标签：#energy

Five peer-reviewed papers update the design and model its expected output.

Donut Lab's solid-state battery claims have been thoroughly debunked by Ryan Inis Hughes on his popular Ziroth YouTube channel. According to Hughes, Donut Lab has engaged in deliberate, calculated deception by claiming to have a solid-state battery ready for mass production. In reality, it's nothing more than a standard lithium-ion design. Hughes' investigation got an […]

The reactor, from a startup called Antares, isn't ready to generate power yet.

From San Francisco to Stockholm, a new generation of electric ferries is entering passenger service, marking a tipping point for green maritime technology.

Money would keep coal plants open, build the first new plants in over a decade.

Would you take a payment to ramp down your electricity use? Would it change anything if you were doing so to help power a local data center? Google just signed a new deal to help pay for a virtual power plant (VPP) in the largest power grid in the US. The agreement is with Voltus,…

Fusion startup Xcimer fired up the world's largest privately owned laser.

Another fusion startup has raised another a massive round to make this type of power a reality.

Switching from fossil fuels to electricity for heating is no longer covered.

Mike Schroepfer's Gigascale Capital has raised a large fund to back founders building climate-friendly solutions for the world's energy and material shortages.

Lithium battery packs are only as strong as their weakest cell. Whether you're designing a drone battery, an EV pack, or an energy storage system, cell balancing plays a critical role in battery safety, lifespan, and performance. But many developers and hardware engineers still confuse passive balancing and active balancing , or underestimate how important balancing becomes in multi-cell lithium systems. In this article, we'll break down: Why battery balancing matters What causes cell imbalance How passive balancing works How active balancing works Engineering trade-offs between both methods Where each balancing strategy is commonly used 1. Why Battery Cells Become Unbalanced In theory, every lithium cell inside a battery pack should behave identically. In reality, that never happens. Even cells from the same production batch will have slight differences in: Internal resistance Capacity Self-discharge rate Temperature response Aging characteristics Over time, those small differences accumulate. For example: One cell may charge slightly faster Another may discharge deeper One may heat up more under load Eventually, the pack voltage becomes uneven. This is called cell imbalance . 2. Why Cell Imbalance Is Dangerous Imagine a 4S lithium battery pack. If one cell reaches 4.25V while the others are still at 4.10V, the charger must stop to avoid overcharging that single cell. That means: The entire pack never reaches full usable capacity Weak cells age faster Heat generation increases Safety risks become higher The same problem happens during discharge. If one cell drops below the minimum safe voltage earlier than others, the BMS cuts power to protect the pack — even though the remaining cells still contain energy. In other words: A battery pack is limited by its weakest cell. 3. What Is Battery Balancing? Battery balancing is the process of equalizing cell voltages inside a battery pack. The goal is simple: Prevent overcharge Prevent over-discharge Improve pack lifespan I

Researchers say they’ve found a new way to extract lithium, a crucial metal used in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and energy storage arrays. This new technique could be more environmentally friendly and cheaper than existing ones. The research was published today in Science, and a startup called Rock Zero is working to…

This year, there’s been a wave of notable energy companies going public via IPO in the US. The solar and battery company Solv Energy went public in February, to the tune of $6 billion. X-energy, which is building small modular nuclear reactors, did the same in April, and its stocks surged on its first day…