The planet’s oceans contain enormous amounts of energy. Harnessing it is an early-stage industry, but some proponents argue there’s a role for wave and tidal power technologies. (Undark) Batteries can unlock other energy technologies, and they’re starting to make their mark on the grid.
Batteries can unlock other energy technologies, and they’re starting to make their mark on the grid. This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review ’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. Batteries are on my mind this week. (Aren’t they always?)
Today, more than two centuries later, another revolution is brewing in the world of batteries. Increasingly advanced energy storage systems hold the key to a true paradigm shift, both when it comes to economic growth and climate change. The last step toward the definitive explosion of renewables and mass electrification is about to be completed.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference. Researchers have invented a new battery that they claim could have profound implications for the future of energy storage and renewable technologies.
The lithium-based redox-flow battery, developed by a team at the University of Cincinnati, could prove crucial for wind and solar operations, where large-scale batteries are needed to store energy during times of overproduction and release it when production drops off.
This boom on all fronts — large-scale, electric cars, domestic devices — is also translating into colossal growth in the volume of companies dedicated to the development of batteries. Many of them are new: start-ups focused on this segment have raised $8 billion in recent years, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman.