The new EU Battery Directive with effect from September

The EU announced in March this year, amendments to the battery directive (2006/66/EC “batteries, batteries, waste batteries and waste batteries directive”) to provide for September 26, 2008 prior to the Directive the Member States into national laws and repeal the existing section No. 91/157/EEC, “containing certain dangerous substances and cells and batteries” command. 

The new Batteries Directive pay special attention to the following points: first addition to the amount of mercury does not exceed 2% of button batteries, the EU should ban all mercury-containing more than 0.0005% total weight of the batteries or battery; Second, except for emergency or warning systems, medical equipment or power tools herein shall prohibit all contain cadmium than 0.002% of the total weight of portable batteries or batteries; third is to ask the producers to the establishment of waste batteries and waste battery handling recovery mechanism; 4 is a directive to cover all types of batteries and accumulators, regardless of their shape, size, size, material composition and scope of use. But the September 26, 2008 prior to entering the EU directive from the jurisdiction of the battery without having to re-exit the market.

Apart from the EU, countries continue to put forward a new battery of environmental standards, and gradually tightened cadmium, mercury and other harmful substances content, look at such standard-setting process in the green can be seen, hidden security risks because of the battery will gradually lose their competitiveness has been out of the market.

China is a big battery export countries, exports to the EU each year the battery more than 1 billion, while exports of Ningbo is an important base for the battery and the annual export the battery about 3 billion, of which exports to the EU accounted for 3 percent or so. The EU’s new batteries will be China’s exports to the EU Battery Directive will result in some pressure on some of the weakness of technology for SMEs, but also a cruel barrier. Therefore, the inspection and quarantine experts caution businesses, laws and regulations approximation, domestic enterprises must take active steps to prepare, we must continuously strengthen the enterprise’s own production of technical standards, to ensure the safety of raw materials in the upgrading of technical skill to make enough effort to improve the battery products in the on the international market competitiveness; addition, we must note that the battery label and labeling problems, it fully displays the information necessary to meet the importing country requirements.

Japan Electric Start lithium-ion rechargeable battery cathode materials for new plant

Japan Electric announced that production of lithium-ion rechargeable battery cathode materials, new plant has been completed. A capacity of 2000 tons. Production is currently being tested and will be the spring of 2010 to full volume production.

The company mainly produces manganese (Mn) cathode materials category. Mn type cathode materials with spinel (Spinel) structure, and therefore charging excessive, the crystallization of decay is rarely, security is high. The company’s existing plant for the production of cathode material for the main electric power supply of bicycles and electric tools, but for the growing market for automotive use, so the new factory will be mainly for the cathode material for electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid vehicle (HEV) supply. The new plant is located in Fuji County, Takaoka. Building area of 2000m2.

Japan is not open for electrical supply of the battery cathode material into the vehicle manufacturers and vendors. The company said Nissan and NEC Group will contribute the AESC (Automotive Energy Supply) is using Mn type cathode materials, and plans to market in autumn 2010, the “Fuga hybrid” and the 2010 annual listing of EV “Leaf” on the use of battery  .

CNPV with the German company CTS Solar GmbH signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement

A leading integrated manufacturer of solar photovoltaic products CNPV Solar Power SA in silicon ingots, wafers and photovoltaic battery production and assembly of components, design, manufacture and supply of highly efficient crystalline solar PV modules economy. The company today announced it has engaged in the roof and ground power plant project development, installation and distribution of southern Germany’s leading solar energy company CTS Solar GmbH to achieve a long-term strategic partner distribution agreement. Under the strategic agreement, CNPV will be held during the period from 2010 to 2012 the supply of the CTS Solar total 20MWp of PV modules, which in 2010 is expected to deliver 4MWp. The remaining 6MWp and 10MWp were planned for delivery in 2011 and 2012.

CNPV CEO Mr. Zhang Shunfu and CNPV COO, CTO and Board of Directors B. Veerraju Chaudary, said: “We are very pleased to announce that with the CTS Solar establishment of a new strategic partnership to further consolidate the existing good with the CTS Solar partnership. CTS Solar with our strategic partnership is a major success of our side, so that our own with those in developed and emerging PV market has recognized the growing opportunities for developers of multi-regional energy alliance. This the new contract will provide our development in Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey markets, new projects such as solar energy to provide effective help. We look forward to providing high-quality components, high-quality service and a low-cost industry-leading platform from which to continue to expand and We are loyal partner CTS Solar strategic partnership. ”

CTS Solar CEO CLause Romankiewicz Mr. and CTS Solar Sales Director, Mr. Eric Lechelt, commented: “From southern Germany, CTS Solar GmbH In order to achieve this with the CNPV a new strategic marketing agreement proud of it. We think this is our CNPV a good relationship with the battery continuation of our projects can use their high-quality components to our customers in Germany and Austria to provide CNPV quality services. “

Future of netbooks and laptops

While many eyes are on E3, Taiwan’s Computex conference is more quietly generating some interesting news on the future of Netbooks and laptops that will eventually make their way stateside. For a peek into the crystal ball of mobile computing, let’s take a look at what’s been announced in Taipei, Taiwan, this week.

Mobile-phone-based Netbooks are growing: “Smartbooks,” as they’re being called by companies like Qualcomm, seem to be this year’s Netbook. It’s mostly a naming convention shift: ARM processors based on smartphone chips, like Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, were demoed on Asus Eee PC Netbooks–running Android, no less. While Snapdragon competitor Freescale Semiconductor, who makes an ARM-based iMX515 processor, predicts hybrid Smartbooks that will look like tablets, others see them being even more portable Netbooks.

Regardless of the processor, companies are finally announcing the release of honest-to-goodness Android Netbooks, running a laptop-based version of the Google-created smartphone OS, later this year. Acer took the leap by confirming their release of Android Netbooks by the third quarter of this year, suddenly accelerating the “Android on Netbooks” argument we’ve been having on CNET. Is Android really a better OS solution? The point may be moot for laptop manufacturers such as Acer who are also entering the smartphone space, and are mostly likely interested in targeting Google for an across-the-board mobile OS option on their future devices. According to Acer, “a majority” of their Netbooks will run Android as an alternative to Windows.

Where does this leave Linux, then? In a tough place. Linux’s relatively brandless environment has been a challenge in an app-store world, although this week’s RealNetworks’ announcement of RealPlayer being preinstalled on Linux Netbooks and Instant-On OS platforms is a big step for Ubuntu being able to keep up with the easy media-playing capability of Netbook machines, and adds some brand recognition and codec consolidation. Shown at Computex were several Moblin Linux-based Netbook prototypes, as well the announcement of Ubuntu Moblin Remix, the next graphical interface evolution beyond Ubuntu and a possible candidate for an OS specifically geared towards ultramobile PCs such as Netbooks.

Future technology for screens, touch pads: Regardless of whether Apple gets into the Netbook space, Windows Netbooks are heading toward MacBook-like touch pad interfaces. Synaptics’ ClickPad version of their next multitouchpad was shown off this week, being targeted mainly at future Netbooks with smaller keyboard areas. Finding a way to fit buttons into small Netbook frames has been a challenge, and going button-free would also allow the touch pad to be made even larger. Whether Windows 7 supports the ClickPad as well as Apple supports their MacBook single-button multitouchpad remains to be seen. And, taking a page from the easy-to-read reflective e-ink screens of e-readers, Pixel Qi demonstrated a highly reflective LCD screen on an Acer Netbook that can be used in daylight with no backlighting. The hybrid screen can switch between e-readeresque and full-colored brightly backlit states for battery conservation.

Intel, Microsoft ready to leave Netbooks behind? As Intel continues supporting their Core 2 Duo-equivalent CULV energy-efficient mobile processors, the focus on Atom seems to be waning. That’s not the case, according to Intel, especially with new Atom processors on the horizon, but the market’s getting crowded fast. Microsoft has also said that they’d rather not use the Netbook name anymore, choosing “low cost small notebook PC” instead. As ULV and CULV processors take over the mobile Centrino space to create lower-cost, thinner laptops, and smartphone-evolved ARM processors begin to chip away at the Atom-based Netbook category, the days of Netbooks as we knew them may already be numbered.

Air Force 500 million RMB of investment in long-zinc-air battery industry

Air Force 500 million yuan of investment in long-zinc-air battery industry Published :2010-3-11 Source: First Financial Daily recently, China Aviation Industry Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “China Aviation Industry”) announced that the long edge with Beijing United Energy Technology Co., Ltd. set up jointly by the Air Force chief of United Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “the Air Force chief”), and the Beijing Research Center of zinc-air battery. The next three years, the Air Force will spend 500 million yuan long to promote Beijing’s zinc-air battery industrialization.

The next three years, the Air Force long 500 million yuan will be invested to realize the industrialization of zinc-air battery. Company’s 2011 planned output of 100 electric bus batteries, while adding 300 sanitation electric vehicle batteries, in the municipal sanitation system is running. In 2012 plans to produce 500 electric bus batteries, 500 battery-electric sanitation vehicles. In 2013 to achieve large-scale production of zinc-air battery, reaching an annual output of 1000 electric bus batteries, 1000 battery electric vehicles the size of sanitation.

Gou Zhongwen, vice mayor of Beijing, said Beijing as a new energy vehicles 10 City 1000 car scheme pilot cities, has a better internal environment and the development of new energy vehicles industrial base, the investment in Beijing a long edge, the implementation of new energy car project, Beijing’s new energy industry of the elongated chain, optimize the adjustment of new energy vehicles structure of great significance.

2010, Beijing will be arranged five electric buses and sanitation trucks to run the tests, and the other arrangements for 50 electric buses and sanitation trucks batteries into Beijing public transportation and sanitation systems of the trial.

A questions of lithium ion battery

PC components have grown more efficient, but then powerful graphics chips eat up the energy savings. Hard drives with moving parts are gradually handing over tasks to flash memory, but then faster Wi-Fi chips cause the battery meter to plunge.

After years of addressing the demand to lower power consumption in notebooks, it’s time to point fingers at the supply: the lithium ion battery.

Manufacturers have been pushing lithium ion to its limits in recent years. The result of that push has included slightly longer battery charges–and safety disasters, such as the massive recall of Sony batteries in 2006.

“Some of the problems you see in the industry are (partly from) the need to over-engineer the system and having huge cost pressure,” said Christina Lampe-Onnerud, founder and CEO of Boston Power, a battery developer.

Lithium ion technology was considered a fantastic solution when it was introduced commercially in the early 1990s. But there’s no more room for improvement without pushing the envelope of cost and safety, Lampe-Onnerud said.

New materials
As a result, battery manufacturers have been experimenting with new materials, which could offer major breakthroughs–and lead to the unintended consequence of making life a little more difficult for notebook vendors.

For example, Panasonic, one of the three major battery vendors along with Sanyo and Sony, has developed a new battery cell that can hold more of a charge than the standard cell. (A standard lithium ion battery holds six cells.)

Panasonic doesn’t discuss the materials being used to build that cell, but it is one of many companies investigating the use of metals other than lithium, such as nickel and manganese, on the cathode of the battery, said Andy Keaths, power sources enabling manager at Intel.

Right now, Panasonic is using those new cells in batteries only for its own notebooks. But one day, it could license that technology to other manufacturers, which might also come up with their own new materials for both the cathode and anode of a battery. Intel is also looking at alternative metals and power sources over time, with investments in companies such as Zinc Matrix Power.

Those alternative metals present problems of their own, however, because they can require slightly different charging voltages and can add cost to the battery, said John Wozniak, who holds the title of distinguished technologist in Hewlett-Packard’s notebook engineering group. It can also take awhile to introduce new, unproven materials.

“Right now, when I see road maps that say we’re going to have this capacity at this time, I plan for something like six months after that,” Wozniak said.

Working with what’s there
Barry Huret, president of battery consulting firm Huret Associates, isn’t quite so pessimistic about the future of lithium ion battery technology.

“They just have to get what they are using under the best control,” he said.

In that vein, instead of focusing on extending battery life, Boston Power is working on designs that improve reliability, performance and safety of lithium ion technology. For example, the company wants to create a battery that doesn’t lose its charge capacity over time, as opposed to current batteries that become more impotent as time passes.

This could be a big selling point for HP’s enterprise customers, which currently buy three-year warranties on notebooks but are only entitled to one-year warranties on batteries, Wozniak said. If customers must live with small increases in battery life, perhaps they’ll respond to other selling points when it comes to batteries.

“If I can’t get all-day runtime, maybe I can do a fast charge at lunch,” he said.