There’s significant progress to report on an idea that could transform electric vehicles from a potential grid destabilizer to a helpful piece in the energy storage puzzle.
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have managed to design a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.
As more electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids hit the streets, one of the challenges will be managing the power grid requirements for these cars when they are having their batteries recharged at all hours.
So, increasingly, we've got this whole renewable energy thing going on. But integrating all that new solar and wind power into the power grid remains a challenge.
Managing the grid - maintaining a balance between supply and demand that keeps the system at its required frequency of 60 Hz - is a bit of a delicate dance.
Intel is showcasing its next-gen Atom E600 SoC lineup at IDF 2010. Formerly codenamed "Tunnel Creek," the versatile E600 features an open interconnect that allows the chip to be easily fitted into a wide variety of form factors, including in-car infotainment systems, Internet phones and smart grid devices.
