Keith Potts, national trainer for Milwaukee Electric Tool, gives us a personalized demonstration of the new M18 FUEL system of cordless power tools, which integrates the Powerstate brushless motor, RedLithium battery technology and RedLink Plus intelligence.

April 10, 2012 - Falcon Electric, a manufacturer of online uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), frequency converters and precision ac regulators, has added a wide-temperature (-30°C to 63°C) battery bank option to its SSG and SSG-RP UPS products. The SSGB-1S40-5U 40AH battery bank consists of eight deep cycle, valve regulated lead-acid, 40 Amp Hour (AH) batteries and two internal one amp chargers. According to the company, the battery bank provides users with over 10 times the battery runtime, compared to Falcon’s standard 2U extended battery pack option.

FALCON ELECTRIC

April 9, 2012 - Global shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Magna E-Car Systems, a supplier of components and systems for hybrid and electric vehicles, are forming a joint venture named Mahy E-Cell as a platform to co-develop a battery cell and battery pack business.

March 15, 2012 - 3M says it is investing in the research and manufacture of novel silicon (Si) -based 3M anode materials. The technology enables “advanced batteries for reliable power” that is required to keep up with the global increase of mobile societies and electric vehicles.

While at NTEA’s Work Truck Show 2012, we stumbled upon Mark Baer of Altec, who taught us about JEMS, an acronym of Jobsite Energy Management System.

February 21, 2012 - Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new family of liquid salt electrolytes—known as MetILs—that could lead to batteries able to cost-effectively store three times more energy than today’s batteries.

December 12, 2011 - TÜV SÜD America (part of the global TÜV SÜD testing, inspection and certification organization) has expanded battery testing capabilities in its Newmarket, Ont., and Auburn Hills, Mich., lab facilities. The expansion includes:

November 28, 2011 - General Motors announced initiatives for “customer satisfaction” and battery safety research to ensure “ongoing confidence” in the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.