Sustainable Power Sink

All renewable, sustainable power sources have periods of downtime. The sun goes down (solar), streams have diminished flow or dry up completely *water), wind dies down (wind turbine). Thee demand for power however does not. Some sort of a bridge is needed to span those periods. The simplest and most common method in use today is rechargeable batteries. Two types of vessels stand head and shoulders above the crowd in energy storage. Lead acid and nickel/lithium are the two categories in the forefront. There are pluses and minuses to both systems. Lead acid is large, heavy and toxic. Nickel/lithium  are small scaleable and able to be reconfigured to suit differing applications. The primary drawback to the nickel/lithium systems is that each cell had to be connected to similar cells to garner sufficient storage capacity for use in today’s devices. The method of choice has been by welding using a job specific type of welder at a cost of about $13K. Thousands of batteries have to be rebuilt to economically justify such a large outlay. Today there is an alternative, these batteries are available in both kit and individual forms to allow anyone to rebuild, repair or upgrade  these cells in their home or shop. The company holding the patent to this technology is called Battrx. Web address is  http://www.battrx.com and a short video on that site does an infinitely better job than I can explaining  their methods of use.

Construction for Deconstruction: Part 3 – Expert Testimonials

Carl Smith, President, Call 2 Recycle, suggests a bookend policy with initial design and manufacture intending to deconstruct and recycle 100% of battery ingredients.  (Product Design & Collection; Keys to Shaping Sustainability, 2013) 

A follow-up article, Bridging the Behavioral Gap for Recycling Success calls for changes in psychological and physical barriers to achieve 100% recyclability for obsolete end-of-life items.  (Carl Smith, 2013)

[Senate hearing 112-117]

Critical Minerals and Materials Legislation, June 2011 

 “We’ve made significant progress in assembling the infrastructure needed to manufacture these critical Lion batteries domestically; we have yet to make similar investments in the production of the materials found inside the batteries.” (Honorable Kay Hagan, U.S. Senator NC, 2011)

“We developed the know-how as to how to process the minerals and put them into advance technology.  We sold that technology.  We currently have to ship the products of these mines to China to be processed into useful materials.” (Honorable Mark Udall, U.S. Senator CO, 2011)

“At DOE we are investing 35 billion dollars of Recovery Act Funds in electric vehicles, batteries and advanced energy storage.” (David Sandalow, Asst. Sec. of Energy for Policy & International Affairs, 2011)

Committee consensus [Senate Hearing 112-117] reached the following conclusions:

• substitutes must be developed
• recycling, reuse and more efficient use of existing material
• diversification of global supply chains 
• new designs that might facilitate the removal of these items at the end of the products life.

Jonathan Price, Director Bureau of Minds:

• information, collection, analysis and dissemination
• research, development and work force enhancement
• recycling

Steven Duclos, Chief Scientist and Manager, Material Sustainability. GE Global Research, Niskayuna, NY:

• improvement in global supply chain
• improvements in material utilization in manufacturing and reduction in manufacturing waste
• development of recycling technologies that extract at risk elements from both end-of-life– products and manufacturing end-loss. 
• this includes the design of products that are more easily recycled and serviced.  We can presently inventory materials in order to mitigate short term supply issues.

Sneak Peak into our Product: New Connectors

Skil Power Tool. Photo from morguefile.com

To all of our prepper friends who love to use battrx for their work: a little heads up. Coming soon we have REVAMPED all of our connectors to make a BETTER product for you!

Also, We are right in the middle of setting up a repair shop/office/warehouse in Fort Pierce and Rob (my son) will begin rebuilding batteries for customers. I am on queue for a revamp of the connectors and will increase the line fourfold.

Exciting time ahead for battrx!

Upgrade and Rebuild (not replace) Your Rechargeable Battery

Rechargeable batteries for cordless devices are a blessing and a curse. What exactly does that mean? When new and working correctly they allow a cordless power tool, laptop computer radio controlled car, phone or portable vac to be used in areas for lengths of time undreamed of only ten to twenty years ago. That would be the blessing aspect of the previous statement. The curse comes after what seems like a minimal time the battery starts to lose power with less and less use. Prior to this year there were only two possible remedies for this. First buy a new battery hopefully with an upgraded amperage rating or rebuild the existing battery using upgraded internal cells. A new upgraded 18 volt DeWalt drill battery sells in retail operations for somewhere between $100 to $115. The old battery must be recycled in an approved manner taking up precious space in landfills etc as only certain parts of the whole can be reused. The second method entailed rebuilding the internal components ( sub C cells ). Connecting them with nickel tabs either soldered or spot welded together to replicate the original shape.Soldering is by far and large the most common method as most DIY”ers with the knowledge to attempt this have a soldering gun. The welding is done by an industry specific unit usable only for this operation and costing in the neighborhood of $10,000. Only the largest contractors with a lot of batteries to rebuild could justify such an expense. Soldering, while alright as a method creates heat on the cell in excess of 550 degrees.Temperatures this high can cause thermal runaway in the cell and subsequent distending of the wall and or explosion.

Today in 2011 there are better ways to accomplish this. Patent pending mechanical connections are spot welded on the terminal ends of these cells and supplied along with the highest quality Type 201 solid nickel connectors for a simple rebuild and upgrade on either a job site or workshop.

These kits come standard for voltages from 4.8V through 36V in either 2.1 amp or 3.2 amp varieties.These kits include everything you need to upgrade standard 1.7 amp OEM supplied batteries to 30% to 50% additional capacity in 30 minutes or less.The existing battery rebuild kits are not only tops in saving money and time but also the environment as the expended cells are 100% recyclable into their original components and subsequent reuse in new cells.

Joe Krzywicki
President Battrx LLC
http://www.battrx.com
Rechargeable battery – Repair – Rebuild – Replacement – Upgrade Kits
joek@battrx.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6741810

Construction for Deconstruction – Part 2

(con’t from the last post)…

Let’s break down the problem further. What are some of the problems with being dependent on foreign battery/energy supplies?

“One of every 50 resupply convoys in Afghanistan results in a fatality or serious injury”.     (ACORE/AEE)

Further,

Fukishima (earthquakes & tsunami), North Korean sabre rattling, super typhoon Haryan, and China’s recent claim on the Japanese Senkakus Islands all worked to restrict the dwindling supply of rechargeable batteries from the NiCad triangle of Japan, China, and North Korea. -Joe Krzywicki, President of Battrx

However, despite those aforementioned barriers to actually supplying rechargeable batteries, our nation is taking steps to be MORE reliable on those LESS available batteries:

“Production of the Model S at Tesla’s Fremont, California plant is being held back by part supplies, particularly of lithium-ion battery cells.” (CEO Elon Musk, 2013).

This statement of Tesla’s production limitations result from shortages of the same cells (the ubiquitous 18650) used by virtually every laptop, power tool, Segway and two-way radio manufacturer.

Further,

“The US market for secondary batteries is projected to climb 5.7 percent annually to $11.3 billion in 2015. Market gains will be bolstered by increasing usage of high drain electronic products, which supports sales of more powerful, expensive batteries.” (PRWEB Dallas TX, 2012)

and…

“The Navy has set a goal of making half its bases net-zero energy facilities by 2020.” (ACORE/AEE)

Battery shortages are not a nebulous future, but today’s norm.  How long until a black swan event involving the NiCad triangle totally severs our already precarious supply chain? Batteries and their ready availability are essential to our national security and continuance of our standard of living.  Two of the largest global manufacturers capable of producing these batteries are headquartered in the US, but raw material processing and production takes place overseas.  Secure access to this material garnered the attention of many disparate leaders as varied and august as a blue ribbon senatorial committee, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Call 2 Recycles’ president, Carl Smith.  Independent research by the preceding individuals reached eerily similar conclusions.

This report will shine a light on the presently dark areas of the TODAY chart (see figure 1, above) leading us to battery sustainability of the TOMORROW chart (see figure 2, below).  There is no simplistic, easily navigable route, but a series of new and existing technological initiatives. Using present day technology along with best practices and a multi-level coordinated approach, 100% independence in battery production can be achieved in years not decades.

Construction for Deconstruction – Part 1

The Problem:

The US is the largest consumer of rechargeable secondary batteries.  The US uses rechargeable batteries in everyday life such as in two way radios, laptops, Segway’s, drills, parking meters, battle field robots, communication devices, missile launches, missile targets, laser sights, night vision scopes and many other necessary items.  One third by weight of a soldiers backpack is either batteries or battery operated.  Rechargeable batteries are not only a huge expense for the US, but staggering for the US Military.  In 2010 the Defense Logistics Agency purchased 7,208 different types of batteries for $127.59 million; 14.4% more than in 2009 (Defense Industry News, 12/2010)   “The Defense Department invested at least  $2.1 billion dollars in power sources from fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2010. Fuel cells and batteries were by far the largest categories.” (GAO, 2010) Presently, the DOD spends up to $9.30 per battery to dispose of toxic waste, including rechargeable batteries, plus a similar amount depending on the waste classification according to Hazardous Waste regulations under The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA 2007).   Additionally, the US invested over $35 billion dollars in an attempt to find a solution to the energy sustainability issue.  The US currently has no volume manufacturers of rechargeable batteries.  The US military is dependent on foreign goodwill in order to supply our needs.