Technical advances are reducing the volume of e-waste generated in the US as lighter, more compact products enter the market. But those goods can be harder to reuse and recycle.
What happens to millions of these?
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Zheng Chen, University of California, San Diego and Darren H. S. Tan, University of California, San Diego
Batteries power much of modern life, from electric and hybrid cars to computers, medical devices and cellphones. But unless they’re made easier and cheaper to recycle, a battery waste crisis looms.
Garbage trucks, buses and the van that delivers your Amazon purchases are all prime candidates for electrification.
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Electric vehicles can have a positive impact on the climate and air pollution levels, but governments should rethink how they electrify the transportation network.
Replacing carbon-emitting gas-powered cars with EVs requires whittling away EVs’ price premium, and that comes down to one thing: battery cost.
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EVs will have lower sticker prices than gas vehicles when batteries are cheaper. Getting there comes down to knowing where to cut costs.
Lithium-ion batteries are already supporting renewable power generation, but a future without fossil fuels will need even better battery technology.
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Bolivia’s huge lithium reserves are isolated and hard to extract, and global uncertainty over electric vehicles is bad for business.
Lithium ion batteries revolutionised the way we use, manufacture and charge our devices. They’re used to power mobile phones, laptops and even electric cars.
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M. Stanley Whittingham was one of three scientists who won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work developing lithium-ion batteries – used to power mobile phones, laptops and electric cars.
Lithium ion batteries store large amounts of power in small battery cells that can be recharged.
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Nobel Prizes in science are usually given for revolutionary ideas that change our perception of the universe. But this year’s chemistry prize was awarded to inventors of a revolutionary device.
At 97, John Goodenough is the oldest ever Nobel prizewinner - and still goes to the lab every day.
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Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough and Akira Yoshino created a safe, light, rechargeable battery that has revolutionised society and is probably powering the device you’re reading this on right now.
M. Stanley Whittingham, John Goodenough and Akira Yoshino.
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A year ago, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery began dispatching power to South Australia’s grid. It has been a remarkable success but there are some concerns that have so far escaped scrutiny
Research is finding better ways to make batteries both big and small.
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Is it too much to dream of batteries that are part of the structure of an item, helping to shape the form of a smartphone, car or building while also powering its functions?
Lithium batteries offer renewable energy electricity power storage.
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A new rechargeable ‘proton battery’ - made chiefly from carbon and water - promises to outperform conventional lithium-ion batteries, while also being more environmentally friendly.