with Anja Lund, another re-
searcher in the same group, Sozan Darabi,
has been working with electrically conduc-
tive fibers for electronic textiles for several
years. The focus was previously on silk, but The cellulose thread is a renewable and nontoxic electrically conductive material for electronic
textiles that can be sewn in an ordinary household sewing machine. It has a record-high con-
now the discoveries have been taken fur- ductivity for cellulose yarn and can handle at least five washes without losing its conductivity.
ther through the use of cellulose. (Image: Anna-Lena Lundqvist/Chalmers University of Technology)
The results now presented by the re-
searchers show how cellulose thread offers cellulose thread a record-high conduc- lating, monitoring, and measuring various
huge potential as a material for electronic tivity — which can be increased even health metrics could be hugely beneficial.
textiles and can be used in many differ- further through the addition of silver In the wider textile industry, where
ent ways. Sewing the electrically conduc- nano­wires. In tests, the conductivity was conversion to sustainable raw materials
tive cellulose threads into a fabric using a maintained after several washes. is a vital ongoing question, natural mate-
standard household sewing machine, the The electrically conductive yarn is pro- rials and fibers have become an increas-
researchers have succeeded in producing duced in a “layer-on-layer” coating process ingly common choice to replace syn-
a thermo­ electric textile that produces with an ink based on the thetics. Electrically conductive cellulose
a small amount of electricity when it is bio­­­­com­patible polymer polyelectro- threads could have a significant role to
heated on one side — for example, by a lyte complex poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy- play here too, the researchers say.
person’s body heat. At a temperature dif- thiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate), or “Cellulose is a fantastic material that
ference of 37 °C, the textile can generate PEDOT:PSS. The new e-textile thread can be sustainably extracted and recy-
around 0.2 µW of electricity. measures record-high conductivity for cled, and we will see it used more and
“This cellulose thread could lead to gar- cellulose thread in relation to volume more in the future. And when products
ments with built-in electronic, smart func- of 36 S/cm-, which can be increased to are made of uniform material, or as few
tions, made from nontoxic, renewable and 181 S/cm by adding silver nanowires. materials as possible, the recycling pro-
natural materials,” explained Darabi. The cellulose thread coated with PE- cess becomes much easier and more ef-
The production process for the cel- DOT: PSS can handle at least five machine fective. This is another perspective from
lulose thread has been developed by washes without losing its conductivity. which cellulose thread is very promising
co-authors from Aalto University in By integrating the cellulose yarn into an for the development of e-textiles,” said
Finland. In a subsequent process, the electrochemical transistor, the research- Christian Müller, research leader for the
Chalmers researchers made the thread ers have also been able to demonstrate its study and a professor in the department
conductive through dyeing it with an electrochemical function. of chemistry and chemical engineering
electrically conductive polymeric ma- Electronic textiles could improve our at Chalmers University of Technology.
terial. The researchers’ measurements lives in several ways. One important area is For more information, contact Sozan
show that the dyeing process gives the healthcare, where functions such as regu- Darabi at [email protected].
40 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
Color Blindness-Correcting Contact Lenses
Infused lenses create a safer way to see colors.
American Chemical Society Washington, DC

I magine seeing the world in muted

shades — gray sky, gray grass. Some peo-
ple with color blindness see everything
this way, though most can’t see specific
colors. Tinted glasses can help, but they
can’t be used to correct blurry vision. And
dyed contact lenses currently in develop-
ment for the condition are potentially
harmful and unstable. Now, in ACS Nano,
researchers report infusing contact lenses
with gold nanoparticles to create a safer
way to see colors.
Some daily activities, such as determin-
ing whether a banana is ripe, selecting
matching clothes, or stopping at a red
light, can be difficult for those with color
blindness. Most people with this genetic
disorder have trouble discriminating red
Rose-tinted contact lenses (about 10 mm in diameter) containing gold nanoparticles filter out prob-
and green shades, and red-tinted glasses lematic colors for people with red-green color blindness. (Image: Adapted from ACS Nano 2021,
can make those colors more prominent DOI: 10.1021/ acsnano.0c09657)
and easier to see. However, these lenses
are bulky, and the lens material cannot be To make the contact lenses, the re- mercially available pairs of tinted glasses,
made to fix vision problems. searchers evenly mixed gold nanoparti- and their previously developed hot-pink
Thus, researchers have shifted to the de- cles into a hydrogel polymer, producing dyed contact lens.
velopment of special tinted contact lenses. rose-tinted gels that filtered light within The gold nanocomposite lenses were
Although the prototype hot-pink dyed lens- 520–580 nm, the wavelengths where red more selective in the wavelengths they
es improved red-green color perception and green overlap. The most effective blocked than the glasses. The new lens-
in clinical trials, they leached dye, which contact lenses were those with 40-nm- es matched the wavelength range of the
led to concerns about their safety. Gold wide gold nanoparticles, because in tests, dyed contact lenses, suggesting the gold
nanocomposites are nontoxic and have these particles did not clump or filter nanocomposite ones would be suitable
been used for centuries to produce “cran- more color than necessary. In addition, for people with red-green color issues
berry glass’ because of the way they scatter these lenses had water-retention proper- without the potential safety concerns.
light. So, Ahmed Salih, Haider Butt, and ties similar to those of commercial ones The researchers said that the next step
colleagues wanted to see whether incorpo- and were not toxic to cells growing in pe- is to conduct clinical trials with human
rating gold nanoparticles into contact lens tri dishes in the lab. patients to assess comfort.
material instead of dye could improve red- Finally, the researchers directly com- For more information, visit http://
green contrast safely and effectively. pared their new material to two com- www.acs.org.

Bioprinted 3D Cardiac Patches Could Reverse Scar

Formation After Heart Attacks
The system promotes myocardial regeneration after a cardiac event.
Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea

C ardiovascular diseases account for 32

percent of global deaths. Myocardial
infarction, or heart attacks, play a large
patch technologies and their efficacy as a
therapeutic and regenerative approach
for ischemic cardiomyopathy in revers-
cardiac remodeling, promoting myocardi-
al functions, and correcting molecular or
genetic defects, is urgently required.”
part in heart diseases and the necrosis of ing scar formation and promoting myo- The researchers explore various types of
cardiac tissue after blood supply is de- cardial regeneration. candidate stem cells that possess cardiac
creased or stopped. “Currently available therapeutics are regenerative potential, explaining their
In APL Bioengineering, re­searchers not sufficient for the complete treatment applications and limitations. They share
from Pohang University of Science and of myocardial infarction,” said author Ji- updates on the challenging implementa-
Technology in South Korea take stock of nah Jang. “The development of a new, ad- tion of the state-of-the-art 3D bioprinting
stem cell-laden 3D bioprinted cardiac vanced modality, such as reducing adverse approach to fabricate a cardiac patch and
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 41
 Health & Biotech

highlight different strategies to implement concurrently to achieve a successful cardi- tion as well as cardiac function following
vascularization and augment cardiac func- ac repair, because the heart has very little myocardial infarction.
tional properties with respect to electro- ability to regenerate cardiomyocytes or Currently applied patch-based stem
physiological similarities to native tissue. heart cells by itself. cell therapies have shown advanced effi-
Following a myocardial infarction, Employing a 3D bioprinting strategy to cacy, rather than using single-compo-
myocardial tissues and vasculatures are geometrically control the spatial pattern- nent therapies, by providing a tis-
equally and severely damaged. ­Therefore, ing and using dual stem cell therapy as its sue-friendly environment during the
therapeutic or regenerative approaches co-culture can play a key role in promoting time of host-graft integration.
should be planned to target both of them and synergistically improving vasculariza- “It would be helpful for tracing cells of
the printed patch to investigate the mode
Bioink I Bioink II of action for the transplanted patch,” said
with
vascular author Sanskrita Das.
endothelial “Although there are still inherent limita-
growth tions for the clinical study, the suggested
Cardiac progenitor cells Mesenchymal stem cells factors stem cell delivery platform technology pro-
(CPCs) (MSCs) vides a practical therapeutic perspective for
various tissue engineering applications,”
said author Hyoryung Nam.
Ink I Ink II As enthusiasm for cardiac regeneration
charges and science continues to advance,
3D bioprinted cardiac patches will soon be-
Cs
GF

come an increasingly feasible, viable, and

GF

CP
VE

VE
Cs

functional option, unblocking the barriers

Cs
CP

+
SC
CP

SC
M

to achieve cardiomyocytes properties. This

M

will open new avenues for cardiac research,

paving the way for new treatments for pa-
Schematic illustration of a pre-vascularized stem cell patch having multiple stem cell-laden bioinks. tients with cardiovascular disease.
(Image: Jinah Jang, Reprinted from Biomaterials, Vol 112, Jinah Jang et al., 3D-printed complex
tissue construct using stem cell-laden decellularized extracellular matrix bioinks for cardiac repair, For more information, visit https://
Pages 264–274, Copyright (2017), with permission from Elsevier.) publishing.aip.org.

Upcoming...

Webinars Optics & Coating Innovations

Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 12:00 pm U.S. EDT

Precision optics are used in a variety of aerospace, industrial, scientific, medical, astronomical, and military applications. Optical per-
formance is often enhanced by material selection, rigorous design specifications and the application of thin film coatings. The problem
most engineers encounter is determining what types of optics will work best for which applications, and which coatings will deliver the
best performance for a given application. This 60-minute Webinar from the editors of Tech Briefs magazine will examine some of the key
considerations one must know to make those decisions.
Speakers:
Chris Cook Christopher Fridd Emiliano “Emi” Ioffe Mark Pontin
Technical Fellow, Product Manager, Process Managing Director,
Edmund Optics Newport Optical Development Resolve Optics Ltd.
Components and Engineering
Manager,
Ophir Optics

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar361

42 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

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Readers Select 2022 Digital Isolator

Products of the Year The STISO620 digital isola-
Last December, Tech Briefs tor from STMicroelectronics,
readers were asked to select Geneva, Switzerland, contains
one product from our 2022 Products of the Month to be named two channels of the same direc-
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COMSOL Inc. to 100 Mbit/s switching speed and pulse distortion less than 3
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STMicroelectronics Bosch Sensortec, Stuttgart, Germa-
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Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 43

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44 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023

 Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring
successfully commercialized NASA technology. This
commercialization has contributed to the development

SPINOFF
of products and services in the fields of health and
medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety,
computer technology, and environmental resources.

Sensors Read Minds and Restore Movement

Resulting in applications once thought impossible, technology for understanding mind-body
interface builds on NASA’s research for space travel.

N ASA asks hard questions: What’s it

like on the Moon? Has there been
life on Mars? How did the first stars form?
Finding these big answers often means
first solving a series of smaller but equal-
ly vexing questions. For example, how
does prolonged weightlessness change
the way the brain controls muscles? How
does the brain control muscles? Before
sending humans on the long journey to
Mars, NASA wants to better understand
the effects the trip will have on astro-
nauts. Now a company that helped the The Delsys Trigno Maize sensor is capable of Researchers are using neural interfaces with
space agency try to solve these questions high-density electromyographic (EMG) signal Delsys Trigno Mini sensors to work on letting
detection to let the operator understand mus- patients control state-of-the-art prosthetics
is helping others find answers as exciting culature and muscle control in high definition. such as Össur’s i-Limb Quantum, shown here.
as any NASA discovery. (Image: Delsys Inc.) (Image: Delsys Inc.)
Researchers using systems created by
Delsys Inc. of Natick, MA, are now work- before and after space shuttle flights. By
ing to help paralyzed people walk again, 2000, two Small Business Innovation Re-
to let amputees control prosthetic limbs search (SBIR) contracts from Johnson
like any normal body part, and to allow helped Delsys complete its first commer-
laryngectomy patients to speak. Such cial EMG system, called the MyoMonitor.
projects are only conceivable, however, Testing on astronauts provided a valu-
because of decades of research and de- able opportunity for the team to study
velopment, jump-started by several early neuromuscular adaptation to the ab-
NASA partnerships. sence of gravity, said Serge Roy, who
Delsys was founded in 1993 by Carlo worked with De Luca since the late 1970s
De Luca, Founding Director of Boston and is now Director of Research at Delsys
University’s Neuromuscular Research and its research arm, Altec Inc. Previous-
Center (NMRC), to begin commercializ- ly, the team had tried to simulate weight- Delsys and its customers are working to fuse
ing technology the center was develop- lessness in laboratory rats. But the NASA EMG signals and movement information from
arms and hands with virtual or augmented re-
ing. At the heart of the NMRC’s mission work also raised new questions, he said: ality experiences for telehealth applications.
to improve understanding of motor con- “The amount of weakness you see after (Image: Delsys Inc.)
trol was advanced electromyographic two weeks of spaceflight can’t be fully ac-
(EMG) technology, which senses and an- counted for by the degree of atrophy in and legs. But Delsys wanted to improve
alyzes the electrical signals emitted when the muscle.” its technology to allow this level of preci-
motor nerves carrying signals from the The early 2000s brought another sion from sensors attached to the skin,
brain and spinal cord stimulate muscles. round of technology development and and to make those sensors wireless.
De Luca and his team had already space shuttle studies to examine the These two major challenges were over-
been pioneering early-stage EMG tech- functioning of astronauts’ individual come with the help of two more SBIR
nology prior to opening the NMRC in motor nerves. “That triggered a larger contracts from Johnson.
1984, and the new center’s work quickly evolution of technology, which has been Gianluca De Luca compared picking
drew NASA’s interest. a mainstay of our research and our prod- out individual nerve signals from the
In the late 1980s and 1990s the agen- uct line ever since,” said Gianluca De surface of the skin to mapping raindrops
cy’s Johnson Space Center in Houston Luca, Carlo’s second cousin, who be- falling on a pond during a downpour,
helped fund studies in which the NMRC came President of Delsys following the based on their ripples. “If I were to ask
and then Delsys tested muscle fatigue re- elder De Luca’s death in 2016. you to identify the individual raindrops
sulting from the use of different space- To pick up individual motor nerve sig- that led to that pattern of ripples, you
suit glove designs, as well as astronauts’ nals, the team had to insert needles with wouldn’t be able to do it.” With the SBIR
balance and neuromuscular adaptability electronic sensors into astronauts’ hands funding, the company designed sensors
Tech Briefs, March 2023 www.techbriefs.com 45
 SPINOFF
www.techbriefs.com

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to gain understanding of fine motor control strategies. (Image: Delsys Inc.) 261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016
(212) 490-3999

and algorithms capable of pinpointing Institutes of Health is an attempt to let Executive Vice President................................................ Luke Schnirring
Technology Director......................................................Oliver Rockwell
each of those signals, although process- amputees control a prosthetic limb
Director of Digital Products ..................................................Howard Ng
ing the data from a single test still took much like a natural body part. While
Digital Media Associate.............................................. Md Jaliluzzaman
days. As computing power advanced, other robotic prosthetics have communi-
Digital Media Assistant........................................... Rowena Pagarigan
however, Delsys created software that cated with surgically implanted elec-
Digital Media Assistant......................................................... Zita Zhang
now can analyze that firehose of data in trodes, this new, less expensive, and non-
Digital Production Associate....................................Andrew Greenberg
real time. invasive approach would interpret the
Digital Production Associate..............................................Symba Wong
Making the sensors wireless was no less firing of EMG signals directly from a
Credit & Collection Manager............................................Stacie Pointek
daunting, with the biggest challenge be- limb’s remaining muscles without the
Budget & Forecasting........................................................Felecia Lahey
ing to perfectly synchronize signals from risks of surgery. Accounting/Human Resources Manager.............................Sylvia Bonilla
multiple sensors placed across the body. Delsys is also working with several part- A/R Clerk........................................................................... Crystal Ortiz
This is essential for seeing how muscles ners to develop technology that would Office Manager............................................................Alfredo Vasquez
work together to coordinate complex let patients speak after having their lar-
movement. Because wireless protocols ynx, or voice box, removed. The idea is ADVERTISING Account Executives
like Bluetooth can have several millisec- to first use the EMG technology to re- MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada.................................... Brian Hines
onds of lag time, the company devel- cord the muscle and nerve signals from ..................................................................................... (647) 296-5014
CT................................ ................................................Stan Greenfield
oped its own wireless language for the the face and neck during speech. Then a ..................................................................................... (203) 938-2418
sensors to transmit the exact timing of program could translate those motor sig- NJ, PA, DE......................................................................... John Murray
each nerve firing. nals back into speech. ..................................................................................... (973) 409-4685
Most customers for Delsys’ systems, sen- As the company has made some of its TX, OK, LA, AR, MS, AL, TN, FL, SC, NC, GA, DC, WV, VA........Ray Tompkins
..................................................................................... (281) 313-1004
sors, and software are still research labora- devices simpler and easier to use, Delsys
NY, OH...........................................................................Ryan Beckman
tories at universities, medical device com- also has begun to find customers outside ..................................................................................... (973) 409-4687
panies, and other scientific institutions, of research laboratories. These include MI, IN, WI ..................................................................... Chris Kennedy
developing cutting-edge technologies. individual neurosurgeons, physical ther- ......................................................................(847) 498-4520 ext. 3008
MN, ND, SD, IL, KY, MO, KS, IA, NE, Central Canada...............Bob Casey
Many are engaged in projects that would apists, athletic trainers, and others who ..................................................................................... (847) 223-5225
once have been thought impossible. are interested in analyzing movement or CA, WA, OR, AZ, NM, Rocky Mountain States.......................Tim Powers
De Luca said several are working on neuromuscular disorders. ..................................................................................... (908) 892-2838
regenerating damaged nerves to reverse While it’s been over 15 years since Del- Europe............................................................................ Sven Anacker
..................................................................................49-202-27169-11
paralysis, including at least one company sys last worked with NASA, De Luca said
Integrated Media Consultants.........................................Patrick Harvey
that has restored movement to paralyzed the company, now a global operation, ..................................................................................... (973) 409-4686
monkeys in the lab. While motor nerves continues to benefit from the team’s Rick Rosenberg
can sometimes regenerate with the help long relationship with the space agency, (973) 545-2565
Todd Holtz
of electrical stimulation together with which laid the groundwork for its flag- (973) 545-2566
new therapies that are in development, ship products. “A lot of our early devel- Jason Setti
it’s hard to know what paths those nerves opments were seeded by the larger re- (973) 874-0271
are taking. This is where Delsys systems search questions that had their inception Daniel Barrett
(973) 409-4762
can help researchers track progress by with the NASA-focused studies.”
Erik Schenck
detecting the location and the degree of For more information, visit https:// (973) 841-6040
nerve and muscle activity. spinoff.nasa.gov/Electrical-Body-
Another project the company is work- Signals-Help-Researchers-Restore-
ing on with universities and the National Movement-and-More.
46 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
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TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
This monthly column explores the inter-relationships between technology and society. It features people and projects aiming to
deliver a positive impact on the world facing unprecedented social and environmental challenges.

3D-Printed Prostheses — Accessible and Affordable

A new process for manufacturing prosthetic limbs could be a game-changer for amputees
around the world.

N ine out of 10 amputees in the world

don’t have access to a proper prosthet-
ic. The startup company LIMBER Pros-
The design is then sent to their 3D
printing facilities, where their techni-
cians print it, post-process it, package it,
thetics & Orthotics, Inc. aims to do some- and ship it to the prosthetic clinic or
thing to address this problem by 3D medical center where the patient and the
printing complete one-piece structurally prosthetist are located.
sound prosthetic limbs. “The last stage of the work is when the
LIMBER started as a grassroots, stu- prosthetist or medical specialist fits the leg.
dent-driven research effort at University of Although good starting data will allow us to
California, San Diego, taught by structural get close, there may be cases where dynam-
engineering Professor Falko Kuester. ic alignment is necessary. If so, thermo-
They were trying to improve the pro- forming can be used with our technology
cess for building a custom prosthetic. The to make adjustments,” added Pelz.
traditional method requires prosthetists This is a process that, in the U.S., can be
who are like sculptors. They carve a mod- done in one to two days from the moment
el of the residual limb by hand — a the patient gets scanned, to the delivery.
time-consuming process that is expensive (Image: Erik Jepsen/University of California We have also done it across borders from
and can’t be easily scaled with current San Diego) San Diego to Ukraine in less than seven
mass manufacturing techniques. days. This is something that can be
That’s when Kuester approached one of scan, we construct a model of the limb,” world-reaching,” said De Vivo.
his Ph.D. students, Luca De Vivo Nicoloso, said Pelz. But, added De Vivo, “It’s not LIMBER’s business plan is two-fold.
with the idea of printing prosthetics. only the scan that gets used to design the The company plans to sell its personal-
A year later, De Vivo, who was then a missing limb — we use that as a starting ized prostheses in developed countries
teaching assistant in the class, Joshua point for the geometry. A certified pros- while providing its services for developing
Pelz, who was then a Ph.D. student in the thetist on our team takes manual dimen- countries at discounted prices or for free.
class and Herb Barrack, a certified pros- sions to supplement the scan, and only “We feel the best way to accomplish that,
thetist and orthotist with more than then designs the prosthetic leg.” is working with local institutions — peo-
three decades of experience, decided to According to De Vivo, “The prosthetics ple on the ground who know the commu-
form the company. need to be personalized to account for nity, the culture, the needs of their popu-
“To begin, we scan the remaining leg individual issues. So, it needs to be de- lation. For example, we are working in
with the facial recognition camera on the signed by a person with knowledge about Mexico with community members in a
iPhone (model 10 or later). With that what a prosthetic limb should look like local Rotary Club,” said Pelz.
for that specific person.” To date, they’ve printed legs custom
“We start when an amputee goes into a designed to fit 15 different people —
AT A GLANCE prosthetic clinic, or, in the case of develop- and did not have to re-print any of
ing countries, a rehabilitation or medical them. Four required slight alignment
INNOVATORS: Herb Barrack, Cofounder; center. Preference is always that a prosthe- adjustments and two required slight
Luca De Vivo Nicoloso, Cofounder; and tist collects 3D scan and manual measure- socket fit adjustments, which were easily
Joshua Pelz, Cofounder. ments (often possible even in under- made by a prosthetist using a heat gun
INNOVATION: A new process for the 3D served/developing countries). If this is not with a specially designed applicator.
printing of complete one-piece structurally possible, LIMBER can train someone with The goal for LIMBER is to be selling
sound prosthetic limbs. anatomical/medical knowledge to collect 3D-printed prosthetic limbs in the U.S.
the data we need,” said Pelz. in the first quarter of 2024.
IMPACT: These prosthetics are affordable According to the team, the data is
and accessible and could be a game- sent to the LIMBER cloud, where a se- This article was written by Ed
changer for amputees around the world. ries of design technicians and certified Brown, Associate Editor, SAE Media
prosthetists retrieve it and design the Group. For more information, visit
personalized limb. www.limberprosthetics.com.
48 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, March 2023
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New Methods for Super-Fast

EV Charging
Laser Welding EV Battery
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The Race to Build an Ecosystem for
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Refining Battery Management
Systems with Simulation

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 11 22

Contents
4 16

March 2023
FEATURES DEPARTMENTS
4 Laser Beam Shaping Increases Welding Speed of EV Battery 33 New Products
Coolers
11 Refining Automotive Battery Management Systems with
Lumped-Approach Thermal Modeling
16 Building Out the EV Battery-Recycling Ecosystem
22 Advancing Higher Speeds and New Techniques for EV
Recharging
ON THE COVER
The ability to charge EVs at a very fast
BRIEFS rate is a key to electrifying mobility across
26 Anode-Free Lithium Batteries with Maximized Energy Density the U.S. It’s a focus of the U.S. Department
of Energy’s Extreme Fast Charger project
26 Simplifying the Production of Lithium-ion Batteries and other companies are also develop-
27 New Hybrid Electrolyte for High-Performance Lithium-ion Batteries ing super-fast electric charging technolo-
gies, including charging without stopping
28 Using Nano-Engineering Techniques to Develop a Safer Battery at all with a roadway-embedded wireless
29 Improving Accuracy of Battery Charge Measurement
charging network. Learn more on page 22.

30 Sodium-Ion Battery Anode for Energy Storage

(Image: Blue Planet Studio/Adobe Stock)

30 A Sodium-Aluminum Battery Aims to Integrate Renewables for

Grid Resiliency

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2 Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023

Laser Beam Shaping Increases
Welding Speed
of EV Battery Coolers
Dynamic Beam Laser technology welds battery cooling plates
at feed rates of 30 m/min.

4
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 W
hen it comes to plates. The coolant flows through
temperature ex- stamped channels in the base plate,
tremes, electric which is joined to a top plate. To prevent
vehicle (EV) bat- coolant leakage, the base and top plates
teries are a lot must be joined to create a tight, hermet-
like people. EV ically sealed joint (Figure 1). The welded
batteries perform best in the same sort of joints must also be free of cracks that can
temperature ranges as humans do. EV ther- lead to mechanical failure in the field.
mal management systems maximize bat-
tery performance and extend its life. Cooling Plate Brazing
Cooling plates in an EV thermal manage- Challenges
ment system allow liquid coolant to re- Manufacturers started joining battery
move heat from the battery. cooling plates using vacuum brazing
One cooling plate design circulates technology. These earlier plates (Figure
coolant between two thin aluminum (Al) 2) were much smaller than the cooling

Iokanan VFX Studios/Shutterstock.com

Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 5

Thermal Management

plates required for today’s EV battery

systems, which rely on cooling plates
measuring up to 2.1 x 1.3 m.
As demand for larger cooling plates
increases, vacuum brazing inefficien-
cies become apparent. Brazing is slow
and consumes a lot of energy (>4 MW),
which leads to high operating cost. A
single production line can take up 800
square meters of production floor space.
The increasing size of the cooling
plates also requires significant capital
investment in larger vacuum furnaces,
Figure 1: Providing a mechanical and thermal interface to regulate EV battery temperature.
Cooling plates provide leak-free coolant flow that improves battery performance and extends which can cost more than 5 million
battery life. (Image: Civan Lasers) euro for a single furnace.
Brazing also requires the use of Al
3003, a special aluminum alloy that can
be brazed. Manufacturers want to
switch to more economical alloys such
as Al 5754, which can be brazed but
Battery for Hybrid Cars requires a postprocessing treatment,
and Al 6xxx series alloys, which have
the advantage of being recyclable but
can’t be brazed at all. They are search-
ing for faster, more efficient joining
methods that will help them keep up
with increased demand and speed
adoption of new metal alloys.

Laser Welding: A Promising

Solution
Adoption of laser materials process-
ing technology accelerates with in-
creased reliability, robustness, and avail-
ability of multikilowatt lasers. Compared
Battery for Plugin Cars to the traditional welding processes,
laser welding reduces production costs,
and increases manufacturing flexibility
and selectivity.
Laser welding technology also requires
less heat input, which minimizes distor-
tion potential while maximizing speed.
All welding methods involve melt-pool
formation and subsequent rapid solidifi-
cation. However, the high energy of laser
welding not only melts material but also
evaporates it.1
Evaporation of material during the
welding process creates a keyhole, which
gives laser welding the advantage of a
very ratio of penetration depth to weld
Battery for Electric Vechicles seam width (Figure 3). Consequently,
many manufacturers have switched from
traditional brazing and welding to laser
materials processing, which can join a
Figure 2: The size of the cooling plates has increased with each EV evolution — hybrid electric variety of materials, reduce power con-
vehicle (HEV) to plug-in HEV to full EV. (Image: Civan Lasers) sumption, and improve process yields.
6
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 Sensors & Applications
for Battery Production

capaNCDT

Precise thickness measurement

Capacitive sensors are used for inline thickness
measurements of battery films. Due to their high
temperature stability, these sensors are ideal
for dry coating processes. The measuring spot
of the sensors is larger than those of the optical
scanCONTROL methods, which averages out any anomalies on
the surface.

Measuring the thickness

of wet layers
Confocal chromatic sensors from
Micro-Epsilon monitor the coating
thickness of wet materials. These
sensors provide both extremely
confocalDT high resolution and high measuring
rates. Installing several sensors
next to each other enables
concurrent determination of the
homogeneity of the coating over
Position control of battery cells the complete strip width.
After the battery cells have been assembled,
laser scanners from Micro-Epsilon inspect
their completeness and position. These
precise profile sensors generate a 3D image
which is then compared with the CAD data.

CONTACT US www.micro-epsilon.com/battery

Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79414-xxx

Raleigh, NC 27617 / USA · Phone +1/919 787 9707 · [email protected]
Thermal Management

Challenges When Laser

Welding Cooling Plates
Large in scale and complex in geome-
try, battery cooling plates must meet 1 Plasma Cloud
stringent requirements to achieve robust
seams that can provide a long leak-free
service life. To avoid mechanical failure,
the joints cannot have any cracks, hump-
ing, undercut, or porosity defects in the
interface (Figure 4). 2 Molten Material
While laser welding’s high aspect ratio
translates into lower part distortion po-
tential when compared to thermal weld-
ing, it can also pose challenges, since 3 Keyhole
keyhole stability is crucial for achieving
high weld quality.
The laser keyhole generally remains
stable during the welding of high-ab-
sorption materials such as steel and
nickel. Unfortunately, when welding cop-
per, aluminum, and high-alloy materials
such as those required in cooling plate 4 Weld Depth
production, the keyhole can be inherently
unstable, making the process susceptible
to irregularities that compromise weld
quality. One common method to over-
come these defects is wobbling the beam
and beam shaping, which varies laser
beam spot shape and size.2

Laser Beam Shaping Methods Figure 3: The deep-penetration welding achieved in the keyhole can overcome many joining
Three broad categories of beam-shap- challenges by producing high-quality welds. (Image: Civan Lasers)
ing include static, vari-
able, and dynamic. Static
and variable methods rely 2048.023 μm
on diffractive optical ele-
ments (DOEs), which pro-
vide cost-effective beam
1341.010 μM

shaping via a thin pattern

on a robust window that
diffracts and modulates
the phase of the light
passing through it.3 For
LR-20-027.2-409-E
static beam shaping, a va-
L1-01-27.3-569-276B
riety of DOEs can tailor
the shape of the laser Cracks Interface Pore
beam output at the work-
piece. Limited flexibility
No. 2
of static solutions makes 5.18mm
them suitable for appli-
cations with very well-de-
fined process parameters.
Using adjustable ring
shapers that split the No. 1
beam into a central spike, 1.43mm
or core beam, and a sur- Figure L1-01-27.3-558-278
4: Cracks, humping, undercut, and interface pore defects are common when using traditional laser weld-
Lb-23-018-51

rounding ring beam, DOEs ing to join cooling plates. (Image: Civan Lasers)
Under cut Humping

8
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
can provide variable beam-shaping op- cess — enabling a single machine to carry currently include four options: galvanom-
tions that increase laser flexibility. This out specialized tasks in serial production, eter scanners, piezo-driven actuators, mi-
option requires a single-axis shift or rota- for instance — a static beam cannot ade- cro-electrical-mechanical (MEM) scan-
tion to change the ratio intensity between quately stir the melt pool to accomplish ners, and optical phased arrays (OPAs).
the core and ring beams. Another ap- the frequently changing operations that Galvanometric scanners can be used to
proach uses variable superimposed inten- constitute the daily business of industry.4 oscillate single-mode fiber lasers during
sity distribution with a two-in-one (du- the welding process in the pattern of, for
al-core) fiber. Dynamic Beam Shaping example, a circle or a figure eight.
While such beam-shaping solutions Known for overcoming welding de- However, such solutions have power and
can improve the flexibility of a given pro- fects, dynamic beam shaping methods frequency limitations. Inherent mechani-
cal and kinetic trade-offs related to mov-
ing parts limit the maximum achievable
Shape Sequence Focal length Parameters frequency due to the mass of the scan-
Resize matrix to 32 Shape generation
[um] Max normalization Automatic shapes
ner’s oscillating mirrors. Smaller, light-
1.434
weight mirrors limit laser power.
1.075.5
In contrast, OPA technology, a type of
717 coherent beam combining (CBC), merges
many single-mode laser beams into one
358.5
larger beam (Figure 5). Each laser emits
0
[x,y]:(219.01,-62.57) [µm]
its own light, which overlaps with other
-358.5
ρ:2.11 [w/cm^2]
beams in the far field to create a diffrac-
-717
tion pattern, providing the flexibility to
easily manipulate the beam shape in real
-1.075.5
time, without any moving parts, creating
a dynamic beam laser (DBL).
-1.434 -1.075.5 -717 -358.5 0 358.5 717 1.075.5 1.434
1.434
Selected Points:(50) Cursor

-6,3 manually
-8,-3
-6,-8
max
Laser Welding of Battery
-2,-12
4,-12
Dz : 0
Cooling Plates
-8.-11
12.-8
Reset
To overcome cooling-plate welding
R 15.-4
16,1
Load
challenges, tailored beam shaped were
P 16.5 Reorder
needed and designed (Figure 6). These
ExportShape DelateShape
beam shapes use high shape frequency
together with a sequence of beam shapes,
this enables fast switching between
Figure 5: OPA technology, a type of coherent beam combining (CBC), merges many single-
mode laser beams into one larger beam to manipulate the beam shape in real time, without beam shapes, adding more flexibility. For
any moving parts, creating a dynamic beam laser. (Image: Civan Lasers) example, if one shape stabilizes the key-
hole and prevents spatter while a differ-
ent shape prevents cracking, then a
Aluminum dimple welding Solidification process of melted material
well-designed sequence of these two
shapes can achieve all three goals.
Processes for welding cooling plate con-
figurations have recently been developed,
including designs with channel and dimple
geometries made in Al 3003 and Al 5754
alloys. Simulations created by Professor
Andreas Otto at the Institute for Production
Engineering and Photonic Technologies at
Temperature (K)
the Vienna University of Technology (TU
298.0 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Wien), Wein helped optimize the many pro-
T_melting T_evaporation cess parameters (Figure 7).
0.0025 0.0025
Simulations reveal that humping is a
periodic phenomenon. When the melt
pool is long and the speed is fast, cooling
starts from the sides, narrowing the mol-
ten channel. As the molten channel nar-
Figure 6: DBL software makes it easy to design the relevant beam shape, frequency, sequence,
and focus; upload it to the laser; and see the effect on the weld using cross-section analysis. rows, molten material flows up and cre-
(Image: Civan Lasers) ates the hump.5
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 9
Thermal Management

Changing the beam shape to concen- 3. G oppold C., et al., (2017, May). Dynamic Beam 5. Shekel. “Laser beam shaping increases welding speed
Shaping Improves Laser Cutting of Thick Steel of thin foils,” www.laserfocusworld.com. Retrieved
trate energy input on the sides of the melt Plates. Photonics Media. Retrieved January 13, January 14, 2023, from https://www.laserfocusworld.
pool maintains channel width in the trail- 2023, from https://www.photonics.com/Articles/ com/laser-processing/article/14234022/laser-beam-
Dynamic_Beam_Shaping_Improves_Laser_Cutting_ shaping-increases-welding-speed-of-thin-foils.
ing edge, ensuring channel stays open of/a62070.
and reducing the flow velocity of the melt 4. Leavitt DD. Dynamic beam shaping. Med Dosim. This article was written by Ami Shapira,
behind the keyhole, which decreases the 1990 Jun;15(2):47–50. doi:10.1016/0958- Marketing Manager, Civan Lasers. For more
3947(90)90033-e. PMID: 2118358.
risk of humping. Combining this with the information visit, www.civanlasers.com. 
introduction of a different period into the
process interrupts the periodicity of the
humping, avoiding the defect altogether.
Switching the beam shapes in sequence Solution Result
every few microseconds eliminates hump-
ing and enables welding at higher speeds
without defects (Figure 8).
For large-scale part production, SLTL
(Sahajanand Laser Technology Limited), a
leading manufacturer of laser welding ma-
chines in India has incorporated DBL tech-
nology in a 3D cutting and welding ma-
chine based on CBC. The project, funded by
the Israeli Innovation Authority and the
Global Innovation & Technology Alliance,
has resulted in defect-free production of
full-scale cooling plates.

References
1. Behzad Fotovvati, Steven F. Wayne, Gladius Lewis,
and Ebrahim Asadi, “A Review on Melt-Pool
Characteristics in Laser Welding of Metals,”
Advances in Materials Science and Engineering
(2018), https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/4920718.
2. E ric Punzel, Florian Hugger, Robert Dörringer,
Thorm Lembit Dinkelbah, and Andreas Bürger,
“Comparison of Different System Technologies for
Continuous-Wave Laser Beam Welding of Copper,” Figure 7: Simulation software from the Institute for Production Engineering and Photonic
Procedia CIRP 94 (2020):587–91, https://doi. Technologies at the Vienna University of Technology helped in the development of laser weld-
org/10.1016/j.procir.2020.09.081. ing processes for several cooling plate configurations. (Image: Civan Lasers)

Figure 8: To overcome the interface cracks, a new beam shape was designed and to eliminate humping a sequence of beam shapes was used
to break the periodicity of the hump-effect mechanism. (Image: Civan Lasers)

10
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
Refining Automotive Battery
Management Systems
Lumped-Approach
with
Thermal Modeling
For India’s transportation sector to meet its ambitious electrification goals, manufacturers must
accelerate the development of essential components, such as battery management systems.

I
ndia is a fast-growing market for electric vehicles (EVs), The Role of Simulation in Developing
with one study predicting that over 30 percent of the Accurate BMS
vehicles sold in India will be electric by 2030. The battery Exicom Tele-Systems Pvt. Ltd. designs, develops, and deploys
packs that power EVs are one of the main drivers of the energy solutions, including the latest lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery
electric mobility revolution in India. To monitor and man- technologies. To date, it has deployed Li-ion battery solutions
age battery pack performance and safety, packs are usu- totaling more than 1.8 GWh — among the highest in the world
ally equipped with a battery management system (BMS). A BMS by a single company. Exicom also offers charging solutions and
is an electronic system that monitors a battery’s voltage, tem- BMS for electric two-wheelers and light electric vehicles, which
perature, coolant flow, and health and predicts several other are driving the growth of electric mobility in India.
performance parameters, such as current variation and heat At Exicom’s R&D center in Gurugram, India, the tech-
generation, helping to extract optimum performance from a nology team led by Dr. Parmender Singh has developed
battery pack. a BMS that can be used to precisely monitor and manage
Li-ion batteries in applications across a
broad voltage range (up to 1000 V).

A Battery Simulation in COMSOL

Multiphysics® version 6.1 showing the
temperature distribution during a thermal
runway event. (Image: COMSOL, Inc.)

Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 11

Battery Management Systems

This BMS is also chemistry agnostic; it can

be used with Li-ion batteries of a range of R_short_ext(3)=0.8 Ω Time=4000 s Surface: Temparature (k)

chemistries such as lithium ferrophosphate, K

314.1
or lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium
nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), and
lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA).
The precision of the BMS depends on the
quality and accuracy of the inputs used for
programming or calibrating the system. For
example, the BMS includes a number of
thermal sensors distributed across the bat-
tery pack. In order to accurately monitor a
battery pack’s temperature distribution and
predict corresponding performance, it is
imperative that the sensors be placed at
the right locations. This requires a detailed
understanding of the heat profile of each
battery cell as well as how heat varies 313.65

throughout the pack. This is where COMSOL Figure 1. The temperature distribution in a cylindrical cell at 1C discharge (left) and the contour
Multiphysics® plays an integral part, by al- distribution of temperature (right). (Image: Exicom)
lowing for accurate computation and colla-
tion of the inputs, like heat profile informa- Exicom team began by analyzing the heat of the cell. The visualization on the right
tion, that are required to develop a BMS generated in cylindrical cells with different shows the contour distribution of tempera-
with surgical precision. form factors and further extended this ture, where the maximum temperature is
model to the pack level using the heat located in the active material of the cell.
Predicting and Preventing profile generated for the cells. “We were The simulation results, when validated
Potential Thermal Runaway especially interested in improving the tem- with experimental findings, were observed
Dr. Singh’s team at Exicom used COMSOL perature gradient across the pack for air- to be within the error limits of ±5 percent
Multiphysics to perform a number of anal- cooled battery packs,” said Dr. Singh. at the standard charge–discharge profile.
yses on the thermal behavior of battery The results for thermal modeling at the The model was then further extended for
cells. They also used simulation to analyze cell level for cylindrical cells during a 1C 2C discharge at 100 percent state of charge
potential external short circuits, which discharging are shown in Figure 1. The visu- (SOC) according to Standard UL1642, which
could cause thermal runaway — an uncon- alization on the left in Figure 1 shows the is defined for external short circuit testing.
trolled self-heating process that can dam- temperature distribution, where the maxi- The positive and negative terminals of
age equipment or even cause fires. The mum temperature is observed in the middle the cell were shorted via an 80 ±20 mΩ

Temperature change

R_short_ext=0.08 Ώ, Mean Temperature

R_short_ext=0.08 Ώ, Max Temperature Global: Cell potential (V) Global: Cell open circuit voltage (V) Global: Cell current (A)
R_short_ext=0.08 Ώ, Min Temperature
220
0
4
-10
200
-20
180
3.5 -30
-40
160 3
-50
-60
140
Cell potential (V)

2.5
Cell current (A)

-70
R_short_ext=0.008 Ω, Cell potential
-80
∆T (K)

120 R_short_ext=0.008 Ω, Cell open circuit voltage

2 -90
100 R_short_ext=0.008 Ω, Cell potential -100
1.5 -110
80
-120
60
1 -130
-140
40 0.5 -150
-160
20
0
-170
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000
0
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2000 3000 3500
Time (s)
Time (s)

Figure 2. The temperature profile in a cell after thermal runaway (left) and the electrochemical profile in a cell after thermal runaway (right).
(Image: Exicom)

12
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 pring!
t h i s s
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Battery Management Systems

Global: Temperature (degC)

4.2 2.02
4.1 95
4 2.01 90 Model Temperature
3.9
2 85 Experiment_20degC
3.8
80
3.7
1.99 75
3.6
Cell potential (V)

3.5 70
1.98
3.4 65
3.3 1.97 60
3.2 55
1.96
3.1
50
3
1.95 45
2.9
2.8 40
1.94
2.7 35
2.6 1.93 30
2.5 25
1.92
0 20000 40000 20
0 1000 2000 3000
Time (S)

Figure 3. Simulated and experimental data during external short-circuit testing. (Image: Exicom)

resistance. The COMSOL® software’s thermal conductivity, heat capacity, drive able to efficiently study charge and dis-
lumped approach-based thermal model cycle, and open-circuit voltage (OCV)-SOC charge profiles, thermal behavior at dif-
was validated against experimental data table — that are readily available from ferent charge and discharge rates, and
for charge–discharge profiles of the cell. battery pack manufacturers. thermal runaway (Figure 2) due to exter-
They also developed: Extracting these parameters experi- nal or internal short circuits for different
• Cyclic and calendric capacity-fade mod- mentally is not only a time-consuming cell chemistries (Figure 3).
els for cylindrical cells based on the process but also prone to errors due to The team was also able to identify
optimization features available in variable experimental conditions. For ex- the hotspots in the battery pack and
COMSOL® ample, ambient temperature fluctuates, determine the cell grading based on
• A high-fidelity pseudo two-dimensional so extracting an accurate heat profile of a capacity fade analysis with high accu-
(P2D) model for cylindrical cells using cell requires performing an extensive racy. These results had direct applica-
extracted electrochemical parameters series of tests at different ambient tions in reducing the development cycle
They found that the lumped approach temperatures. time of the BMS, as the hotspots indi-
enabled them to construct models using Using simulation, however, Dr. Singh cated the best positions for deploying
a minimal number of parameters — such and the team were able to perform these the thermal sensors within the BMS to
as cell geometry, electrode thickness, experiments with great ease. They were function most efficiently.

×10-11
External magnetic field

10.0
Cathode 0.52
Applied current density Magnetic field response_ at epsl_neg = 0.12
Magnetic field response_ at epsl_neg = 0.36
9.0 0.47
Battery polarization at epsl_neg = 0.12
Magnetic field response (A/m)

Separator Battery polarization at epsl_neg = 0.36 0.42

8.0
Battery polarization (V)

0.37
Anode
7.0 0.32

0.27
6.0

0.22
5.0
0.17
z
y x 4.0 0.12
0 500 100 1500 2000
Time (s)

3D-designed cell geometry (left). Variation of magnetic field response and polarization behavior during discharging at 0.12 and 0.36 anode
porosity values (right). (Image: Exicom)

14
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 According to Dr. Singh, “COMSOL is an COMSOL to evaluate the magnetic field predictive analysis. In the future, they
easy-to-learn and adaptable finite ele- response, battery polarization, and inter- also plan to implement a reduced order
ment tool for battery design and thermal nal resistance of the Li-ion response model for SOC and SOH and export the
modeling.” (Figure 4). model to MATLAB® for code generation
The team observed that variation in up to the ASIC level.
Future Scope: Extending Battery electrode porosity has a significant influ- With the accelerating transition to
Simulations to Predict Aging ence on the magnetic field response. electric mobility in India and world-
In addition to the thermal simulations, Though this research is currently in its wide, research on battery technology is
Dr. Singh has expanded the use of simula- preliminary stages, the potential applica- expected to increase significantly in the
tions to investigate another important tions are far reaching. “We expect that coming years. Simulation offers a cru-
phenomenon: battery aging. During the further investigation into this phenome- cial head start to companies in the
lifetime of a battery, its state of health non will allow for developing and deploy- electric mobility space that want to
(SOH) progressively deteriorates due to ing monitoring features for battery aging provide more effective solutions and
irreversible physical and chemical as well as better protection mechanisms improve the time to market for their
changes, such as the growth of a solid against it in the BMS itself,” said Dr. Singh. products.
electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer, which The Exicom team is currently working on
can lead to loss of porosity in a battery electrochemical P2D modeling for thermal COMSOL Multiphysics® and COMSOL®
cell, which in turn can lead to an increase and capacity-fading analysis at the cell are registered trademarks of COMSOL AB.
in polarization and internal resistance. level. It intends to further extend the model MATLAB is a registered trademark of The
Magnetic field probing (MFP) is a non- with additional thermal exothermic equa- MathWorks, Inc.
invasive method for monitoring a bat- tions at the electrodes and SEI layer for
tery’s SOH. With the aim of demonstrating better accuracy during thermal runaway. This article was written by Neena Picardo,
the potential of the MFP method, Dr. They also plan to use the lumped ca- COMSOL, Inc. (Burlington, MA). For more
Singh developed a multiphysics model in pacity fade model for cyclic and calendric information, visit www.comsol.com. 

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Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 15

 Building Out the
EV Battery-Recycling
Ecosystem
The economics and sustainability of EVs depend on establishing a robust
recycling infrastructure for EV battery materials.

D
evelopment of a robust ing up of the world’s battery production. panies, including one founded by former
electric vehicle (EV) bat- Additionally, the sourcing of these mate- longtime CTO at Tesla, are taking on the
tery-recycling indus- rials raises numerous red flags in terms recycling challenge and partnering with
try has moved from a of conditions for workers, site pollution, carmakers. Automakers are also concen-
net-positive sideline to a geopolitical complications, and concen- trating on proven technologies such as
necessity as automakers, tration of ownership. hydrometallurgy (often leaching, which
and their suppliers, transition away from The good news is that the Biden involves immersing the cells in acid to
internal combustion. Experts say that Administration’s recently enacted dissolve the acids into a solution) and
global mining operations are simply not Inflation Reduction Act provides incen- pyrometallurgy (burning and smelting) to
on track to produce the virgin raw mate- tives for automakers to use recycled efficiently recover a very high percentage
rials needed to meet the dramatic ramp- minerals in their batteries. Startup com- of key metals from used lithium-ion (Li-

Redwood Materials will

soon produce copper
foil for battery anodes,
made from recyclate, at
a new facility near Reno,
NV. Panasonic will be the
first customer. (Image:
Redwood Materials)

16
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 ion) EV batteries. But there’s a conun-
drum: Battery companies are working to
reduce the amount of problematic, hard-
to-source metals in their cells, which
has the potential to also reduce their
viability for cost-effective recycling.
Another approach, which has drawn
federal research funding, is direct re-
cycling or recovery, with the advantage
of retaining the intact cathode material.
According to Jeffrey Spangenberg, the
Materials Recycling Group Leader in the
applied materials division of Argonne
National Laboratory and Head of the
national ReCell Center R&D initiative,
the hydrometallurgy process destroys
the cathode. “If we can keep the cathode
as a cathode, then it can go right back
into a battery and save quite a bit of
money,” he explained. “But there are a
lot of challenges with it. For instance,
battery cars are likely to last 20 years, New battery cells proceeding through the final stage of the cell manufacturing process at the
in which time technology doesn’t stand GM-LG Energy Solution Ultima Cells factory in Ohio. (Image: Roger Mastroianni/GM)
still. We have to figure out how to make
old cathodes marketable.” a new book that focuses on the prob- Lithium is heavily sourced through
lematic materials in Li-ion batteries. “We evaporation processes in arid basins in
Problematic Materials have to open our eyes to the supply chain Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. According to
One key aspect of the looming materi- behind the move away from fossil fuels,” the Natural Resources Defense Council,
als problem is the need for nickel, which Sanderson told SAE Media. “It is hidden, the practice “contributes to the ecologi-
often gets overlooked as the focus is on almost opaque, and currently mostly cal damage of internationally recognized
lithium and, to a lesser extent, on cobalt. controlled by China. And it involves more wetlands and protected areas, where
According to Sam Abuelsamid, than putting up some solar panels — it’s water resources are already exhausted
Principal Research Analyst for E-mobility about raw materials and mining.” for local and indigenous people. Many of
at Guidehouse Insights, for every 100
kilowatt-hours of battery in an EV, 61 to
66 kilograms of nickel are needed. If EV Electolyte
Recovery
Battery
Shredding
penetration reached 100 percent (un-
likely until the 2040s), something like
Cathode,
5.8 million metric tons of nickel would Anode, and Metals
be needed annually if we rely solely on Seperation

nickel-rich batteries, he said. But accord- RECY

ing to Statista, total global mining of CT C
E

LIN
DIR

nickel produced only 2.7 metric tons in CATHODE, END-OF-LIFE

2021. The industry would have to more CARBON BLACK,
G

BATTERIES
AND PVDF
than double worldwide production —
unless recycling was a factor.
“Recycling is absolutely essential,”
Abuelsamid said. “We don’t want to be Carbon Black
and PVDF
dumping batteries with these essential Removal Battery
Use
metals into landfills. We need to recapture
as much as possible, because we will need
way more EV batteries than we currently Relithiation Battery
and Upcycling Manufacturing
can build with available virgin materials.”
Henry Sanderson, a former Financial REJUVENATED
CATHODE
Times commodities and mining reporter
who now works for Benchmark Mineral The EV battery ‘circle of life’ as seen by Argonne National Laboratory’s ReCell R&D center.
Intelligence, is the author of Volt Rush, (Image: ANL)

Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 17

Battery Recycling

these communities have no say in — and ium-ion batteries,” said Lewis Black, The Big Ramp-Up
receive little benefit from — the mining who heads Almonty Partners and has Kunal Phalpher is the Chief Strategy
operations.” Chile, a major producer, has 15-years experience in mining tung- Officer at Canada-based Li-Cycle, whose
debated nationalizing its lithium re- sten, another battery metal with a 50 stated purpose is to “recover critical
source, for both economic and environ- percent-recycled supply. materials from Li-ion batteries and re-
mental reasons. The battery industry — aware of introduce them back into the supply
More than 70 percent of the world’s these issues — has steadily reduced the chain.” Phalpher said Li-Cycle takes
cobalt comes from the Democratic amount of cobalt in its cells, but so far whole packs and shreds them, producing
Republic of the Congo, where there are it remains an essential metal. Nickel, plastic, copper, and aluminum that can
severe child labor issues (up to 40 per- also problematic, often is mined in an be sold on to recyclers. Using hydromet-
cent of the cobalt work force), ongoing environmentally destructive way. The allurgy, the company develops so-called
human rights abuses, and horrendous massive Chinese-owned Ramu nickel “black mass,” containing cobalt, lithium,
working conditions with minimal safety. mine in Papua, New Guinea, for in- and nickel. “At high purity levels, it can
Like lithium, cobalt is mostly re- stance, was estimated to dump 680,000 go back into the supply chain and help
fined in China, and Chinese companies, tons of waste into Basamuk Bay annu- create domestic sources,” Phalpher said.
operating through the massive ‘Belt ally, leading to a $5.2 billion lawsuit Li-Cycle, which went public on the NY
and Road’ international development from a local coalition. Stock Exchange in 2021 through a SPAC
initiative, own or have financed major Sustainable lithium mining, including deal, estimates that approximately 15
stakes in lithium and cobalt mines a U.S. domestic supply, is under develop- million tons of Li-ion batteries will have
— including 80 percent of the cobalt ment but recovering the metal from used reached the end of life by 2030, up from
in the DRC, reports GlobalEDGE. After EVs is a proven process. A ton of bat- 1.7 million tons by 2020. The company
an international outcry, the leading tery-grade lithium can be produced from has a “hub and spoke” organization: The
Chinese companies have made some 250 tons of ore and 750 tons of brine, or spokes create the black mass from scrap
modest improvements in DRC mining from just 28 tons of used Li-ion batteries, batteries, and the hubs separate out the
practices. And some crude refining is the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) said. metals and prepare them to re-enter the
now done locally, economically bene- The only problem is that less than supply chain. Last April, LG Chem and LG
fiting locals in the DRC. five percent of battery lithium was being Energy Solution chose Li-Cycle as their
The metal remains a flash point. recovered in 2019, said DoE. But the in- preferred recycling partner for North
“Cobalt is a ‘dead man walking’ in lith- dustry is growing fast. American operations, providing black

THE CURRENT 50,000+ MILE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN

METALS NICKEL
REFINING

CATHODE
CELL METALS PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION REFINING
OEM

COBALT NICKEL
NICKEL COBALT
COBALT
NICKEL
COBALT
LITHIUM LITHIUM

CATHODE SUPPLY
CHAIN EXAMPLE

The average metal atom travels 50,000 miles from the mine before it’s used in an EV battery pack, according to Redwood Materials. Recycled
metals will make up 30 percent of the materials in the company’s cathodes by 2025. (Image: Redwood Materials)

18
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
mass to the hubs. Soon after, Glencore those materials into new cathodes and Also in 2022, Volkswagen Group of
said it would supply scrap and end-of-life anode copper foils — critical components America said it was partnering with
Li-ion batteries to Li-Cycle and like LG now mainly made in Asia. According to Redwood to recycle batteries from
Chem, will “offtake” black mass and other Redwood, it can recapture 95 percent Volkswagen, Porsche, and Audi ve-
materials from the recycler. of the elements, including nickel, cobalt, hicles. Steven Rufo, VW’s Director of
Another Li-Cycle partner is General lithium, and copper, from Li-ion batteries, Group Service and Technology, said that
Motors. By 2023, Li-Cycle will launch a then reprocess them into new battery Redwood has already begun recycling
recycling center near GM’s Ultium bat- materials for its customers. the company’s packs and modules, and
tery-cell plant in Ohio. Li-Cycle opened The company currently processes six that the pickup will be free for its dealer
its third spoke facility in Arizona last May, gigawatt-hours of Li-ion batteries an- network. “The volume is still very low,” he
with the ability to process up to 10,000 nually but is expanding rapidly. By 2025, said. “Our plan was to sign with Redwood
tons of battery manufacturing scrap and Redwood said it aims to ramp up to an- before we ramped up so we could learn
depleted Li-ion batteries annually. nual production of 100 gigawatt-hours about what worked and what didn’t. So
Tim Grewe, Director of Electrification of cathode active material and anode far, we’re seeing mostly defective modules
Strategy and Cell Engineering at GM, said copper foil, enough to supply a mil- replaced under warranty. Complete pack
the company is pursuing various paths to lion EVs. The hope is to expand up to replacements are likely to be kind of rare.”
keep batteries out of landfills and deliver 500 gigawatt-hours of these materials Alexis Georgeson, VP of Communica-
metals at less than the cost of mining annually by 2030 — sufficient for five tions and Government Relations at
them, including the partnership with Li- million EVs. Redwood said that the company is not
Cycle in Ohio. “There’s the recycling path, The company operates a 175-acre cam- primarily a recycler. “Our core business is
the secondary-use path and the refur- pus in Nevada, close to California’s large creating anode and cathode material,” she
bished path,” he said. “We don’t yet know EV market. Production of the anode cop- said. “We’re not selling black mass; we’re
where the market will go.” per foil will begin in Nevada at the end using it as a feedstock for ourselves.”
of 2022, with Panasonic’s Gigafactory the Georgeson stresses the need for a
Redwood: Full-Circle Pioneer first customer. A partnership with Ford closed-loop domestic production pro-
Redwood Materials, which said in 2021 was announced in 2022, and the company cess that does not involve shipments to
that it had raised $775 million from in- also has agreements with Volvo, Proterra, Asia. “We’re not solving the full equation
vestors and venture firms, is headed by and Panasonic. In 2022, Redwood linked unless we keep our materials in the
former Tesla CTO JB Straubel. The com- up with Toyota, initially focusing on end- country and start making cathodes here,”
pany intends to not only capture met- of-life solutions for the hybrid batteries she said. “The average metal atom trav-
als from old batteries, but also process for vehicles like the Prius. els 50,000 miles from the mine before

REDWOOD’S PROCESS Key

Input
Process
INPUT MATERIALS RECYCLING OPERATIONS HYDROMETALLURGY Output

BATTERY FOILS

CELL Collection Copper sulfate

MANUFACTURING
BYPRODUCT Safe storage Mixed metal sulfate (Ni, Co)
Anode copper foil CELL
MANUFACTURERS
Battery sorting Lithium sulfate

Byproducts also include graphite and gypsum

Material-specific pre-processing Cathode
Active
END-OF-LIFE Material
Mechanical separation
BATTERIES

CAM precursor

CAM (NCA, NMC)

SUSTAINABLE RAW
MATERIALS

Redwood Materials considers itself more of a source for anode and cathode materials than a recycler. The company has partnerships and
agreements with Ford, Toyota, Volvo, Proterra, and Panasonic. (Image: Redwood Materials)

Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 19

Battery Recycling

cobalt or nickel, such as Li-ion phos-

phate (LiFePO4, or LFP), but lower en-
ergy density remains a problem, he said.
Solid-state batteries, which can be made
without nickel and cobalt and do away
with liquid electrolyte, are another tech-
nology in development.
Li-ion battery recycling does have
some skeptics. Almonty’s Black said that
some components, including printed cir-
cuit boards, can’t be recycled, and that
handling cobalt will be problematic for
the industry.

Reusing Old Batteries

Used EV battery packs don’t have to
be reduced to their component metals;
they can also be reused. Two of the
more promising avenues are stationary
In late 2022, Redwood Materials and Audi initiated a recycling program for consumer backup for intermittent renewable en-
electronics. (Image: Redwood Materials) ergy generation, and as storage at EV
charging sites to offset utilities experi-
it’s used in an EV battery pack.” She said “There’s a lot of activity in this space encing peak demand.
recycled metals will make up 30 percent now,” Lin said. “Automakers are realizing Battery packs can be repurposed from
of the materials in the company’s cath- that if they want to build EVs at volume EVs that have been in accidents, or that
odes by 2025, and its cobalt will be 100 they have to think about the end of life. It’s have reached the end of their useful
percent recycled. why we’re seeing all these partnerships.” lives. The second-life battery supply
Scrap from Tesla’s Gigafactory will also A key question is: If future EV batteries for stationary uses could be more than
be an important feedstock, Georgeson contain far less cobalt, nickel, and other 200 gigawatt-hours by 2030, with the
said. “Even if the plant is 95 percent ef- metals than they do now, will recycling market propelled by 30 to 70 percent
ficient, it will still produce a lot of scrap,” still be economically viable? GM’s Grewe lower cost, said McKinsey and Co. Even
she said. said that the batteries in Cadillac’s new after they’re no longer able to power
Ascend Elements’ recycling tech- Lyriq EV have 70 percent less cobalt than a car efficiently, they may still have 80
nology was spun off as a business those in the Chevrolet Bolt. Lin thinks re- percent of their initial storage capacity,
from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in cycling will still be viable as the amount the company’s report said. The Union of
2015, with the intent of creating new of those metals decline, both because Concerned Scientists (UCS) estimates
cathode-active material from recycled recyclers will be working with older bat- that used EV batteries could continue
batteries. “The cathode is the single teries that still contain large amounts of to be of service for five to eight years in
most expensive component of the bat- those metals, and because lithium — not secondary applications.
tery,” said Roger Lin, VP for Marketing itself likely to disappear from batteries California has 42 percent of the world’s
and Government Relations at Ascend, anytime soon — has skyrocketed in price EVs, according to the Orange County
based in Westborough, MA. “And cath- and value. Sanderson agrees. “With lith- Register, and a bill enacted in 2018 calls
odes are now being made only in Asia, ium at the prices we’re seeing — it’s up for regulations to ensure that “as close
with little or no manufacturing capac- 400 percent in China this year — recy- to 100 percent as possible of lithium-ion
ity in the U.S.” cling is still economically viable,” he said. batteries in the state are reused or recy-
Ascend says its “hydro-to-cathode” pro- Georgeson at Redwood Materials ex- cled at end-of-life.” But getting to that
cess can recapture 98 percent of the plained that because recycling is not the admirable goal is a challenge.
material in Li-ion batteries. The company company’s primary business, reductions in Jigar Shah, Head of Energy Services at
has pilot projects in Massachusetts and certain metals shouldn’t be a big factor. Electrify America, the charging company
Michigan, and is building a commer- “Everything we recycle gives us a strate- formed out of the Volkswagen diesel
cial-scale, 154,000-square-foot operation gic source of metals that makes cathode settlement, said the company now has
near Atlanta to open in late 2022 that and anode components,” she said. 150 “behind the meter” Li-ion battery
will take in material from SK Battery It’s likely that manufacturers will backup installations at its charging
America’s plant in Commerce, GA. Since be able to reduce, but not eliminate, sites in the U.S., primarily to offset util-
2021, Ascend has also had Honda as a problematic elements from their bat- ity demand charges.
partner, with a deal to recycle materials teries in the short term, Lin said. Battery Unfortunately, Shah said recycled bat-
from Honda and Acura vehicles. chemistries exist that don’t use any tery packs “don’t currently have the per-
20
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
formance characteristics we need.” And delivering lithium hydroxide as early as percent of the available lithium — as
preparing used batteries for reuse in- 2024. EnergySource is based at an exist- compared to just 45 percent via South
volves more than simply plugging them ing geothermal operation and is permit- American evaporation. The company has
in, said UCS. “To be used as stationary ted to begin producing lithium. In its first four pilot plants, three in the U.S. and
storage, used batteries must undergo stage, CTR is building a new 49-mega- one in Argentina. “We haven’t announced
several processes [including testing, full watt baseload geothermal plant with our offtake partners yet, but we have
discharge, and reconfiguration] that are lithium production of 25,000 tons an- them,” Spomer said. “Lithium is not an
currently costly and time-intensive,” the nually; stage two will add an additional uncommon element, but the trick is
company’s report said. 130 megawatts of power and 50,000 tons to decarbonize production and mitigate
Another challenge is that a robust of lithium by 2025. BHE Renewables is impact while remaining economically
reuse industry will need a reliable sup- planning for 2026. competitive with other extraction ap-
ply of end-of-life batteries. “Most of the “We are working in lock-step with the proaches. We think this is a robust and
batteries are still in the cars,” said GM’s auto industry to incorporate the entire attractive project.”
Grewe. “Our first-generation Volts typi- battery supply chain onsite,” said Rod
cally have more than 100,000 miles on Colwell, CEO of CTR, which has offices in This article was written by Veteran
them and are still going strong,” he said. California and Australia. “Announcing a Journalist Jim Motavalli, a regular con-
“There’s not currently a high volume of new Gigafactory is one thing, but secur- tributor to The New York Times, Barron’s,
batteries in the secondary stream.” ing the raw materials and developing the MediaVillage, and Wharton School re-
VW’s Rufo said that it’s possible that entire battery eco-system to support it is ports, focusing on sustainable trends
second-life battery reuse — proposed be- just as critical.” in mobility and business. He is the
fore recycling was a viable option — will Eric Spomer, President and CEO of author of two books on green mobil-
never get traction. “It may turn out to be EnergySource, said the company’s pro- ity, Forward and Drive High Voltage.
better to put the material back into cath- cess “works with almost any kind of For more information, visit www.
ode production,” he said. “But there’s a lot brine anywhere,” and recovers up to 90 mobilityengineeringtech.com. 
of uncertainty, and we’re still very early in
this process.”
The reuse and recycling of EV batteries
is indeed still embryonic, but it is gaining
momentum, via research and consider- COMBINED LITHIUM CELL
RECYCLING PLANT All-in-one
able investment.

Ramping Up Domestic
Supplies
The race is on to develop U.S. domes- Product Innovation
tic supplies of the metals that go into Processing of different cell shapes
EV batteries. Currently, three companies and cell chemistries
are working in California’s Salton Sea to Continuous Recycling Operation
develop lithium as a byproduct of the Capacity of up to 24 tons/day
existing geothermal production there. At
one time the industry jettisoned lithium Innovative Technology
as a waste product but, with interna- Robust and efficient Pyrolysis Kiln –
tional prices for the metal soaring and fully developed technology
automakers asking for less-problematic Efficient removal of binders,
sourcing, the resource is under inten- organics and fluorine sources
sive development. Most EV batteries use Regeneration of commercially available
lithium from water-intensive processes recycled materials of the highest quality
in dry regions of South America, so
California’s supply could be far more
environmentally friendly.
The three companies are Controlled
Thermal Resources (CTR, with backing
from GM and a purchase agreement from
Stellantis), Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Renewables, and EnergySource Minerals.
None currently are producing commercial
amounts of lithium, but EnergySource www.riedhammer.de A company of

and CTR plan to be operational and

Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 21
Advancing Higher Speeds
and New Techniques
for EV Recharging
Two new initiatives address methods to make EV charging faster
— or require no “downtime” at all.

T
he ability to charge electric vehicles at a very stration were “phenomenal,” said Jim Khoury, Senior Manager
fast rate is a key to electrifying mobility across of Global Electrification at GM.
the U.S. It’s a focus of the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s The parameters for the extreme fast charger were established
Extreme Fast Charger project, whose potential in an earlier test that also involved a Hummer EV. That test, span-
was demonstrated convincingly on a production ning nine minutes at 500 amps at an average 725 volts, yielded
GMC Hummer EV at the American Center for nearly 55 kWh before the EV’s battery started to limit the current.
Mobility (ACM) in Ypsilanti, MI, last fall. “While other DC fast chargers can also charge at 500 amps, the
The Hummer EV observed by SAE Media featured an 800- power capability is lower, so it power-limits sooner in the charge
volt electrical architecture — considered state-of-the-art for cycle. Our power limit is 400 kW,” said Dr. Charles Zhu, VP of the
DC “extreme fast” charging. Both GM and Delta Electronics Automotive Business Group for Delta Electronics, and the Principal
(Americas) Ltd., which provided the charging system, are part- Investigator for the DoE project. He said that generally, the Delta
nering with DoE on the program. The results of the demon- extreme fast charging system can deliver 66.7 kWh in 10 minutes.

Suwin/Shutterstock.com

22
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
Medium-Voltage Benefits
Delta Electronics developed the sol-
id-state transformer (SST), power cabinet,
and the charging stand/dispenser that are
vital to the project. The SST converts the
“medium voltage” (13,200V AC) into 1000V
DC. The power cabinet uses the DC voltage
to create a current source, providing up to
500 amps. The dispenser communicates
with the vehicle and provides current to
the battery pack.
Current-generation fast chargers
are considered low-voltage. Tesla’s
Supercharger, for example, runs at 480V.
The move to medium voltage presented
hurdles, explained Zhu. “Medium voltage
can jump a wider gap because of its
higher potential energy,” he said, not-
ing special wire, materials, and designs
Delta Electronics’ Charles Zhu and GM’s Jim Khoury recharge a GMC Hummer EV with the 400-kW
were needed to accommodate the higher extreme fast charger during a demo at the American Center for Mobility. (Image: Delta Electronics)
voltages. From a safety standpoint, the
DoE-Delta extreme fast charger has a me- go out in heat, and you pay for the electric-
dium-voltage switch to isolate the system ity that you’re wasting,” Standing said, add-
from the grid. A licensed electrician with ing that the extreme fast-charging system
proper personal protection equipment would eventually be a less-expensive way
must close the switch. to charge a vehicle.
“If something goes wrong, the ‘blast ra- Delta Electronics has multiple extreme
dius’ is about 30 ft [91.4 m], which is why all fast-charger system patents relating to
others must stand clear when the switch is power-conversion topology and control.
actuated,” Zhu said. To reach production readiness, the system
There are strong reasons to opt for would need to undergo additional devel-
medium voltage, according to Zhu. “The opment, system integration, and testing.
advantages that we gain from pull- Regulatory certification also is required.
ing directly from medium voltage in-
clude higher efficiency, as a conven- Charging On-the-Go
tional transformer can be about 95 per- Then there’s the ultimate time-saver:
cent efficient,” he said. A conventional charging without stopping at all. A road-
transformer needs to have energy pass way-embedded wireless charging network
through a conversion stage — another for EVs is coming to a stretch of urban
loss — to create the DC current needed highway in Detroit, marking a pilot-pro-
to charge a vehicle battery, he added. gram first on a U.S. public road. “Our
Delta Electronics’ Dr. Charles Zhu stands
The medium-voltage system provides electric vehicle receiver units are modu- next to the extreme fast-charging stand.
an approximate 96.5 percent output and lar and compatible with passenger vehi- (Image: Delta Electronics)
eliminates the conventional transformer cles and with light-, medium- and heavy-
from the charging process. duty commercial vehicles,” said Oren Ezer, Central, a mobility-innovation district under
“13.8 kW medium voltage and charging CEO of Electreon, based in Tel Aviv, Israel. development by Ford Motor Co.
current up to 500 amps are key features to Michigan is expected to operate the first “The wireless charging infrastructure
enable energy efficient and highly scalable electrified roadway in early 2025. will support a suite of use cases in-
extreme fast charging,” Zhu said. Electreon’s patented wireless in-road EV volving various vehicle types, including
Michael Standing, Delta Electronics charging technology already is in use in autonomous vehicles, and it will support
Program Manager for the extreme various European demonstration projects, partners, like Ford,” said Jim Buczkowski,
fast-charger system, said that eliminating a including a 0.7-mile (1.05 km) intercity toll the company’s Executive Director of
traditional transformer in favor of a power road in Italy and a 1-mi (1.65 km) public Research and Advance Engineering.
conversion via a solid-state transformer road in Sweden. Sweden’s policymakers aim
equates to about a 3 percent efficiency gain. to have 1,243 miles (2,000 km) of electrified Cloud-Based System Monitoring
“When you’re talking about 400 kW, three roadway in operation by 2030. Detroit’s The $1.9 million-plus Michigan project
percent starts to be significant. The losses electrified roadway will be near Michigan involves one lane of public roadway for a
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 23
EV Recharging

Electreon has integrated its technology at the ‘Arena of the future’ project in Brescia, Italy.
Shown are an Iveco electric bus and a Fiat 500-e being charged while driving. (Image: Electreon)

minimum of one mile (1.6 km). After the receiver via magnetic resonance induc-
existing road surface is removed, rub- tion as the EV moves or is parked di-
ber-coated copper coil segments will be rectly above the coils. A power-manage-
buried 3.15 inches (8 cm) under a new ment unit located either underground
road surface. “Non-electric vehicles are or above-ground near the roadside will
able to use the roadway as usual without transfer the energy from the electric grid An Electreon employee signs her name on an
any disruption,” said Dr. Stefan Tongur, to the roadway’s copper-coil infrastruc- in-road charging coil before road resurfacing is
completed in Gotland, Sweden. The Smartroad
Electreon’s VP. ture. “Cloud-based management software Gotland project began operations in early
The roadway’s coil segments transmit enables live monitoring and provides 2020 as a pre-commercial demonstration of an
power to an EV undercarriage-mounted smart-charging insights,” Ezer explained. electrified roadway. (Image: Electreon)

ABOVE-GROUND MANAGEMENT UNIT

UNDER-GROUND MANAGEMENT UNIT

UNDER-ROAD COIL SEGMENTS

An electric truck is being wirelessly charged in Gotland, Sweden, as part of Electreon’s ‘Smartroad Gotland’ project. Image includes technology
overview graphics. (Image: Electreon)

24
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 Electreon’s technology solution has 19 patents covering vari-
ous proprietary aspects, including the engineered system archi-
tecture and the communication mechanism between an EV fitted
with a power receiver and the embedded roadway coils. “The
intellectual property of our vehicle receivers will be released to
OEMs for free,” Ezer promised.
Both the battery size and the number of receivers connected
to an EV influence the charging time. “The driving speed
has a negligible effect on the charging performance,” Ezer
explained. He said to date, Electreon has tested its receivers
up to a speed of 49.7 mph (80 kph). As an example, if a com-
mercial truck with five receivers is traveling at 37 mph (60
kph), 37 miles (60 km) of electrified road is needed to fully
charge the battery. If the vehicle is traveling at 12.4 mph (20
kph), 12.4 miles (20 km) of electrified road are needed to fully
charge the battery.
Larger vehicles can support multiple Electreon receivers. For
instance, Class 8 trucks can be fitted with up to seven undercar-
riage receivers. Buses could have three receivers, while passen-
ger vans might have two receivers. “The number of receivers on
an electric vehicle depends on the use case, the vehicle size, and
the vehicle type,” Ezer said. Each Electreon receiver for heavy-
duty EVs is capable of supplying up to 25 kW to the battery.
Based on the power transfer rate requirements of light-duty
passenger EVs, Electreon offers 7 kW and 11 kW receiver options.
Michele Mueller, MDOT Senior Project Manager for connected
and automated vehicles, said that electrified roadways could BET Ellsworth Ad 0323.indd 1 1/30/23 2:37 PM

accelerate the adoption of EVs by enabling continuous vehicle

operation via safe and sustainable public street energy platforms.
ADHESIVE COMPOUNDS for
“A wireless in-road charging system will be revolutionary for EVs
by potentially extending an EV’s battery charge without having to
stop (and plug-in),” Mueller said. She added that electrified road-
ways also could reduce EV range anxiety. SPECIFIC COMPOUNDS OFFER
Four-Season Testing
The Detroit demonstration project will provide a four-season CHEMICAL RESISTANCE
venue to test hardware and performance objectives. Electreon’s to acids, bases and salts
Tongur said that based on findings from ongoing projects in
Europe, weather won’t be an issue. “Since the (wireless) infra-
structure lies beneath the roadway, the energy transfer is not ELECTRICAL INSULATION
affected by snow and ice. The road can be maintained — plowed, Volume resistivity, 75°F
salted, etc. — as usual without affecting the coils beneath the
asphalt,” Tongur said.
1014 to 1015 ohm-cm
Wireless charging of EVs isn’t new to America, as the largest
fleet of all-electric transit buses in the U.S. use a patented THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
wireless charging system from Salt Lake City, Utah-based
WAVE (Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification). Forty-eight
0.5 to 2 W/(m·K)
of Southern California’s Antelope Valley Transit Authority’s 54
BYD-built buses are fitted with WAVE undercarriage receivers.
Those WAVE-compatible electric buses use wireless charging
depots located within a 100 square-mile (260 km) area.

This article was written by Kami Buchholz, an automotive 154 Hobart Street, Hackensack, NJ 07601 USA
journalist and longstanding contributor to the SAE Media Group, +1.201.343.8983 • [email protected]
who specializes in a wide spectrum of technology coverage for
the automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. For more www.masterbond.com
information, visit www.mobilityengineeringtech.com. 
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 25
Anode-Free Lithium Batteries with Maximized
Energy Density
The newly developed battery has a volumetric energy density 40 percent higher than the conventional batteries.
Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea

T
he core materials that determine the
Fabrication process of anode-free electrode
battery life and charging speed of
now commonly seen electric vehicles Carbon Branched N-rich Stable Li
SEI deposition
(EVs) are anode materials. Korea’s domes- black PEI

tic battery industry has been committed In-situ

SEI formation Lithiation Delithiation

to finding revolutionary ways to increase Ag

the battery capacity by introducing new LiNO3
nanoparitcles

technologies or other anode materials. A

POSTECH research team led by Professor Fabrication process of anode-free elctrode. An electrode was manufactured by coating an
Soojin Park and PhD candidate Sungjin ion-conductive layer composed of polyethyleneimine polymer, silver, lithium salt, and carbon
black on the surface of a copper current collector. The ion-conductive substrate fabricated this
Cho (Department of Chemistry) in collab- way can operate the batteter by effectively receiving and releasing lithium ions during
oration with Professor Dong-Hwa Seo charging and discharging. (Image: Pohang University of Science and Technology)
and Dr. Dong Yeon Kim (School of Energy
and Chemical Engineering) at Ulsan battery capacity decreases over time. It was minimize the bulk expansion of the anode.
Institute of Science and Technology thought that if it was possible to charge The study shows that the battery main-
(UNIST) have developed anode-free lith- and discharge only with a bare anode tained high capacity of 4.2 mAh cm-2 and
ium batteries with performance of long current collector without anode materials, high current density of 2.1 mA cm-2 for a
battery life on a single charge. the energy density, which determines the long period in the carbonate-based liquid
The newly developed anode-free battery battery capacity, would increase. However, electrolyte. It was also proven both in
has a volumetric energy density of 977 this method had a critical weakness which theory and through experiments that sub-
Wh/L which is 40 percent higher than causes significant swelling of the anode strates can store lithium.
the conventional batteries (700 wh/L). This volume and reduces the battery lifecycle. It Further, the team successfully demon-
means that the battery can run for 630 km swelled because there was no stable stor- strated the solid-state half-cells by using
on a single charge. The study recently pub- age for lithium in the anode. Argyrodite-based sulfide-based solid elec-
lished in Advanced Functional Materials and To overcome this issue, the research team trolyte. It is anticipated that this battery
was funded by the Alchemist project. succeeded in developing an anode-free bat- will accelerate the commercialization of
Batteries usually change the structure tery in a commonly used carbonate-based non-explosive batteries since it maintains
of anode materials as lithium ions flow to liquid electrolyte by adding an ion-conduc- high capacity for longer periods.
and from the electrode during repetitive tive substrate. The substrate not only forms For more information, visit https://
charging and discharging. This is why the an anode protective layer but also helps postech.ac.kr/eng/e-postech/.

Simplifying the Production of Lithium-ion Batteries

MIT spinout 24M Technologies designed a method that reduces the cost of manufacturing lithium-ion cells.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

W
hen it comes to battery innova- costs by up to 40 percent. The approach Establishing large-scale production
tions, the importance of produc- also improves the batteries’ energy den- lines is only the first phase of 24M’s
tion processes for bringing down sity, safety, and recyclability. plan. Another key draw of its battery
costs is often overlooked. Now the MIT “The SemiSolid platform has been design is that it can work with different
spinout 24M Technologies has simplified proven at the scale of hundreds of mega- combinations of Li-ion chemistries. That
lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery production watts being produced for residential en- means 24M’s partners can incorporate
with a new design that requires fewer ergy-storage systems. Now we want to better-performing materials down the
materials and steps to manufacture each prove it at the gigawatt scale,” said 24M line without substantially changing
cell. According to the company the de- CEO Naoki Ota, whose team includes manufacturing processes.
sign, which it calls “SemiSolid” for its use 24M Co-Founder, Chief Scientist, and MIT The kind of quick, large-scale produc-
of gooey electrodes, reduces production Professor Yet-Ming Chiang. tion of next-generation batteries that
26
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
24M hopes to enable could have a dra-
matic impact on battery adoption across
society — from the cost and performance
of electric cars to the ability of renewable
energy to replace fossil fuels.
The main components of batteries are
the positive and negatively charged elec-
trodes and the electrolyte material that
allows ions to flow between them.
Traditional Li-ion batteries use solid
electrodes separated from the electrolyte
by layers of inert plastics and metals,
which hold the electrodes in place.
Stripping away the inert materials of
traditional batteries and embracing the
gooey electrode mix gives 24M’s design a
number of advantages. For one, it elimi-
nates the energy-intensive process of dry-
ing and solidifying the electrodes in tradi-
tional Li-ion production. According to the
company, it also reduces the need for more
than 80 percent of the inactive materials
in traditional batteries, including expen-
sive ones like copper and aluminum. The
design also requires no binder and fea-
tures extra thick electrodes, improving the The MIT spinout 24M Technologies uses fewer materials to make its batteries than conventional
energy density of the batteries. Li-ion cells. (Image: Courtesy of 24M Technology, edited by MIT News)
“This is a platform technology,” Ota
said. “We’re not just a low-cost and Our tech can address the issue today companies are planning to build gigafac-
high-reliability operator. That’s what we and tomorrow.” tories (factories with gigawatt-scale an-
are today, but we can also be competi- Judging by industry interest, 24M is nual production capacity) based on 24M’s
tive with next-generation chemistry. We onto something. Since coming out of technology in India, China, Norway, and
can use any chemistry in the market stealth mode in 2015, 24M has licensed the United States.
without customers changing their sup- its technology to multinational compa- For more information, contact Abby
ply chains. Other startups are trying to nies including Volkswagen, Fujifilm, Lucas Abazorius at [email protected]; 617-
address that issue tomorrow, not today. TVS, Axxiva, and Freyr. Those last three 253-2709.

New Hybrid Electrolyte for High-Performance

Lithium-ion Batteries
This polymeric solid electrolyte not only shows high performance as an electrolyte but is also expected to
be effective in deterring the formation of dendritic crystals.
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

L
ithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are one Normally, organic electrolytes such as proposed as impact-resistant Li-ion
of the most used batteries that sup- liquid ethylene carbonate (EC) and their electrolytes. However, PEG-based poly-
port modern ITC society, including gels have been used as the Li-ion elec- mer electrolytes crystallize near room
smartphones and EVs. These batteries are trolyte due to their voltage resistance temperature, resulting in a significant
repeatedly charged and discharged by and ionic conductivity. However, as liquids drop in Li-ion conductivity to around
Li-ions passing back and forth between and gels are flammable, a switch to safer 10-6 S/cm at room temperature.
the positive and negative electrodes, polymeric solid electrolytes is preferable. To solve this problem, a research
with the Li-ion electrolyte acting as a Polymeric solid electrolytes such as group has invented a new type of poly-
passageway for the ions. polyethylene glycol (PEG) have been meric solid electrolyte by combining a
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 27
porous polymer membrane with several
micron pores and a photo-cross-linkable
polyethylene glycol PEG-based polymer
electrolyte. The polymeric solid electro-
lyte realized a wide potential window
(4.7 V), a high Li-ion conductivity in the
10-4 S/cm class, which is equivalent to a
liquid and sufficient for practical use, and
a high Li-ion transference number (0.39).
Li-ions transferring in the electrolyte
move in various directions due to natural
diffusion. The distance is several µm to A photograph (left), scanning electron microscope image (center), and schematic illustration
10 µm and does not always move lin- of composite electrolyte structure (right), respectively. (Image: Grewal and Yabu)
early between electrodes, which is one of
the reasons for the decrease in ionic con- This polymeric solid electrolyte not membrane. Through the realization of
ductivity. In the current study, therefore, only shows high performance as an elec- safe, high-performance Li-ion batteries,
the performance of photo-cross-linked trolyte but is also expected to be effective this achievement will contribute to the
PEG-based solid polymer electrolytes in deterring the formation of Li dendrites realization of a sustainable energy supply.
improved by compositing them with mi- (dendritic crystals), which can cause ig- For more information, contact Hiroshi
cron-sized porous membranes. nition, due to the inclusion of a porous Yabu at [email protected].

Using Nano-Engineering Techniques to Develop a

Safer Battery
The technology replaces the volatile and highly flammable organic solvents found in Li-ion batteries with
saltwater.
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL

A
research team at the University of
Central Florida has developed tech-
nology that could prevent electric
vehicle fires, like those caused by saltwa-
ter flooding from Hurricane Ian.
The technology, an aqueous battery,
replaces the volatile and highly flamma-
ble organic solvents found in electric
vehicle Li-ion batteries with saltwater to
create a battery that is safer, faster
charging, just as powerful and won’t
short circuit during flooding. The work is
detailed in a new study in Nature
Communications.
“During Hurricane Ian, a lot of electric
cars caught fire after they were soaked in
floodwater,” said Yang Yang, an Associate
Professor in UCF’s NanoScience
Technology Center who led the research.
“That is because the saltwater corrodes
the battery and causes a short circuit,
which ignites the flammable solvents
and other components. Our battery uses Electric vehicles flooded in saltwater could pose a fire risk, as saltwater can corrode the bat-
saltwater as an electrolyte, eliminating tery and cause a short circuit, igniting flammable solvents and other components. (Image:
the highly volatile solvents.” Adobe Stock)

28
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 Also key to the battery’s design is its By using saltwater as the battery’s forest, allows the researchers to pre-
novel, nano-engineering that allows the liquid electrolyte, the UCF researchers cisely control electrochemical reactions,
battery to overcome limitations of previ- were able to use naturally occurring thereby increasing the battery’s stability
ous aqueous batteries, such as slow metal ions found in the saltwater, such and quick charging ability. Furthermore,
charging times and poor stability. as sodium, potassium, calcium, and mag- the zinc-oxide layer prevented dendritic
Yang is an expert in developing ma- nesium, to create a dual-cation battery growth of zinc, which was confirmed
terials for renewable energy devices that stores more energy. This implemen- using optical microscopy.
such as batteries with improved safety. tation allowed them to overcome the “These batteries using the novel mate-
The UCF-designed battery is fast sluggishness of previous single-cation rials developed in my lab will remain safe
charging, reaching full charge in three aqueous battery designs. even if they are used improperly or are
minutes, compared to the hours it takes To solve problems with instability, den- flooded in saltwater,” Yang said. “Our work
Li-ion batteries. drite growth and corrosion, the research- can help improve electric vehicle tech-
Previous aqueous battery designs have ers engineered a forest-like 3D zinc-cop- nology and continue to advance it as re-
suffered from low energy output, instabil- per anode containing a thin zinc-oxide liable and safe form of travel.”
ity, the growth of harmful metallic struc- protective layer on top. For more information, contact Andrea
tures called dendrites on the negative The novel, nano-engineered surface, Adkins at [email protected];
electrode and corrosion. which looks like a birds-eye-view of a 407-823-0138.

Improving Accuracy of Battery Charge Measurement

High-precision monitoring of charge/discharge current over a wide range of EV batteries using diamond
quantum sensors.
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

T
he issue of battery usage inefficiency leads to an ambiguity of around 10 per- generated by two microwave genera-
in electric vehicles (EVs) resulting cent in the battery charge estimation. tors to trace the magnetic resonance
from an inaccurate battery charge What this means is that the driving frequencies of the quantum sensor over
measurement may finally get resolved, range of EVs could be extended by 10 a bandwidth of 1 gigahertz. This al-
thanks to a diamond quantum sensor percent. This, in turn, would reduce inef- lowed for a large dynamic range (ratio
prototype developed in the MEXT Q-LEAP ficient battery usage. of largest to smallest current detected)
Flagship project with researchers from Now, a team of researchers from Japan, of ±1000 A. Moreover, a wide operating
Tokyo Tech and Yazaki Corporation. The led by Professor Mutsuko Hatano from temperature range of −40 to +85 °C
sensor can measure currents in a wide Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo was confirmed to cover general vehicu-
range as well as detect milliampere-level Tech), has come up with a solution. In lar applications.
currents in a noisy environment, improv- their study published in Scientific Finally, the team tested this proto-
ing the detection accuracy from 10 per- Reports the team has reported a dia- type for Worldwide Harmonized Light
cent to within 1 percent. mond quantum sensor-based detection Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) driving, a
The popularity of EVs as an environ- technique that can estimate the battery standard test for energy consumption
mentally friendly alternative to conven- charge within 1 percent accuracy while in EVs. The sensor accurately traced the
tional gasoline vehicles has been on the measuring high currents typical of EVs. charge/discharge current from -50 A to
rise. This has led to research efforts di- In their work, the team made a proto- 130 A and demonstrated the battery
rected toward developing high-efficiency type sensor using two diamond quan- charge estimation accuracy within 1
EV batteries. However, a major ineffi- tum sensors that were placed on either percent.
ciency in EVs results from inaccurate esti- side of the busbar (electrical junction for According to Professor Hatano, “In­creas­
mations of the battery charge. The charge incoming and outgoing currents) in the ing battery usage efficiency by 10 per-
state of an EV battery is measured based car. They then used a technique called cent would reduce battery weight by 10
on the current output of the battery. This “differential detection” to eliminate the percent, which will reduce 3.5 percent
provides an estimate of the remaining common noise detected by both the running energy and 5 percent production
driving range of the vehicles. sensors and retain only the actual signal. energy of 20 million new EVs in 2030 WW.
Typically, the battery currents in EVs This, in turn, enabled them to detect a This, in turn, corresponds to a 0.2 percent
can reach hundreds of amperes. However, small current of 10 mA amid background reduction in CO2 emissions in 2030 WW
commercial sensors that can detect such environmental noise. transportation field.”
currents cannot measure small changes Next, the team used a mixed ana- For more information, contact Mutsuko
in the current at milliampere levels. This log-digital control of the frequencies Hatano at [email protected].
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 29
Sodium-Ion Battery Anode for Energy Storage
Carbonaceous anodes based on organic pigments exhibit a high sodium-ion storage performance and
excellent cycle stability.
Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea

L
ithium-ion batteries have high energy anodes. “Organic pigments such as quina- bridging along the parallel packing direc-
density and a long cycle life, making cridones have a variety of structures and tion. Further, nitrogen- and oxygen-contain-
them indispensable in portable elec- functional groups. As a result, they develop ing functional groups in 2,9-DMQA re-
tronics as well as electric vehicles. However, different thermal decomposition behav- leased gases, creating disordered domains
the high cost and limited supply of lithium iors and microstructures. When used as a in the microstructure. In contrast, pyrolyzed
necessitate the development of alternative precursor for energy storage materials, unsubstituted quinacridone developed
energy storage systems. To this end, re- pyrolyzed quinacridones can greatly vary highly aggregated structures. This sug-
searchers have suggested sodium-ion bat- the performance of secondary batteries. gested that the morphological develop-
teries (SIBs) as a possible candidate. Therefore, it is possible to implement a ment was significantly affected by the
Besides having physicochemical prop- highly efficient battery by controlling the crystal orientation of the precursor.
erties similar to that of lithium, sodium is structure of organic pigments precursor,” In addition, 2,9-DMQA pyrolyzed at 600
both sustainable and cost-effective. explained Lee. °C exhibited a high rate capability (290
However, its ions are large with sluggish The researchers focused on 2,9-dimeth- mAh/g at 0.05 A/g ) and excellent cycle
diffusion kinetics, hindering their accom- ylquinacridone (2,9-DMQA) in their study. stability (134 mAh/g at 5 A/g for 1000 cy-
modation within the carbon microstruc- 2,9-DMQA has a parallel molecular pack- cles) as an SIB anode. The nitrogen- and
tures of the commercialized graphite an- ing configuration. Upon pyrolysis (thermal oxygen-containing groups further en-
odes. Consequently, SIB anodes suffer decomposition) at 600 °C, 2,9-DMQA hanced battery storage via surface confine-
from structural instability and poor stor- turned from reddish to black with a high ment and interlayer distance increment.
age performance. In this regard, carbona- char yield of 61 performed. The research- “Organic pigments such as quinacrid-
ceous materials doped with heteroatoms ers next performed a comprehensive ex- ones can be used as anode materials in
are showing promise. However, their perimental analysis to describe the under- sodium-ion batteries. Given the high effi-
preparation is complicated, expensive, lying pyrolysis mechanism. ciency, they will provide an effective strat-
and time-consuming. They proposed that the decomposition egy for mass production of large-scale en-
A team of researchers, led by Professor of methyl substituents generates free radi- ergy storage systems,” said Lee.
Seung Geol Lee from Pusan National cals at 450 °C, which form polycyclic aro- For more information, contact Professor
University in Korea, used quinacridones as matic hydrocarbons with a longitudinally Seung Geol Lee at seunggeol.lee@
precursors to prepare carbonaceous SIB grown microstructure resulting from bond pusan.ac.kr.

A Sodium-Aluminum Battery Aims to Integrate

Renewables for Grid Resiliency
Low-cost, Earth-abundant raw materials power a new grid energy storage solution.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA

A
new battery design could help ease “We showed that this new molten salt tery technologies, while using a more
integration of renewable energy into battery design has the potential to charge Earth-abundant material.”
the nation’s electrical grid at lower and discharge much faster than other Imre Gyuk, Director of DOE’s Office of
cost, using Earth-abundant metals, accord- conventional high-temperature sodium Electricity, Energy Storage Program, which
ing to a study just published in Energy batteries, operate at a lower temperature, supported this research, noted “This battery
Storage Materials. A research team, led by and maintain an excellent energy storage technology, which is built with low-cost
the Department of Energy’s Pacific capacity,” said Guosheng Li, a Materials domestically available materials brings us
Northwest National Laboratory, demon- Scientist at PNNL and the Principal one step closer toward meeting our na-
strated that the new design for a grid en- Investigator of the research. “We are get- tion’s clean energy goals.”
ergy storage battery built with the low- ting similar performance with this new The new sodium-based molten salt bat-
cost metals sodium and aluminum pro- sodium-based chemistry at over 212 °F tery uses two distinct reactions. The team
vides a pathway toward a safer and more lower temperatures than commercially previously reported a neutral molten salt
scalable stationary energy storage system. available high-temperature sodium bat- reaction. The new discovery shows that this
30
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
 sodium-aluminum battery design has the
advantage of being inexpensive and easy
to produce in the United States from much
A Cathode more abundant materials.
+ “With optimization, we expect the spe-
Molten salt cific energy density and the life cycle could
reach even higher and longer,” added Li.
A PNNL scientists collaborated with col-
Aluminum wool leagues at the U.S.-based Nexceris to
assemble and test the battery. Nexceris,
B B Solid-state electrolyte through their new business Adena Power,
C supplied their patented solid-state, sodi-
C Sodium ions um-based electrolyte to PNNL to test
the battery’s performance. This crucial
D – battery component allows the sodium
D Sodium anode ions to travel from the negative (anode)
to the positive (cathode) side of the bat-
tery as it charges.
The new sodium-aluminum battery design allows only sodium (depicted as yellow balls) to “Our primary goal for this technology is
move through the solid-state electrolyte to charge the battery. Being constructed of inexpen-
sive Earth-abundant materials such as sodium salts and aluminum wool, a scrap product of to enable low-cost, daily shifting of solar
aluminum manufacturing, is an advantage. (Image: Sara Levine, PNNL) energy into the electrical grid over a 10- to
24-hour period,” said Vince Sprenkle, a
PNNL battery technology expert with more
than 30 patented designs for energy stor-
age systems and associated technology.
“This is a sweet spot where we can start to
think about integrating higher levels of re-
newables into the electrical grid to provide
true grid resiliency from renewable re-
sources such as wind and solar power.”
Sprenkle was part of the team that de-
veloped this battery’s new flexible design,
which also shifted the battery from a tradi-
tional tubular shape to a flat, scalable one
that can more easily be stacked and ex-
panded as the technology develops from
coin-sized batteries to a larger grid-scale
demonstration size. More importantly, this
flat cell design allows the cell capacity to
be increased by simply using a thicker
cathode, which the researchers leveraged
in this work to demonstrate a triple capac-
ity cell with sustained discharge of 28.2-
hours under laboratory conditions.
Research teams at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory study how to integrate a utility-scale solar Most current battery technologies, in-
energy and battery storage facility into the grid at a facility near its Richland, WA, headquarters.
Here they monitor and analyze data to evaluate the financial benefits of storing renewable energy cluding Li-ion batteries, are well suited for
and incorporating intermittent renewables onto the grid. (Image: Andrea Starr, PNNL) short-term energy storage. To meet the
demand for 10-plus hours of energy stor-
neutral molten salt can undergo a further energy density, which is expressed as “watt age will require the development of new,
reaction into an acidic molten salt. Crucially, hour per kilogram” (Wh/kg). Although the low-cost, safe, and long duration battery
this second acidic reaction mechanism in- battery is in early-stage or “coin cell” test- concepts beyond current state-of-the-art
creases the battery’s capacity. Specifically, ing, the researchers speculate that it could battery technologies. This research pro-
after 345 charge/discharge cycles at high result in a practical energy density of up to vides a promising lab-scale demonstra-
current, this acidic reaction mechanism re- 100 Wh/kg. In comparison, the energy den- tion toward that goal.
tained 82.8 percent of peak charge capacity. sity for lithium-ion batteries used in com- For more information, contact Karyn
The energy that a battery can deliver in mercial electronics and electric vehicles is Hede at [email protected]; 509-
the discharge process is called its specific around 170–250 Wh/kg. However, the new 375-2144.
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 31
Available on Demand!

Webinars
Why Model Batteries?

Multiphysics simulation can help designers and engineers develop the next generation of batteries and facilitate the integration of such batteries
into final electrical devices. This 60-minute Webinar will examine how multiphysics simulation provides these advantages and will include a detailed
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COMSOL
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Engineering Construction Vehicles for

Battery-Electric Solutions
Noise and emissions limits, particularly in urban settings, make battery-electric construction vehicles an attractive option. This is especially true as equip-
ment manufacturers and suppliers continue to develop solutions that are more cost-effective and durable enough to operate in demanding environments.
This 60-minute Webinar from the editors of Truck and Off-Highway Engineering discusses their latest engineering efforts to bring reliable electric machines
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Speakers:
Tilo Huber Christian Sauerland Justin Zupanc
Head of Construction Senior Engineering Manager, Head of Electromobility and Autonomous
Equipment Systems, dSPACE Inc Solutions for Road Building Equipment,
Industrial Technology, Volvo Construction Equipment
ZF Group

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar314

Get Even More Out of Your EVs

with Thermoplastics
One of the biggest obstacles facing electric-vehicle development is finding a balance between high-performance components and safety. This
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cooling on EV batteries and thermoplastics that can withstand heat shocks for use on bus bars in motor and power electronics
Speakers:
Giacomo Parisi Fabrice Giaume
Global Marketing Director Global Technical Leader,
for Automotive Electrification, Automotive Electrification
DuPont Mobility & Materials and Autonomous Driving,
DuPont Mobility & Materials

Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar291

 Electric Vehicle Inverters
Renesas Electronics Corporation (Milpitas, CA) announced the development of a new generation of Si-IGBTs (Silicon
Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors) which will be offered in a small footprint. Aimed at next-generation EVs inverters,
AE5-generation IGBTs will be mass produced starting in the first half of 2023 on Renesas’ 200- and 300-mm wafer lines.
The silicon-based AE5 process for IGBTs achieve a 10 percent reduction in power losses compared to the current-gen-
eration AE4 products, a power savings that will help EV developers save battery power and increase driving range. In
addition, the new products are approximately 10 percent smaller while maintaining high robustness. The new devices
achieve high performance for IGBTs by optimally balancing low power loss and robustness tradeoffs. Moreover, the new IGBTs significantly improve perfor-
mance and safety as modules by minimizing parameter variations among the IGBTs and providing stability when operating IGBTs in parallel.
For more info visit http://info.hotims.com/84477-400

Battery Interconnect System

Interplex (Tustin, CA) has further strengthened its product portfolio of interconnect solutions aimed at use in EV
batteries. Having already proved popular with battery modules based on cylindrical and standard prismatic cells, the
latest Cell-PLX™ version is specifically optimized for next-generation prismatic cells. Compliant with USCAR 2-6
automotive performance requirements, the platform provides the data transfer capabilities needed for constant mon-
itoring of voltage and temperature parameters, with the ability to cover battery module voltages from 12V to above
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Safe Packaging and Transport Case

The ZARGES (Charlotte, SC) BatterySafe Intermediate is a case for the safe packaging and transport of Lithium-ion
batteries. The ZARGES solution is comprised of an aluminum case with a custom lining, which contains an intumescent
glass fiber material that suppresses ignition and extinguishes flames. The BatterySafe Intermediate offers all the avail-
able features of our standard K470 cases, including secure latches, stacking corners, three fully welded aluminum profile
frames, and easy loading and unloading. The cases are appropriate for a variety of uses including for defense contractors
standardizing battery management, vehicle battery development, medical equipment, and drones. U.N. Certification is
available on select cases for domestic and international shipping, including UN3090, UN3091, UN3480, and UN3481.
The case is suitable for 1– 1,500 Wh batteries (at 100 percent state of charge) and is outfitted with three separate cavities, each 17 x 5 x 5 cavities
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Silicon Nitride Bearing Balls

CoorsTek (Lakewood, CO) offers Cerbec® silicon nitride bearing balls that are an ideal combination of mechanical strength
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ciency and durability. In electric vehicle motors, especially those designed as variable speed drives, shaft voltage occurs from
leakage, induction, or capacitive coupling with the windings of the motor and can create arcing in the bearing assembly.
Inherently electrically resistant, silicon nitride bearing balls prevent arcing caused by charge build up or high voltage. In addi-
tion to offering the right mix of mechanical properties and electrical insulation ideal for usage in EV motor shafts, Cerbec® silicon nitride bearing balls require
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Automotive Relays
CIT Relay & Switch (Rogers, MN) is offering an automotive relay with a blow-out magnet. In the automotive
relay world, 12VDC and 24VDC systems have been the norm for over 50 years. With the world trending toward EVs
there is a need for higher voltage DC switching. As DC voltages increase, so does the chance of developing what is
called a standing arc, where the contacts open and the arc does not extinguish when the relay returns to the fully
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A2K Series uses the blow-out magnet to help break the electric arc that is formed when the contacts of the relay are opening. With a large switching
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Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023 33

Regenerative DC Emulator
Keysight Technologies (Santa Rosa, CA) offers an enhanced Scienlab Regenerative DC Emulator (SL1800A Series), the next
generation high power direct current (DC) emulator for EV fast charging applications that enables customers to achieve high-
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Multicell Battery Monitoring

STMicroelectronics (Coppell, TX) L9963E Multicell Battery Monitoring & Balancing IC is a Li-ion battery
monitoring and protecting chip for high-reliability automotive applications and energy storage systems. Up
to 14 stacked battery cells can be monitored to meet the requirements of 48V and higher voltage systems.
Each cell voltage is measured with high accuracy, as well as the current for the on-chip coulomb counting. The
device can monitor up to seven NTCs. The information is transmitted through SPI communication or an isolated interface. Multiple L9963E can be connected
in a daisy chain and communicate with one host processor via the transformer isolated interfaces, featuring high-speed, low EMI, long-distance, and reliable
data transmission. Passive balancing with programmable channel selection is offered in both normal and low power mode (silent balance). The balancing
can be terminated automatically based on internal timer interrupt. Nine GPIOs are integrated for external monitoring and control. The STMicroelectronics
L9963E features a comprehensive set of fault detection and notification functions to meet the safety standard requirements.
For more info visit http://info.hotims.com/84477-406

Pressure-Reducing Regulator

Super Fast
Emerson (St. Louis, MO) has launched a pressure-reducing regulator
specially designed for use onboard commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Curing Adhesive
The dual stage and patented active seal design of the TESCOM™ HV-3500
Hydrogen Onboard Regulator delivers steady pressure and constant hydrogen
fuel supply to fuel cells in the full range of vehicle operating conditions, in-
RESISTS HIGH TEMPERATURES cluding acceleration, deceleration, stopping and idling. Stable pressure aids in
extending fuel cell life and maximizing fuel usage. The reliable fuel pressure
provided by the HV-3500 allows operators to drive farther without refueling
and decreases the risk of over pressurization downstream, resulting in leakage, wasted fuel and possible
emissions. The HV-3500 has been designed, engineered, and independently tested to ensure compli-
ance with EC79 requirements for pressure regulators used in hydrogen vehicles. By boosting fuel cell
efficiency and maximizing overall energy efficiency, the stable pressure the HV-3500 provides also
reduces maintenance frequency. The regulator delivers positive high-pressure fuel shutoff of hydrogen
in vehicles across varying road and operating conditions, increasing fuel cell durability.
For more info visit http://info.hotims.com/84477-407

Modular Battery Energy Storage System

• High bond strength Developed by Advanced Battery Concepts (Clare, MI) “Box-Be” – a
BOX of Bipolar Energy – is a modular Battery Energy Storage System.
• Meets NASA low
This system is powered by our Advanced BiPolar EverGreenSeal™ tech-
outgassing specifications nology and is designed to meet the energy needs of today and future
• Glass transition generations. The design of BOX-BE allows for easy and safe scalability
while providing high power and energy for long-duration discharges.
temperature Tg >125°C Its simple parallel connections enable seamless field installation. It
supports a seamless expansion of energy storage capacity and charging duration with a self-contained,
self-regulated DC battery pack. BOX-BE plug and play design allows for easy and simple connection to
adjacent units. The non-flammable chemistry is incapable of thermal self-ignition, assuring safety and
Hackensack, NJ 07601 USA peace of mind over the lifetime of the system. BOX-BE units are recovered and nearly all components
+1.201.343.8983 ŏ [email protected] are processed and reused. Disassembly and recovery of parts consumes little energy and virtually no
www.masterbond.com waste, making BOX-BE the ideal green energy storage technology for carbon footprint reduction.
For more info visit http://info.hotims.com/84477-408

34
Battery & Electrification Technology, March 2023
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