In most lithium-ion batteries, the cathode contains cobalt. But cobalt is a scarce metal, found mostly in politically unstable countries, its extraction is hazardous for miners and generates toxic waste. And as demand for batteries globally keeps rising, so too will the cost of cobalt. Anne Trafton at MIT describes the development of an alternative cathode made of organic materials. Its structure is similar to graphite. It can conduct electricity … [Read more...]
Batteries are still getting exponentially cheaper, more efficient: ready to displace half of global fossil fuel demand by 2045?
A new report by RMI says batteries are on the path to replace 175 EJ of fossil fuel demand in the power sector, 86 EJ of fossil fuels from road transport and can put at risk another 23 EJ from shipping and aviation. That equates to a phaseout of half of global fossil fuel demand in the next two decades. Daan Walter, Sam Butler-Sloss and Kingsmill Bond at RMI summarise the findings in six graphs with explanations. Battery sales are growing … [Read more...]
Italy: Capacity Auctions for 71 GWh of additional Grid Storage
Italy needs 71 GWh of new utility-scale electricity storage capacity by 2030 to meet EU targets to cut emissions by at least 55% by 2030, according to Terna which manages Italyâs transmission grid. ***STOP PRESS*** This Tuesday at 11:00 CET, Energy Post is exclusive media partner to a dedicated webinar (organised by ATA Insights/RENMAD) on Capacity Market Auctions REGISTER FREE HERE. In this article, Sara Stefanini summarises the Terna study, … [Read more...]
China is still playing the long game with its ânew threeâ: solar cells, lithium batteries, EVs
Chinaâs ânew threeâ â or xin san yang â are solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, and EVs. The term harks back to the concept of its âold threeâ that were once the pillars of its exports: clothing, home appliances and furniture. Chinaâs success is seen in the numbers: it accounts globally for 80%+ of solar cell exports, 50%+ of lithium-ion batteries and 20%+ of EVs. You Xiaoying, writing for China Dialogue, interviews experts and quotes reports … [Read more...]
Modelling revenue potential for Germanyâs Battery Storage future
In the last ten years Germany has installed battery storage systems totalling 6.5 GW of power and 10.1 GWh of energy. Storage is an essential part of every nationâs electrification plans: for peak shaving, uninterruptible power for industrial customers, use as a buffer, and self-supply in households. Elena Dahlem and Alex Schmitt at Energy Brainpool start with a summary of storageâs use in the household, industrial and large-scale sectors. They … [Read more...]
Make EV batteries bidirectional, get GWs of storage for the Grid
How to cope with the hourly, daily and seasonal variation in demand as regions electrify more, depend more on variable renewables like wind and solar, and cut baseload fossil generation? Storage shifts load nicely. But why build grid-scale batteries when millions of little batteries in our EVs are sitting idle in our driveways for most of the time? As Mark Specht at the Union of Concerned Scientists explains, itâs why in California a bill is … [Read more...]
Scaling up global grid-scale Storage to 80GW/year (it was 16GW in 2022)
Globally, annual additions of grid-scale battery storage must rise to 80GW between now and 2030, explain Amit Jain, Gabriela Elizondo Azuela and Aakarshan Vaid at the World Bank, writing for WEF. In 2022 it was only 16GW. The biggest gap, perhaps understandably, is in developing countries. Itâs in these regions where renewables auctions for deployment â primarily solar and wind â need to start including hybrid storage as part of the package. The … [Read more...]
Concrete supercapacitor: works like a battery, much cheaper, easy to make
Capacitors work like batteries. They store and discharge electricity. David Chandler at MIT explains how researchers there have designed a supercapacitor from concrete and carbon black, two cheap and common materials. The beauty of the idea is that they can be incorporated into building foundations, thus installing a battery virtually for free. A concrete capacitor cube 3.5m wide can store 10kwh, enough for a household. Similarly, concrete … [Read more...]
Sodium-ion batteries ready for commercialisation: for grids, homes, even compact EVs
Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries, a much more abundant and cheaper alternative to the standard Lithium-ion, are on the verge of commercialisation, explain Carlos Ruiz, Martina Lyons, Isaac Elizondo Garcia and Zhaoyu Wu at IRENA. Though thereâs enough Lithium in the world to support global electrification targets, tightening demand and supply chain constraints point at the urgent need for an alternative. The cost of a Na-ion battery cell is expected … [Read more...]
Circular Battery Economy: what policies and processes can accelerate recycling and reuse?
As battery production scales up so do the risks of the long global supply chain failing, or causing more emissions, damaging the environment, and breaching human rights. A circular battery economy should greatly reduce those risks. Yet the U.S. has no federal recycling mandates or requirements for lithium-ion batteries, and state policies are inconsistent. Marie McNamara at RMI maps out the five critical issues that must be dealt with. Before … [Read more...]
Draft EU rules on Battery lifecycle decarbonisation: close the loopholes!
Draft rules mean battery manufacturers selling into Europe will have to report the productâs entire carbon footprint, from mining to production to recycling, as early as July 2024. That data will then be used to set a maximum CO2 limit for batteries to apply from the end of 2027. This is a big step forward, says T&E, addressing concerns over battery carbon footprint and recycling, and it also covers environment and human rights. But T&E … [Read more...]
âBattery Passportsâ: ensuring environmental sustainability, decarbonisation and mining labour rights
With battery production taking off, concerns are focussed on environmental sustainability, carbon footprint and labour rights where the raw materials are mined. Benedikt Sobotka, Co-Chair at the Global Battery Alliance and Robin Zeng, CEO at Chinese manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology, writing for WEF, describe the concept of the digital âbattery passportâ where compliance with the rules is certified and monitored throughout the life … [Read more...]
Only certain types of Hybridisation (Wind or Solar + Storage) beat building expensive transmission lines
In some regions, the roll out of new wind and solar has outpaced new transmission. That causes âcongestionâ at times when the variable renewables are producing too much power locally, and cannot sell the excess, which squeezes profitability. Thatâs certainly the case in the U.S. now. One answer is âhybridisationâ where storage is built alongside the renewables, to save that excess power for when it can be sold later. Julie Mulvaney Kemp at … [Read more...]
Long-duration storage: mechanical, electrochemical, thermal. Weâll need all three
âLong-durationâ means the amount of time a power system can discharge electricity (this is different from long-term storage, i.e. the amount of time a system can store energy before discharging it). As Maria Chavez at UCS explains, itâs vital to the success of intermittent wind and solar roll-out which needs to store its excess generation for when itâs needed. And as electrification grows it will provide greater grid flexibility and resilience … [Read more...]
EUâs 40% domestic Cleantech ambition: same target for Wind (easy) and Solar (hard) doesnât make sense
The proposed Net Zero Industry Act includes a target for the EU to manufacture domestically at least 40% of its cleantech deployment needs by 2030. That includes the key technologies of solar PV panels, wind turbines (onshore and offshore), EV batteries, heat pumps and hydrogen electrolysers. But it doesnât make sense to have the same 40% target for all, explain Giovanni Sgaravatti, Simone Tagliapietra and Cecilia Trasi at Bruegel. The main … [Read more...]
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