...AND CHEAPER...:

Much of the DOE research has focused on materials -- such as finding new ways to build cheap batteries that can store a lot of energy. The moves, summarized in "Powering the Future," a report NREL released last week, could help reduce battery reliance upon scarce imported materials by changing battery designs to limit their need for cobalt, graphite and nickel.

The use of silicon -- a hard, brittle, crystalline element that is abundant in the United States and throughout the world -- "is likely to be the next new big thing," said Matt Keyser, head of the Electrochemical Energy Storage Group at NREL in Golden, Colo.

Because silicon can store four to five times more electricity than graphite -- which is normally used in batteries -- the move would reduce the size and weight of battery packs. That could encourage the use of batteries in larger aircraft "because you want to be able to store as much energy in the smallest mass that we can," Keyser said.

Another promising outcome is that the size of EV batteries would remain the same, but drive ranges would increase by 30 percent to 40 percent.

Tweet   @brothersjudd