The Future Of Energy Storage Beyond Lithium Ion

Summary

The script discusses the challenges and innovations in renewable energy storage. Despite record-low prices for solar and wind technologies, the intermittency of these sources poses a significant obstacle. Lithium-ion batteries, while improving, remain too expensive and limited in capacity for large-scale grid applications. Alternatives like flow batteries, thermal storage, and gravity-based systems are explored, each with unique advantages and challenges. The race is on for a cost-effective, long-duration storage solution that could revolutionize the renewable energy sector.

Takeaways

• 📉 Prices for solar panels and wind farms have hit all-time lows, leading to a significant increase in renewable energy generation.
• 🌤️ The intermittency of renewable energy sources like solar and wind is a major challenge, as they cannot produce energy consistently.
• 🔋 Lithium-ion batteries are currently the main option for energy storage but are considered too expensive for most grid-scale applications.
• 🚀 Experts believe that a 10 to 20x cost reduction is necessary for lithium-ion batteries to be viable for electrical grid storage.
• 🔥 Lithium-ion batteries also present safety risks such as fire hazards and have issues with charge retention over time.
• 🧪 Entrepreneurs are experimenting with various alternative energy storage solutions, including flow batteries and non-chemical storage methods.
• 💧 Flow batteries, like those developed by Primus Power, use liquid electrolyte and offer potential advantages over lithium-ion batteries.
• 🌡️ Thermal energy storage is emerging as a low-cost option that can last for decades without performance degradation.
• 📈 The growth of renewable energy is expected to continue, with an additional 50% increase projected over the next five years.
• 🌍 The global energy storage market is predicted to attract substantial investment, with a focus on finding the most cost-effective and safe storage solutions.
• 🏭 Government policies and incentives will play a crucial role in the development and adoption of new energy storage technologies.

Q & A

Why have renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind farms become more prevalent in recent years?

Solar panels and wind farms have become more prevalent due to significant reductions in their costs over the past decade, reaching all-time lows, which has led to the installation of hundreds of gigawatts worth of new renewable energy generation.

What is the main challenge in the renewable energy industry regarding energy availability?

The main challenge is ensuring that there is always energy on demand, regardless of the time of day or weather conditions. This is because renewable sources like wind and solar are not always available, such as when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining.

What is the current primary option for storing energy for later use in the renewable energy industry?

The current primary option for energy storage is lithium-ion batteries, which are used in products like Tesla's Powerwall for homes and Powerpack for utility-scale systems.

Why are lithium-ion batteries currently not ideal for most grid-scale applications?

Lithium-ion batteries are still too expensive for most grid-scale applications, and experts suggest that a further cost reduction of 10 to 20 times is needed. Additionally, they can only store a limited amount of energy and have issues with fire risk and charge retention over time.

What alternatives to lithium-ion batteries are being explored in the energy storage industry?

Alternatives include flow batteries, which are liquid batteries, and other forms of storage that are not chemical or battery-based. Companies are experimenting with various solutions to find more cost-effective and efficient ways to store energy.

How does Primus Power's flow battery differ from traditional lithium-ion batteries?

Primus Power's flow battery uses a zinc bromide chemistry and stores liquid electrolyte in external tanks, separating the energy source from the power generation. This design does not pose a fire risk and does not face the same issues with capacity fade as lithium-ion batteries.

What is the potential of thermal energy storage in the energy storage market?

Thermal energy storage has the potential to be extremely low-cost and can store energy for longer durations with a smaller footprint than gravity-based systems. It uses materials like cheap carbon blocks to store heat, which can later be converted back into electricity.

How has the growth of wind and solar power changed from 2000 to 2018?

From 2000 to 2018, installed wind power grew from 17,000 megawatts to over 563,000 megawatts, and solar power grew from 1,250 megawatts to 485,000 megawatts, indicating a significant increase in the adoption of these renewable energy sources.

What is the significance of Tesla's lithium-ion battery project in Australia?

Tesla's project in Australia is significant because it is the world's largest lithium-ion battery, paired with a wind farm to deliver electricity during peak hours, demonstrating the potential for renewable energy combined with battery storage to meet high demand.

What is the potential market size for energy storage by 2040, and what are the challenges to achieving this?

The energy storage market is predicted to attract $620 million in investments by 2040. However, challenges include the high initial costs of new systems and the need for government policies and incentives to support the development and adoption of new storage technologies.

What role can government policies and incentives play in promoting energy storage solutions?

Government policies and incentives, such as production tax credits for wind, investment tax credits for solar, and implementing storage mandates like in California, can play a major role in promoting the development and adoption of energy storage solutions by reducing costs and encouraging investment in the sector.

Outlines

00:00

🌞 Challenges in Renewable Energy Storage

Over the past decade, the cost of solar panels and wind farms has significantly decreased, leading to an increase in renewable energy generation. However, a key challenge remains: ensuring a consistent energy supply when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining. Currently, lithium-ion batteries are the main solution, but they are expensive and have limitations in capacity and safety. New technologies, such as flow batteries and thermal energy storage, are being explored to provide cost-effective and reliable energy storage solutions.

05:04

🔋 Innovations in Battery Technology

Companies are developing various battery technologies to improve energy storage. Primus Power's flow battery uses zinc bromide chemistry and has shipped 25 systems to customers, with plans to ship 500 more. ESS Inc. uses iron flow batteries, providing scalable and environmentally friendly solutions. However, these technologies still face challenges in storing energy for extended periods. Other companies, like Ambri and Form Energy, are exploring new approaches, but commercialization is still far off.

10:07

🌐 Exploring Alternative Energy Storage Solutions

Different approaches to energy storage include pumped hydro, which uses excess energy to pump water uphill, and Energy Vault's gravity-based system, which moves heavy bricks to store energy. These systems, though promising, have limitations in scalability and practicality. Thermal storage is another emerging technology, with companies like Antora Energy developing innovative solutions using carbon blocks and thermophotovoltaic heat engines. Various companies are also exploring compressed air and cryogenic storage, aiming to provide long-lasting and cost-effective energy storage.

Keywords

💡Solar Panels

Solar panels are devices that convert sunlight into electricity using the photovoltaic effect. They are a key component of renewable energy systems and have seen significant price reductions over the past decade, as mentioned in the script. The script discusses the challenge of solar panels' intermittent nature, as they cannot generate electricity when the sun isn't shining, highlighting the need for energy storage solutions.

💡Wind Farms

Wind farms are large-scale installations of wind turbines designed to harness wind energy and convert it into electricity. Similar to solar panels, the script notes that wind farms have reached all-time low costs, leading to increased renewable energy generation. However, it also points out the variability of wind, emphasizing the same issue of intermittency and the need for energy storage.

💡Renewable Energy

Renewable energy refers to energy generated from natural resources that are replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, and water. The script highlights the growth of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind, and the challenges faced in ensuring a consistent energy supply despite their variable nature.

💡Energy Storage

Energy storage involves capturing excess energy during times of low demand for use during peak demand periods. The script identifies energy storage as a critical challenge in the renewable energy industry, with the need for cost-effective and efficient storage solutions to ensure a reliable energy supply.

💡Lithium-ion Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are a type of rechargeable battery commonly used in electric vehicles, cell phones, and laptops. The script discusses lithium-ion batteries as the current main option for energy storage but notes their limitations in terms of cost, storage capacity, and safety concerns, suggesting the need for further innovation.

💡Grid-Scale Applications

Grid-scale applications refer to energy systems that operate at a level sufficient to supply power to an electrical grid. The script mentions that lithium-ion batteries are too expensive for most grid-scale applications and that a significant cost reduction is needed for them to be viable.

💡Flow Batteries

Flow batteries are a type of rechargeable battery that stores energy in liquid electrolytes in external tanks. The script introduces flow batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries, highlighting their potential for larger-scale energy storage without the same fire risks and capacity fade issues.

💡Primus Power

Primus Power is a company mentioned in the script that specializes in flow batteries, using zinc bromide chemistry. Their EnergyPod product is an example of a flow battery system designed to provide energy during peak demand periods, illustrating the practical application of flow battery technology.

💡Thermal Energy Storage

Thermal energy storage is a technology that stores energy as heat, which can later be converted back into electricity. The script discusses thermal energy storage as a potentially low-cost and long-lasting solution for energy storage, with the potential to compete with chemical batteries.

💡Energy Vault

Energy Vault is a company that has developed a gravity-based energy storage system, as mentioned in the script. Instead of using water, like in pumped hydro systems, Energy Vault's system moves 35-ton bricks using cranes and wires, providing a novel approach to utility-scale energy storage.

💡Investments in Energy Storage

The script predicts that the energy storage market will attract significant investments by 2040, indicating the growing recognition of the importance of energy storage in the transition to a more sustainable and reliable energy system.

Highlights

Solar panels and wind farms have reached all-time low prices, leading to an increase in renewable energy generation.

Challenge of firming renewables is ensuring constant energy availability regardless of weather conditions.

Lithium-ion batteries are the main option for energy storage but are too expensive for most grid-scale applications.

Battery technology for the electrical grid requires a further cost reduction of 10 to 20 times.

Lithium-ion batteries have limitations in energy storage duration and safety concerns.

Flow batteries and non-chemical storage solutions are being explored as alternatives to lithium-ion batteries.

Primus Power's flow battery uses zinc bromide chemistry and has been funded by government agencies.

Thermal energy storage offers a low-cost opportunity for long-term energy storage without degradation.

Wind and solar power installations have seen significant growth from 2000 to 2018.

Solar photovoltaics and lithium-ion batteries have become more economical due to improved manufacturing techniques.

Tesla's lithium-ion battery in Australia demonstrates the potential of wind or solar plus battery storage.

Flow batteries like those from Primus Power and ESS Inc are being scaled up for utility-scale applications.

Energy Vault's gravity-based storage system moves bricks using cranes and machine vision software.

Antora Energy's thermal storage uses a thermophotovoltaic heat engine for converting heat back into electricity.

The energy storage market is expected to grow significantly, with investments projected to reach $620 million by 2040.

Government policies and incentives are crucial for the development and adoption of new energy storage technologies.

A diverse mix of storage technologies is needed to support a renewable-only energy system.

Transcripts

Over the past decade, prices for solar panels and wind farms have reached

all time lows, leading to hundreds of gigawatts worth of new renewable

energy generation.

As the saying goes though, the wind isn't always blowing and the sun isn't

always shining.If, for example, it's a beautiful sunny day and we've got a

super abundance of electricity, we can't use it.

The question of how to firm renewables, that is, ensuring there's always

energy on demand no matter the time of day or weather, is one of the

biggest challenges in the industry.

We need a good way to store energy for later.

And the main option right now is lithium ion batteries.

You see them in products like Tesla's home battery, the Powerwall and

utility-scale system, the Powerpack.

But though lithium ion is dropping in price, experts say it will remain

too expensive for most grid-scale applications.

To get to battery for the electrical grid, we need to look at a further

cost reduction of 10 to 20x.

Right now, lithium ion batteries just can't store more than four hours

worth of energy at a price point that would make sense.

Plus, they pose a fire risk and their ability to hold a charge fades over

time. To address this, there's acadre of entrepreneurs experimenting with a

variety of different solutions.

Now we're seeing flow batteries, which are liquid batteries, and we're

seeing other forms of storage that are not chemical or battery-based

storage.And each has serious potential.

We looked at materials on the periodic table that were actually going to be

cost competitive from day one.

Primus Power's flow battery is a workhorse.

Thermal energy storage has a pretty unique opportunity to be extremely low

cost.Our solution will last 30 plus years without any degradation in that

performance.Which technologies prevail remains to be seen.

But one thing is clear.

For renewables to truly compete with fossil fuels, we need to figure out a

better way to store energy.

From 2000 to 2018, installed wind power grew from 17,000 megawatts to over

563,000 megawatts.

And solar power grew from a mere 1,250 megawatts to485,000 megawatts.

And it's not stopping there.

Renewables are expected to grow an additional 50 percent over the next

five years.We know today that solar P.V.

and wind are the least expensive way to generate electricity.

In particular, the price of solar photovoltaics has plummeted far faster

than all forecasts predicted, after China flooded the market with cheap

panels in the late 2000s.

All the Wall Street analysts did not believe that solar was going to ever

stand on its own without subsidies.

Well, a few years later, even the most conservative analysts started

realizing that actually solar was going to become economic in most parts of

the world pretty quickly.

And as solar has gotten cheaper, so too have lithium ion batteries, the

technology that powers electric vehicles, our cell phones and laptops.

And thanks to improved manufacturing techniques and economies of scale,

costs have fallen 85 percent since 2010.

Now, wind or solar plus battery storage is oftentimes more economical than

peaker plants, that is, power plants that only fire when demand is high.

Tesla, for example, built the world's largest lithium ion battery in

Australia, pairing it with a wind farm to deliver electricity during peak

hours. But this doesn't mean lithium ion is necessarily economical for

other grid applications.

We don't really see the cost structure coming down to the point where it

can serve those tens to hundreds of hours applications.

Basically, the market is ripe for competition.

There are dozens of chemistry being looked at today.

There are hundreds of companies working on scaling up and manufacturing

new battery technology.

Lithium ion has done remarkable things for technology, but let's go to

something far better.

One of the main alternatives being explored is a flow battery.

Unlike lithium ion, flow batteries store liquid electrolyte in external

tanks, meaning the energy from the electrolyte and the actual source of

power generation are decoupled.

With lithium ion tech, the electrolyte is stored within the battery

itself. Electrolyte chemistries vary, but across the board, these aqueous

systems don't pose a fire risk and most don't face the same issues with

capacity fade. Once they scale up their manufacturing, these companies say

they'll be price competitive with lithium ion.

Hayward, California-based Primus Power has been working in this space since

2009, and uses a zinc bromide chemistry.

So far it's raised over $100 million dollars in funding, including a number

of government grants from agencies like the Department of Energy and the

California Energy Commission.

Primus's modular EnergyPod provides 25 kilowatts of power, enough to power

five to seven homes for five hours during times of peak energy demand and

for 12 to 15 hours during off-peak hours.

Most systems use multipleEnergyPods though, to further boost capacity.

The company says what sets it apart is its simplified system.

So instead of two tanks, which every other flow battery has, Primus only

has one. And we are able to separate the electrochemical species by taking

advantage of the density differences between the zinc bromine and the

bromine itself, and the more aqueous portion of that electrolyte.

To date, Primus has shipped 25 of its battery systems to customers across

the U.S. and Asia, including a San Diego military base, Microsoft and a

Chinese wind turbine manufacturer.

It expects to ship an additional 500 systems over the next two years.

Future customers are either independent power producers that are doing

solar plus storage at utility-scale or larger commercial enterprises.

Also operating in this space is ESS Inc, an Oregon-based manufacturer of

iron flow batteries, founded in 2011.

Its systems are larger than Primus Power's.

They're basically batteries in a shipping container and they can provide

anywhere from100 kilowatts of power for four hours to 33 kilowatts for 12

hours, using an electrolyte made entirely of iron, salt and water.

When we came into this market, we wanted to come into it with a technology

that was going to be very environmentally friendly.

It was going to be very low cost.

It didn't require a lot of volume on the production line to drive down

costs.ESS is backed by some major players like SoftBank Energy, the Bill

Gates-led investor fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and insurance

company Munich Re.

Having an insurance policy is a big deal, since it will make risk-averse

utility companies much more likely to partner with it.

So far, ESS has six of its systems, called Energy Warehouses, operating in

the field and plans to install 20 more this year.

It's also in the process of developing its Energy Center, which is aimed

at utility-scale applications in the 100 megawatt plus range.

That would be 1,000 times more power than a single Energy Warehouse.

We're planning to be at 250 megawatt hours of production capacity by the

end of this year, which is probably a little over 10 times the capacity we

had last year. And then eventually getting to a gigawatt hour of production

capacity in the next couple of years.

So far, key customers includePacto GD, a private Brazilian energy supplier,

and UC San Diego.

But for all their potential, flow battery companies like Primus and ESS

Inc still aren't really designed to store energy for days or weeks on end.

Many of those flow battery technologies still suffer from the same

fundamental materials cost challenges that make them incapable of getting

to tens or hundreds of hours of energy storage capacity.

Other non-lithium ion endeavors, such as the M.I.T

spinoff Ambri, face the same problem with longer-duration storage.

Form energy, a battery company with an undisclosed chemistry, is targeting

the weeks or months-long storage market, but commercialization remains far

off. So other companies are taking different approaches entirely.

Currently, about 96 percent of the world's energy storage comes from one

technology: pumped hydro.

This system is pretty straightforward.

When there's excess energy on the grid, it's used to pump water uphill to

a high-elevation reservoir.

Then when there's energy demand, the water is released, driving a turbine

as it flows into a reservoir below.

But this requires a lot of land, disrupts the environment and can only

function in very specific geographies.

Energy Vault, a gravity-based storage company founded in2017, was inspired

by the concept but thinks it can offer more.

And so we wanted to look at solving the storage problem with something much

more environmental, much more low cost, much more scalable, and something

that could be brought to market very quickly.

Instead of moving water, Energy Vault uses cranes and wires to move35 ton

bricks up and down, depending on energy needs, in a process that's

automated with machine vision software.

We have a system tower crane that's utilizing excess solar or wind to drive

motors and generators that lift and stack the bricks in a very specific

sequence. Then when the power is needed from the grid, that same system

will lower the bricks and discharge the electricity.

This system is sized for utility-scale operation.

The company says a standard installation could include 20 towers,

providing a total of 350 megawatt hours of storage capacity, enough to

power around 40,000 homes for 24 hours.

Some of our customers are looking at very large deployments of multiple

systems so that they'll have that power on demand for weeks and months and

whenever it's gonna be required.

The company recently received110 million dollars in funding from SoftBank

Vision Fund, and it's building out a test facility in Italy as well as a

plant for India's Tata Power Company.

But some say the sheer size of the operation means it just can't be a

replacement for chemical batteries.

Sounds very simple. However, the energy density in those systems are very

low. And so that's where we believe chemical-based storage still has an

advantage in terms of a footprint.

You can't install a gravity-based system in the city, but you'd have to

install it outside in the remote areas.

Then there's thermal storage.

It's still an emerging technology in this space, but it has the potential

to store energy for longer than flow batteries with a smaller footprint

than gravity-based systems.

Berkeley, California-basedAntora Energy, founded in2017, is taking on this

challenge. Basically, when there's excess electricity on the grid, that's

used to heat upAntora's cheap carbon blocks, which are insulated inside a

container. When needed, that heat is then converted back into electricity

using a heat engine.

Typically, this would be a steam or gas turbine.

But Briggs says this tech is just too expensive and has prevented thermal

storage solutions from working out in the past.

SoAntora has developed a novel type of heat engine called a

thermophotovoltaic heat engine, or TPV for short, which is basically just a

solar cell, but instead of capturing sunlight and converting that to

electricity, this solar cell captures light radiated from the hot storage

medium and converts that to electricity.

So it's electricity in, electricity out, and it's stored in ultra-cheap

raw materials as heat in the meantime.

Recently, Antora received funding from a joint venture between the

Department of Energy and Shell, who are excited by the company's potential

to provide days or weeks-long storage.

We think that that solves a need that is currently and will continue to be

unmet by lithium ion batteries and that will sort of enable the next wave

of integration of renewables on the grid.

It's still early days forAntora and Energy Vault though, and there's

definitely other creative solutions in the mix.

For example, Toronto-basedHydrostor is converting surplus electricity into

compressed air. And U.K.

and U.S.-based Highview Power is pursuing cryogenic storage.

That is, using excess energy to cool down air to the point where it

liquefies. These ideas may seem far out, but investment is pouring in and

projects are being piloted around the world.

While these companies are all vying to be the cheapest, safest and longest

lasting, many also recognize that this is a market with many niches, and

therefore the potential for multiple winners.

In the residential and commercial areas, you're gonna have a certain type

of technology. A lot of it will probably be battery-based.

I think as you get to utility-scale and grid-scale, you're going to see

some batteries, you're going to see other types of compressed air and

liquid air solutions, and then you're going to see some of the gravity

solutions that could be scaled.

Overall, the energy storage market is predicted to attract$620 million

dollars in investments by 2040.

But as always, it's going to be tough to get even the most promising ideas

to market.No matter if the raw materials were dirt cheap, the initial cost

of a first system is essentially astronomical.

Of course, government policies and incentives could play a major role as

well.There is a production tax credit on wind.

There's an investment tax credit on solar.

We in the battery community would like to see an ITC for batteries in the

same way that it is in existence for solar.

Implementing a storage mandate, as California has done, is another policy

that many are advocating.

When we get to roughly 20 percent of our peak demand available in storage,

we will be able to run a renewable-only system, because the mix of solar

and wind, geothermal, biomass all backed up with storage will be enough to

carry us through even some of these potentially long lulls.

With the right mix of incentives and ingenuity, we're hopefully headed

towards a future with a plethora of storage technologies.

The future is not going to be a mirror of the past.

We've got to do something that's radically different from everything

that's been done up until now.

I'm really excited about that.