Industry news

Renesas Electronics Europe achieved VDE (the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies) certification for its IEC60335-compliant self-test software aimed at its RX100 microcontroller (MCU) family. The free-of-charge software is available for download from the company’s Web site. In addition to the on-chip hardware safety features, the self-test CPU software makes it easier for manufacturers of industrial, motor-control, and

Read more

Arotech Corporation today announced a new Man Portable Hybrid Power Management System that its Battery and Power Division’s UEC Electronics subsidiary unveiled to the United States Department of Defense (DoD). This latest 3.5kW system is a prototype which satisfies an upcoming solicitation for the Mobile Electric Hybrid Power System Lite (MEHPS-Lite). Following the success of the Division’s Ground Renewable Expeditionary

Read more

Toshiba Corporation has been selected to provide the battery for the United Kingdom’s first 2MW scale lithium-titanate battery based Energy Storage System (ESS) to support grid management. The company’s 1MWh SCiB™ battery will be installed in a primary substation in central England in September. Large-scale ESS are increasingly seen as a versatile solution in managing electricity supply. Installed in wind

Read more

While many think of “glow-in-the-dark” materials as mere retro throwbacks to the ’80s, scientists say that glowing luminescent technology could be the answer to building a more sustainable cities. From plants infused with luminescent DNA to roads painted with glowing green paint, recent experiments increasingly prove the viability of swapping electric lights for renewable and emission-free, glow-in-the-dark lighting. Keep reading

Read more

The latest buzzword in the automotive industry is “electric”. You can thank Toyota’s Prius, Elon Musk, and movies like Who Killed / Revenge of the Electric Car for that. As more and more companies move towards electrification, they’re pushing battery technology forward – and it’s changing rapidly, with performance going up as prices come down. Suddenly, Mercedes had an all-electric

Read more

Is Tesla Motors the world’s most important automaker?   Whatever you may think about that question, one of the most important financial services groups in the world, Morgan Stanley, apparently thinks so. Do you really want to argue with it about choosing an EV manufacturer?   While those of us involved in the green-tech fields can probably pretty easily see

Read more

Ecosphere Technologies’ latest product combines several of our very favorite things in one easy-to-transport package: shipping containers, off-the-grid solar power, and clean drinking water generation. With their new Ecos PowerCube, the company can deliver a shipping-container-sized, self-sustaining solar power station by air, sea, rail or road to anywhere in the world it is needed.   According to the Ecosphere Technologies‘website,

Read more

Texas Instruments usage of FRAM has significantly improved the power utilization of many microcontroller applications. These micros still have on-chip SRAM but they replace flash storage with FRAM that has a faster write speed and does not suffer from flash memory’s limited write lifetime. FRAM lifetime is rated in trillions of cycles. This allows FRAM to be used for code

Read more

International Rectifier has introduced the automotive-qualified AUIRFN8403 COOLiRFET™ power MOSFET for automotive applications that require compact size and high current performance including pump motor control and automotive body control. IRAvailable in a compact PQFN 5x6mm package, the AUIRFN8403, the first in a family of new devices, utilizes IR’s most advanced COOLiRFET™ 40V trench technology, delivering ultra-low 3.3mOhm on-state resistance (Rds(on))

Read more

Texas Instruments today announced its comprehensive ultra-low power FRAM microcontroller (MCU) platform with all the necessary hardware and software tools, and support for developers to reduce energy budgets, minimize product size and enable a battery-free world. TI’s new MSP430FR59x/69x FRAM MCU families with EnergyTrace++™ real-time power profiler and debugger range from 32 to 128 KB embedded FRAM. These MSP430™ MCUs

Read more