I have an obsession with batteries, even before I was an engineer, and have written about climate and climate change. The batteries are set to play a starring role in the renewable energy transition both in EV and on the grid.
I knew what I wanted to write about when the MIT Technology Review began to work on a series called " What's Next in Tech". Check it out for my predictions on what will be important this year in battery technology. In this week's newsletter, we'll look at batteries' role in climate action, why they're so exciting, and where the technology is going.
Our way of life is dependent upon stored energy. The ability to flick the lights on, cook dinner, or drive to work depends on the amount of energy we have. Fossil fuels make up most of the energy storage. Fossil fuels contain energy in their chemical bonds from plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. When we need these fuels, they are burned at power plants or in vehicles to transform them into something else.
We are trying to stopburning fossil fuels. We have great candidates for solar and wind. It is said that the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow.
It turns out that taking the electricity generated by wind turbine and solar panels and storing it is more complicated than it seems.
There are other ways that can be used to address intermittency. It is possible to balance intermittent solar and wind by adding baseload and dispatchable energy sources. Longer transmission lines can help.
Energy storage is back.
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