From Harvard, a Cheaper Storage Battery

[FBaggins]

WASHINGTON — Researchers at Harvard say they have developed a new battery technology that can store energy at lower cost, a development that Energy Department officials say could pave the way for a new generation of batteries. The findings, which were published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, come as utilities are under pressure to overcome one of the major shortcomings of renewable energy: how to make the electricity available even when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.


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The breakthrough came in the type of materials used to store the energy. The Harvard researchers reported using a carbon-based molecule found in crude oil and other substances as the material to hold the electric charge. Most battery chemistry in use today uses metals, including the familiar nickel metal-hydride and lithium-ion, which are more costly. Each of the carbon-based molecules holds two units of electrical charge, compared with one unit in most batteries in commercial use now, meaning that a battery could store twice as much energy in a given volume.

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The design is for a “flow battery,” which resembles an ordinary battery but has a material that can accept charged particles when absorbing electricity and give them back later. In this case the material is a liquid pumped into external tanks, so enormous amounts of energy can be stored. Flow batteries are already in commercial use but they are far too expensive for use in anything but specialized applications.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/business/energy-environment/from-harvard-a-cheaper-storage-battery.html?_r=1