Aug 3 2007
The demand for portable power is skyrocketing as consumer electronics become more sophisticated and multi-functional, but current battery chemistries provide a limited amount of power. Dramatic gains by Enable IPC Corporation will be showcased during International Nanotechnology Week at nanoTX’07, Dallas Convention Center, October 3-4.
In addressing these storage needs, the company has announced better-than-expected preliminary performance results from its ultracapacitor technology and is making significant progress on its nanowire-based microbattery.
Those attending this major nanotechnology event will see first hand the advantages of the company's ultracapacitor and microbattery technology. Among other applications, interest comes from "smart" card, RFID tag and micro-display companies. The primary barrier to these market niches continues to be cost, and Enable IPC will show how their nanowire technology can address that issue.
The Energy Pavilion at nanoTX’07 is anchored by the Alan G. MacDiarmid Energy Summit, co-chaired this year by doctors Zakhidov and Ferraris of the University of Texas, Dallas, where top minds in the field convene to address energy concerns, advising government and industry of findings. Electrical storage is always a hot topic, the solutions of which are vital if electricity is ever to be a viable replacement for oil, currently the only economical way of storing massive amounts of portable energy needed for high demands.
Electrical storage solutions are particularly vital in Texas, a leader in wind farms. A recent story in the Dallas Morning News points out that an important drawback to wind turbines is they turn off when the wind stops blowing, which tends to happen afternoons, just as demand for power peaks. Right now the only solution is in using wind power at night to compress air into underground storage which can then be used during peak demand to mix with natural gas and run turbines to generate electricity, again relying on a fossil fuel.
“Current battery chemistries can provide a limited amount of power and until there’s a quantum leap in technology, battery size will continue to be a market barrier, says Dave Walker, Chairman and CEO of Enable IPC. “Nanotechnological advances will help, but the real breakthrough will likely need to come at a more fundamental technology level.”