Metals Tech

Human lives depend on brakes. They need to grip quickly and return to their resting position immediately once the brake pedal is released. If they do not return fully, energy losses may occur. This is not noticeable to the driver and it doesn’t affect the function of the brake. It can, however, increase a vehicle’s carbon footprint. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and employees of ANAXAM and the industrial partner Audi Sport have been exploring this phenomenon. They used neutrons from the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source SINQ at PSI to look inside a brake caliper, thereby demonstrating a way of visualizing and optimizing the movement of the brake pistons. The brake caliper grips the rotating brake disc like pincers. When the driver presses the brake pedal, the hydraulic pressure from the brake line pushes a number of pistons forward, which squeeze the two brake pads—one on either side—up against the brake disc, whereupon the high frictional forces bring the disc to a stop. ANAXAM in Villigen is a center for technology transfer, co-founded by PSI, which supports industrial companies wanting to use PSI’s research infrastructure. The industrial partner in this project was Audi Sport. Mathias Kolb, a development engineer at Audi Sport in Neckarsulm, Germany, had contacted his former colleague Matthias Wagner, now a senior engineer at ANAXAM. Together with David Mannes from PSI, they came up with a method that allows them to look inside the brake caliper in real time and search for ways of optimizing it. This has now been achieved for the first time at PSI. Using neutrons to improve car brakes The partners quickly realized that X-rays were ruled out by the fact that they are unable to penetrate metals. Neutrons are different: the aluminum of the brake caliper is almost transparent to them, yet at the same time they are highly sensitive to light chemical elements. This means that brake fluid, which contains hydrogen compounds, is clearly visible in the image. PSI provided the neutron beamline and its know-how for the experiments, which began in 2021 and were completed this year. The experiment was conducted at the Neutra beamline of the spallation source SINQ. A detector recorded the neutrons passing through the apparatus and ultimately produced a two-dimensional image from within the brake caliper. ANAXAM mounted a brake caliper in front of the detector. The set-up was supplemented by a specially designed hydraulic system that produces realistic braking pressures of up to 100 bar. A climate chamber allowed the temperature of the brake caliper to be carefully controlled, simulating various operating conditions. Unlike on the road, the brake disc did not rotate during the tests. “This, however, could be an option for future tests, to achieve even more precise results,” says Matthias Wagner from ANAXAM. That will probably not be necessary, though, because the completed series of measurements has already yielded numerous interesting findings. The clearance is crucial The images recorded by the detector demonstrate impressively what neutron imaging is capable of. The brake caliper is clearly visible, with its six hydraulic pistons—three on each side. So are the tiniest deviations in the travel of the pistons. Here, it becomes apparent that the clearance of the lower piston actuating the outer brake pad—that is the distance between the brake pad in its resting position and the brake disc—is correct at 0.4 millimeters, whereas the other five pistons have a clearance of less than 0.3 millimeters. The investigators were also able to measure precisely how the brake caliper, shaped like pincers, bends outwards when the two brake pads exert pressure on it. This project is a good example of how the scientific know-how of PSI and the competencies of ANAXAM can further improve a product that has already proven itself in series production. The industrial partner has further optimized the operation of the brake pistons, such that the clearance of the three pistons on the inner side of the brake caliper has now been increased by 0.1 millimeters when viewed under the neutron beam. This reliably separates the brake pads from the brake disc when the brakes are released. David Mannes from PSI says, “Our research can contribute to reducing the CO₂ emissions of road vehicles.”

As a new year comes around, there has been a resurgence in focus on innovative, low-carbon technologies that may support the transition to green in the coming years. In addition to human urine as fertilizer and genetically engineered, nitrogen-absorbing plants, one product with major potential is the biobattery. Energy firms and governments worldwide are pumping billions into new lithium operations, in a bid to mine enough of the mineral to power electric batteries needed for electronic devices and electric vehicles (EVs) around the globe, with demand set to rise sharply over the next decade and beyond.

The global demand for lithium has soared in recent years as the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries for electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, and EVs has risen. And this is generally seen as a good thing, as it marks a gradual movement away from fossil fuel-powered cars in favor of less-polluting EVs. However, ditching one energy source and switching reliance to another is worrying; in this case, we’re moving towards reliance on the metals and minerals that are powering green energy and related technology.

More lithium mines are being developed every year, in several locations worldwide. As the so-called lithium triangle, comprising mining operations across Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia, continues to grow, providing much of the world’s lithium, new projects are also being developed in unexpected locations. But all this new mining activity has environmentalists concerned about its potential impact on the environment. While it marks a positive movement away from drilling for fossil fuels and burning carbon-heavy oil, gas, and coal, it will likely have a huge impact on the environment and ecosystems of the mining regions.

As energy experts try to innovate ahead of further environmental degradation or the overreliance on yet another natural resource, biobatteries are gaining more attention. These batteries use biological molecules to break down other biological molecules, releasing electrons in the process, and allowing energy to be stored in batteries made of organic compounds. This could see even greater levels of energy being stored in a small space than in traditional electric batteries. It could also help reduce the level of toxic metals being used in batteries.

One idea is to use chemicals found in crab and lobster shells to develop batteries. The chitin found in crustation shells, as well as fungi and insects, is often discarded as food waste in homes and restaurants. However, it might hold the key to developing a cleaner battery, reducing reliance on lithium and other mined metals. The University of Maryland’s Center for Materials Innovation recently released a paper for the potential use of these shells in batteries, with the director of the center, Liangbing Hu, stating “We think both biodegradability of material, or environmental impact, and the performance of the batteries are important for a product, which has the potential to be commercialised.”

To make this innovation possible, chitin would need to be processed, adding acetic acid aqueous solution, to create a firm gel membrane to be used as an electrolyte in a battery. This would help ions travel inside batteries, storing energy. The chitosan electrolyte could be combined with naturally occurring zinc to make renewable batteries both safer and cheaper. Further, the batteries are not flammable, and the chitosan can break down in soil in around five months, leaving only renewable zinc.

Maryland is not the only university looking to develop biobatteries, with LUT University in Finland also conducting research into the technology. In 2023, LUT plans to invest in the development of a battery material laboratory to develop battery cells. Pertti Kauranen, an energy storage professor at LUT University, explains “Alongside lithium batteries, we will need to develop alternative solutions based on more common and possibly even bio-based raw materials.”

But while there are high hopes for the future of biobatteries, at present, the technology remains limited. With the current state of biobatteries, smartphones would require thousands of them to be powered effectively. However, as research and development into new types of biobatteries speeds up, and different bacteria are combined to help improve upon battery performance, there is optimism around the development of effective biobatteries within the next decade.

With worries mounting about the need for increased mining activities worldwide to extract metals and minerals for use in the renewable energy industry – once again putting reliance on finite natural resources – environmentalists and researchers are racing to develop low-carbon, environmentally-friendly technologies. Greater investment in research and development into new renewable energy options and related technology could help us avoid a potential ecological disaster, as seen in the past with the development of the fossil fuel industry and over-reliance on oil, gas, and coal. And biobatteries could provide the sustainable option we need to power the future of electrical devices and transport.

Neoen has started construction of its 200MW Western Downs Battery in Australia.

The developer has provided notices to proceed to battery storage experts Tesla and to balance of plant contractor UGL, signalling the start of works at the site south west Queensland.

Neoen will be the long-term owner and operator of the asset, which is its fourth big battery in Australia and is expected to start operating in the Australian summer of 2024/25.
The battery itself will consist of Tesla Megapack systems and will leverage the existing infrastructure of Neoen’s Western Downs Green Power Hub which includes a 460MW solar farm currently nearing completion.

The project will be located next to the Western Downs substation, with Powerlink delivering the connection works, including a dedicated high-voltage line which will connect the battery to the transmission network.

The Western Downs Battery is designed to help modernise and stabilise the Queensland grid, with the battery, capable of performing a range of critical roles including firming renewables, providing frequency services and transmission network support, Neoen said.

It will also be equipped with grid-forming inverter technology allowing it to provide essential system stability services traditionally provided by synchronous generation such as coal and gas, it added.

Neoen Australia’s managing director Louis de Sambucy said: “We are thrilled to be pressing ‘go’ on the Western Downs Battery, building upon our Western Downs solar farm which is nearing completion.

“We would like to thank Tesla, UGL and Powerlink for their dedication and commitment, and ARENA for their trust and support.

“We are extremely proud to now have a big battery in four of the five states of the National Electricity Market.”

ARENA chief executive officer Darren Miller said: “Battery storage is an essential technology in the transition to renewable energy, allowing us to smooth out variable generation and store electricity for when it’s needed.

“Next generation grid scale batteries such as Western Downs Battery will underpin this transition, with inverter technology that can maintain grid stability without fossil fuels.”

Neoen chairman and chief executive officer Xavier Barbaro said: “We are proud of this new storage asset, which will be the most powerful battery in Queensland, a state where the pace of the energy transition is accelerating.

“Neoen now holds a global storage portfolio of 842MW / 1341MWh.

“It also takes our total capacity past 6GW in operation or under construction around the world, giving us confidence in our ability to reach 10GW by 2025.”

Smart buildings, which are central to the concept of smart cities, are a new generation of buildings in which technological devices, such as sensors, are embedded in the structure of the buildings themselves. Smart buildings promise to personalize the experiences of their occupants by using real-time feedback mechanisms and forward-looking management of interactions between humans and the built environment.

This personalization includes continuous monitoring of the activities of occupants and the use of sophisticated profiling models. While these issues spark concerns about privacy, this is a matter of not seeing the forest for the trees. The questions raised by the massive arrival of digital technologies in our living spaces go far beyond this.

As a professor of real estate at ESG-UQAM, I specialize in innovations applied to the real estate sector. My research focuses on smart commercial buildings, for which I am developing a conceptual framework and innovative tools to enable in-depth analysis in the context of smart cities.

‘Choices’ proposed, or imposed

Thanks to ubiquitous computing, interactions between building occupants and nested technology are quiet and invisible. As a result, the occupants’ attention is never drawn to the massive presence of computers operating permanently in the background.

Personalization allows us, for example, to have the ideal temperature and brightness in our workspace at all times. This would be idyllic if this personalization did not come at a cost to the occupants, namely their freedom of action and, more fundamentally, their free will.

As technology increasingly mediates our experiences in the built environment, choices will be offered to us, or even imposed on us, based on the profile the building’s technology device models have created of us in function of the goals, mercantile or otherwise, of those who control them (such as technology companies).

Having the ability to decide either to do something or not, and to act accordingly, is a basic definition of freedom. Smart buildings challenge this freedom by interfering with our ability to act, and more fundamentally, with our ability to decide for ourselves. Is freedom of action even possible for the occupants of a building where interactions between humans and their built environment are produced using algorithms that are never neutral?

Satisfied… but not free

The 17th-century English philosopher John Locke’s famous analogy of the locked room sheds light on this question. Suppose a sleeping man is transported to a room where, upon awakening, he is engaged in activities that bring him great satisfaction, such as chatting with a long-lost friend.

Unbeknown to him, the door of the room is locked. Thus, he cannot leave the room if he wants to. He is therefore not free, even though he voluntarily remains in the room and gets extreme satisfaction from what he is doing there.

Locke’s analysis reflects the situation of smart building occupants. They benefit from the personalization of their experiences from which they derive great satisfaction. However, once they enter a space, technology controls their interactions outside of their awareness. While they may want to stay in the building to enjoy personalized experiences, they are not free. Smart buildings are a high-tech version of Locke’s locked room.

There’s nothing new about the problem. Already in the 19th century, in “Notes from Underground,” the Russian Fyodor Dostoyevsky identifies the challenges that computational logic poses to free will.

“You will scream at me … that no one is touching my free will, that all they are concerned with is that my will should of itself, of its own free will, coincide with my own normal interests, with the laws of nature and arithmetic. Good heavens, gentlemen, what sort of free will is left when we come to tabulation and arithmetic…?”

Deciding on the role of technology in our living spaces

Indeed, what can be said about our free will when choices are made for us by technology?

An action is something we do actively, as opposed to things that happen to us in a passive way. Also, the active will to perform an action differs from the passive desire for an act to be done.

While algorithms are concerned with the predictability of human behavior, things happen passively to the occupants of smart buildings. Their role is limited to receiving stimuli whilst the invisibility of the technology maintains their illusion that they have sole control over their actions.

These human-built environment interactions erode our will to take action, replacing it with desires shaped and calibrated by models over which we have no control. By denying the free will of their occupants, smart buildings challenge the right to action that the German philosopher Hannah Arendt defines as one of the most fundamental rights of humans, the one that differentiates us from animals.

So, should we prohibit, or at least regulate, the technology embedded in smart buildings?

The answer to this question takes us back to the very origins of Western democracy. Long before the Big Tech companies (GAFAM), the Greek Socrates (who died in 399 BC) was concerned with the nature of an ideal city. In Plato’s The Republic, Socrates explains that the difference between a city where citizens have all the luxuries and a city without luxuries, which he calls “a city fit for pigs,” is the ability of the residents of the former to choose their way of life, unlike the residents of the latter where this choice is simply not possible.

Smart cities are the digital version of the luxury cities of antiquity. However, without granting their residents the ability to make informed choices about technology, they provide satisfaction at the expense of their rights.

To avoid building an entire environment according to the philosophy of pigs, smart building occupants should retain the legally defined right to decide for themselves the role of technology in their living spaces. Only then can their freedom be respected.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, announced that its new lithium-ion battery cell plant in Germany started series production “as scheduled”.

The Contemporary Amperex Technology Thuringia GmbH (CATT) in Thuringia is the company’s first factory outside of China. It was announced in 2018 as part of a business deal with BMW Group.

Construction of the site started in 2019. In Q3 2021, the G1 facility began production of battery modules (one module might consist of multiple cells), while the new G2 battery cell facility received approval in April 2022 and this month it came online.

The initial manufacturing capacity is estimated at 8 Gigawatt hour per year, although in the future, it’s expected to reach 14 GWh per year. According to CATL, at a total investment of up to $1.9 billion (€1.8 billion) up to 2,000 new jobs will be created in Germany.

Matthias Zentgraf, CATL’s president for Europe said:

“The production kickoff proves that we kept our promise to our customers as a reliable partner of the industry and we stay committed to Europe’s e-mobility transition even under very challenging conditions like the pandemic. We are working hard to ramp up production to full capacity, which is our top priority for the coming year.”

The company does not elaborate on the cell form factor or battery chemistry, but we guess that it’s the prismatic form factor.

CATL is currently investing an even higher amount –  $7.8 billion (€1.8 billion) – in a much larger battery plant project in Hungary, which is set for 100 GWh of batteries annually. This new factory will produce battery cells for various plug-in car manufacturers, including the all-new cylindrical battery cells for BMW Group.

Globally, CATL is the largest battery supplier for electric cars with a 33% market share as of the first half of 2022 and an average output of well over 10 GWh per month. The company produces LFP-, NCM- and other battery chemistries, as well as battery system solutions, including cell-to-pack systems, which eliminates the necessity of modules inside the battery pack enclosure.

Currently, the company is considering whether one of its new plants will be built in North America.

A team of researchers from Brown University’s School of Public Health, Brown’s School of Engineering and Silent Spring Institute found that simple air filtration devices called Corsi-Rosenthal boxes are effective at reducing indoor air pollutants.

The study, which analyzed the effectiveness of Corsi-Rosenthal boxes installed at the School of Public Health to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, is the first peer-reviewed study of the efficacy of the boxes on indoor pollutants, according to the authors.

Lowering indoor air concentrations of commonly-found chemicals known to pose a risk to human health is a way to improve occupant health, according to lead author Joseph Braun, an associate professor of epidemiology at Brown.

“The findings show that an inexpensive, easy-to-construct air filter can protect against illness caused not only by viruses but also by chemical pollutants,” Braun said. “This type of highly-accessible public health intervention can empower community groups to take steps to improve their air quality and therefore, their health.”

Corsi-Rosenthal boxes, or cubes, can be constructed from materials found at hardware stores: four MERV-13 filters, duct tape, a 20-inch box fan and a cardboard box. As part of a school-wide project, boxes were assembled by students and campus community members and installed in the School of Public Health as well as other buildings on the Brown University campus.

To assess the cubes’ efficacy at removing chemicals from the air, Braun and his team compared a room’s concentrations of semi-volatile organic compounds before and during the box’s operation.

The results, published in Environmental Science & Technology, showed that Corsi-Rosenthal boxes significantly decreased the concentrations of several PFAS and phthalates in 17 rooms at the School of Public Health during the period they were used (February to March 2022). PFAS, a type of synthetic chemical found in a range of products including cleaners, textiles and wire insulation, decreased by 40% to 60%; phthalates, commonly found in building materials and personal care products, were reduced by 30% to 60%.

PFAS and phthalates have been linked to various health problems, including asthma, reduced vaccine response, decreased birth weight, altered brain development in children, altered metabolism and some cancers, said Braun, who studies the effect of these chemicals on human health. They are also considered to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals that may mimic or interfere with the body’s hormones. What’s more, PFAS have been associated with reduced vaccine response in children and also may increase the severity of and susceptibility to COVID-19 in adults.

“The reduction of PFAS and phthalate levels is a wonderful co-benefit to the Corsi-Rosenthal boxes,” said study co-author Robin Dodson, a research scientist at Silent Spring Institute and expert in chemical exposures in the indoor environment. “These boxes are accessible, easy to make and relatively inexpensive, and they’re currently being used in universities and homes across the country.”

“The Corsi-Rosenthal box was designed to be a simple, cost-effective tool to promote accessible and effective air cleaning during the COVID-19 pandemic; the fact that the boxes are also effective at filtering out air pollutants is a fantastic discovery,” said Richard Corsi, one of the inventors of the boxes and dean of the College of Engineering at the University of California, Davis. “I am thrilled that researchers at Brown University and Silent Spring Institute have identified a significant co-benefit of the boxes with respect to reduced exposure to two harmful classes of indoor pollutants: PFAS and phthalates.”

The sentiment was echoed by Jim Rosenthal, Corsi’s collaborator and CEO of Air Relief Technologies, the company that manufactures the MERV-13 filters used in Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes.

“This interesting research showing that the air filters not only reduce particles carrying the SARS-CoV-2 virus but also reduce other indoor air pollutants could be very significant as we continue to work to create cleaner and safer indoor air,” Rosenthal said.

The researchers also found that the Corsi-Rosenthal boxes increase sound levels by an average of 5 decibels during the day and 10 decibels at night, which could be considered distracting in certain settings, such as classrooms. However, Braun said, the health benefits of the box likely outweigh the audio side effects.

“The box filters do make some noise,” Braun said. “But you can construct them quickly for about $100 per unit, with materials from the hardware store. They are not only highly effective but also scalable.”

Brown study authors include Kate Manz and Kurt Pennell from the School of Engineering, and Jamie Liu, Shaunessey Burks and Richa Gairola from the School of Public Health.