Peer Into Solar Energy Future: Why Does Energy Storage Technology Matter?
Today, we have smartphone batteries that can last for a week without network usage. Power banks allow us to recharge devices from anywhere. Plus, vehicle batteries have continued to improve in quality and dependability through the years.
In short, power storage technologies are good so far -- but only for smaller devices.
Any battery and energy storage requirements that we have for power requirements bigger than vehicles are still on the drawing table as we speak. However, if things do go according to plan with energy storage technology futures, we have plenty of energy to go and zero renewable energy going to waste in the process.
Solar and wind renewable energy generation technologies provide homes with enough power to run for an entire day. However, the changing of seasons means limiting these renewable energy generators' capabilities, which means we see much more problems in the future unless better energy storage meets their requirements.
However, all is not lost because researchers completely understand that renewable technology needs support in various areas. If you're interested, here are three promising technologies that may arrive in the near future, according to The Conversation.
Longer charges
From alkaline batteries for small electronics to lithium-ion batteries for cars and laptops, most people already use batteries in many aspects of their daily lives. But there is still lots of room for growth.
For example, high-capacity batteries with long discharge times – up to 10 hours – could be valuable for storing solar power at night or increasing the range of electric vehicles. Right now there are very few such batteries in use. However, according to recent projections, upwards of 100 gigawatts’ worth of these batteries will likely be installed by 2050. For comparison, that’s 50 times the generating capacity of Hoover Dam. This could have a major impact on the viability of renewable energy.
Batteries work by creating a chemical reaction that produces a flow of electrical current.
One of the biggest obstacles is limited supplies of lithium and cobalt, which currently are essential for making lightweight, powerful batteries. According to some estimates, around 10% of the world’s lithium and nearly all of the world’s cobalt reserves will be depleted by 2050.
Furthermore, nearly 70% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Congo, under conditions that have long been documented as inhumane.
Scientists are working to develop techniques for recycling lithium and cobalt batteries, and to design batteries based on other materials. Tesla plans to produce cobalt-free batteries within the next few years. Others aim to replace lithium with sodium, which has properties very similar to lithium’s but is much more abundant.
Safer batteries
Another priority is to make batteries safer. One area for improvement is electrolytes – the medium, often liquid, that allows an electric charge to flow from the battery’s anode, or negative terminal, to the cathode, or positive terminal.
When a battery is in use, charged particles in the electrolyte move around to balance out the charge of the electricity flowing out of the battery. Electrolytes often contain flammable materials. If they leak, the battery can overheat and catch fire or melt. (Continue reading about future energy storage technologies here)
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