batteries

Consumer safety chiefs in the US have issued a fresh warning about fire risks from a range of lithium-ion powered devices and toys— with hoverboards at the top of the list of concerns.

Hoverboard importers, retailers and distributors in the US have been urged to review product safety standards after US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) data showed the toys— also known as self-balancing electric scooters— were responsible for more than 280 fires in the country since 2015 and three deaths.

Flushed with its success in the global taxi business, Uber believes the sky is the limit for its next big venture— battery-powered flying cabs.

The company’s plans for its new service to start “full-scale operations” in some cities within the next 12-15 years were unveiled to some of the world’s leading battery experts at last week’s Florida International Battery Seminar & Exhibit.

The Middle Eastern state of Jordan has announced plans to step up exploration for lithium, after initial tests indicated the country could be sitting on high levels of the metal.

The country’s energy and mineral resources minister, Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, said the move could help Jordan cash in as a supplier to battery makers for the growing electric vehicles market.

Supplies of lithium and cobalt are set to become “seriously critical” as demand for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and other applications rises, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Ulm of Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology say cobalt-free battery technologies, “including post-lithium technologies based on non-critical elements such as sodium”, plus magnesium, zinc, calcium and aluminium, could ease the “dependency”.