Giant ‘sand battery’ holds a week’s heat for a whole town

A new industrial-scale ‘sand battery’ has been announced for Finland, which packs 1 MW of power and a capacity of up to 100 MWh of thermal energy for use during those cold polar winters. The new battery will be about 10 times bigger than a pilot plant … Continue reading Giant ‘sand battery’ holds a week’s heat for a whole town

White-hot thermal grid battery aims to decimate lithium on price

Fourth Power says its ultra-high temperature “sun in a box” energy storage tech is more than 10X cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, and vastly more powerful and efficient than any other thermal battery. It’s hoping to prove it with a 1-MWh prototype.C… Continue reading White-hot thermal grid battery aims to decimate lithium on price

Huff ‘n’ puff geothermal fracking: Earth batteries at 200% efficiency

Sage Geosystems has pioneered a new form of cheap energy storage that uses the Earth as a giant bellows, pumping water into underground fractures, then letting it squirt back up at 70% efficiency – or 200% efficiency if you also harvest heat energy.Con… Continue reading Huff ‘n’ puff geothermal fracking: Earth batteries at 200% efficiency

World-first Dutch program will use ride-share cars as a grid battery

Renewable energy grids need lots of energy storage – and EVs plugged into charging stations represent a huge, city-wide battery just waiting to help out. The Dutch city of Utrecht is about to pioneer a clever way to kickstart two-way charging.Continue … Continue reading World-first Dutch program will use ride-share cars as a grid battery

World-first Dutch program will use ride-share cars as a grid battery

Renewable energy grids need lots of energy storage – and EVs plugged into charging stations represent a huge, city-wide battery just waiting to help out. The Dutch city of Utrecht is about to pioneer a clever way to kickstart two-way charging.Continue … Continue reading World-first Dutch program will use ride-share cars as a grid battery

Ultra-hot carbon batteries promise super-cheap heat and energy storage

Bill Gates-backed startup Antora Energy is preparing to roll out a containerized, modular heat battery, designed to store renewable energy at the lowest possible cost – then release it efficiently as electricity or industrial process heat.Continue Read… Continue reading Ultra-hot carbon batteries promise super-cheap heat and energy storage

Waterless high-density hydro makes more energy from less elevation

UK company RheEnergise is quietly rolling out an interesting new approach to pumped hydro energy storage, aiming for a capacity of at least 100 MW by 2030. It works with small hills instead of mountains, making it relevant in many more areas.Continue R… Continue reading Waterless high-density hydro makes more energy from less elevation

Adding sugar to flow battery creates huge power and longevity boost

PNNL researchers have discovered that dissolving a simple sugar into the electrolyte in a flow battery boosts peak power output by a remarkable 60%. What’s more, after being constantly cycled for a year, the battery lost almost none of its capacity.Con… Continue reading Adding sugar to flow battery creates huge power and longevity boost

Super-cheap gigawatt-scale rust battery greenlit for Minnesota

Gates- and Bezos-backed startup Form Energy is one of the most exciting companies in the grid-level renewable energy storage space, with a multi-day iron-air battery system just 10% the cost of lithium. A 10-MW/1-GWh demo system has now been approved.C… Continue reading Super-cheap gigawatt-scale rust battery greenlit for Minnesota

South Australia plans world’s largest electrolyzer and H2 power plant

The state that built the world’s first grid-level “big battery” is striking out on an even more ambitious green energy project: the world’s biggest hydrogen power station, fed by an electrolysis facility 10 times larger than anything running today.Cont… Continue reading South Australia plans world’s largest electrolyzer and H2 power plant