US agency says it has beaten Elon Musk and Gates to holy grail of battery storage

[kpete]

Source: The Guardian

Breakthrough in next generation of storage batteries could transform the US electrical grid within five to 10 years,
says research agency, Arpa-E


Large-scale energy storage systems are needed to enable electricity companies to bring more solar and wind power on to the grid. Photograph: Jan Woitas/Corbis

A US government agency says it has attained the “holy grail” of energy – the next-generation system of battery storage, that has has been hotly pursued by the likes of Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (Arpa-E) – a branch of the Department of Energy – says it achieved its breakthrough technology in seven years.

Ellen Williams, Arpa-E’s director, said: “I think we have reached some holy grails in batteries – just in the sense of demonstrating that we can create a totally new approach to battery technology, make it work, make it commercially viable, and get it out there to let it do its thing,”

If that’s the case, Arpa-E has come out ahead of Gates and Musk in the multi-billion-dollar race to build the next generation battery for power companies and home storage

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/03/us-agency-says-has-beaten-elon-musk-gates-to-holy-grail-battery-storage

[PoliticAverse]

1. I refuse to believe battery-hype stories until you can actually buy one. n/t

[FLPanhandle]

13. +1

Like fusion, I've seen too many of these stories about an amazing "break through", but it always turns out to be nothing.

I'll wait until I see it.

[NCjack]

16. Yeah. When Boeing puts them on 787 aircraft and has no problems, then I'll be convinced. /nt

[TygrBright]

17. This, yep. n/t

[nolabels]

19. Obviously you're not a mechanic

Not being tethered to an air-hose or a electrical cord to work on small and medium duty jobs is called FREEDOM. I can now do most of my work with lithium-Ion power, it's totally cool.

Yea, with you on waiting till things pan out but things are looking like they are going forward

[FailureToCommunicate]

20. So true. A drill that used to be the size of a bread mixer, plus an extra battery, would

take up most of a tool belt. Now the bloody thing fits in your jeans pocket. WAY better for working over glass roofs...

[tommcc99]

2. I hope this is true.

Thanks for posting this.
Nice to find good news.

[Cosmocat]

3. VERY COOL!

Thanks for sharing!

[AxionExcel]

4. Wicked cool

...if it will fulfill its promise...

[ladjf]

5. Words, words, words. Where is the "beef"? What are the specs on the new

system? What will it do that is better than current technology?

[tabasco]

11. Director Williams is talking big; I hope she is telling the truth.

Here's some stuff they've been working on:


http://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=slick-sheet-project/organic-flow-battery-energy-storage

http://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=slick-sheet-project/advanced-vanadium-redox-flow-battery

http://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=slick-sheet-project/all-electron-battery

[ladjf]

12. I've heard these types of press releases for years only to be

disappointed later.

[tabasco]

6. Please let this be true!

I want to go solar!

[Kip Humphrey]

7. No technical details of the breakthrough technology discussed.

[AxionExcel]

8. NB: Arpa-E was founded in 2009 under Obama’s economic recovery plan

to fund early stage research...

Of course, Republicans fought it tooth and nail. The Repubes love their twisted party and hate Obama far far more than they care about America. As usual, the Rupubes threw a stinky pants hissyfit trying to block something with beautiful potential for the United States of America.

[Raster]

9. The proof is in the pudding...so to speak...

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE TO SEE ADVANCES in electrical generation and storage, rendering our antiquated, dated electrical grid a thing of the past. I live in the PHX, Arizona area, and I am absolutely stunned that solar here is at a minimum. Every building, every home, EVERYTHING should be designed to take advantage of the one readily available resource Arizona has in abundance: SUNSHINE.

[phantom power]

10. So, what's it do that's better and grail-like?

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. Maybe they've invented a grail-shaped beacon?

[phantom power]

24. clearly some spanking is in order

[Phlem]

14. "A US government agency"

Which pretty much means we'll still be paying through the nose for electricity.

cause I'm sure they'll let us use off peak hours to store energy at a cheaper price right?

http://www.gizmag.com/power-home-orison-battery/39119/

[corkhead]

15. So which multinational corporation are they going to hand this technology to

so they can sell it back to us "consumers"?

[harun]

23. The usual suspects, the real bosses

Lockheed Martin
Boeing
BAE Systems
Raytheon
General Dynamics
Northrop Grumman
Airbus Group

[Lodestar]

21. "Large-scale energy storage" - does that mean for centralized utilities only?

Is this something that individuals and off-grid customers could use as well?

[greymouse]

22. "government agency"

How many people here know ARPA (as opposed to ARPA-E) basically funded the development of the Internet. But go ahead, knee jerk reacters.