This month Germany’s electric car subsidy programme kicks off. The project gives subsidies to people buying electric cars and contributes to the installation of charging sites. Baader Bank reckons that the growth in electric and hybrid car manufacturing will add $300 million to the automotive IC TAM by 2019 with the main beneficiary being, of …
Nexeon raises £30m for silicon Li-ion batteries
Silicon lithium-ion battery firm Nexeon has completed a £30 million funding round, from existing investors and a new investor, Woodford Investment Management. The Oxfordshire firm will use the new funds to acquire IP and “complementary technology”, said Nexeon, to open a development lab in Asia near key customers, and to begin designing a larger manufacturing facility. …
Researchers build a battery that lasts 200,000 cycles
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have made a battery that is almost unchanged after 200,000 charge-discharge cycles over three months. It exploits the high surface area of gold nano-wires coated with manganese dioxide, into which lithium ions are added and removed. The cells are symmetrical, with identical nano-wires attached to both electrodes, separated …
Bluetooth SIG reports 2016 Brand Perception (consumer)
The Bluetooth SIG publishes a 2016 Brand Perception report, outlining consumer attitudes towards Bluetooth technology.
Osram to light Eurovision Song Contest
Osram will light the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm. Around 800 moving heads equipped with “state-of-the-art light sources” from Osram’s subsidiary Clay Paky will be used, said Osram, although it did not say if they were all led-based. Clay Paky also makes arc-based lamps. Contest lighting designer Frederik Jönsson said: “For lighting designers the Eurovision …
Sony patents camera contact lens, but….
Sony has applied for a patent** for a contact lens with a built-in camera and display. But, unless I am reading it wrong, in which case I am really sorry, it reads like a boy saying “if I had a staircase a million million miles high I would walk to the moon. I would take …
TI’s 65V buck converter draws only 10μA
Texas Instruments is claiming industry’s lowest quiescent current for a 3-65V buck converter. Optimised for light-load efficiency in factory automation and automotive applications, it can draw as little as 10.5μA, as well as delivering 150mA. There are two versions of the buck converter: LM5165 for industrial and LM5165-Q1 for AEC-Q100 automotive. Both work with junctions up to 150ºC. “The …
Acuity launches tunable LED products for schools and offices at LFI
The Rubik SSL luminaire family enables geometrically-compelling tunable LED lighting designs to be integrated into the commercial built environment, while new Mainstream Dynamic technology enables teachers to have access to lighting that can optimize students’ learning environment.
DOE Gateway demonstration tests OLED lighting in an office setting
Acuity Trilia OLED fixtures deliver style and quality light at the offices of Aurora Lighting Design, but efficacy trails LED-based lighting and driver installation was complex.
Eaton demonstrates distributed DC power for LED lighting at LFI
A Distributed Low Voltage Power architecture that carries power and control to LED luminaires is a new initiative for Eaton and the company will seek to standardize the approach.