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Sandia National Laboratories researchers find energy storage “solutions” in MetILs
(Please note: US Federal research lab “News Release.” Copyright concerns are nil.)
https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/metils/
[font face=Times,Times New Roman,Serif]February 17, 2012
[font size=5]Sandia National Laboratories researchers find energy storage “solutions” in MetILs[/font]
[font size=3]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sandia researchers have developed a new family of liquid salt electrolytes, known as MetILs, that could lead to batteries able to cost-effectively store three times more energy than today’s batteries.
The research, published in Dalton Transactions, might lead to devices that can help economically and reliably incorporate large-scale intermittent renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, into the nation’s electric grid.
The grid was designed for steady power sources, making fluctuating electricity from intermittent renewable energy difficult to accommodate. Better energy storage techniques help even out the flow of such fluctuating sources, and Sandia researchers are studying new ways to develop a more flexible, cost-effective and reliable electric grid with improved energy storage.
“The U.S. and the world need significant breakthroughs in battery technology for renewable energy sources to replace today’s carbon-based energy systems,” said Anthony Medina, director of Sandia’s Energetic Components Realization program. “MetILs are a new, promising battery chemistry that might provide the next generation of stationary storage battery technology, replacing lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries and providing significantly higher energy storage density for these applications.”
For the past 20 years, lithium-ion batteries have been at the forefront of energy storage research. Their compact, lightweight design is well suited for cell phones, laptop computers and personal electronics, but lithium-ion batteries are expensive and degradation issues limit their use in stationary, high-capacity application on the nation’s electric grid.
Sandia researcher and inorganic chemist Travis Anderson is leading a team developing the next generation of flow batteries. A flow battery pumps a solution of free-floating charged metal ions, dissolved in an electrolyte — substance with free-floating ions that conducts electricity — from an external tank through an electrochemical cell to convert chemical energy into electricity. Flow batteries are rapidly charged and discharged by changing the charge state of the electrolyte, and the electroactive material can be easily re-used many times. Anderson said flow batteries can sustain more than 14,000 cycles in the lab, equivalent to more than 20 years of energy storage, which would be unusual in a lithium-ion battery.
However, flow battery grid storage systems are roughly the size of a house and can cost more than equivalent lithium-ion batteries. The goal of researchers is to make flow batteries smaller and cheaper, while increasing the amount of energy stored for a given volume, or energy density.
…
“The MetILs approach represents an ingenious, out-of-the-box solution to the cathode/electrolyte paradigm. Because it is based on readily available, inexpensive precursors, it may well lead to innovative, cost-effective storage systems with major impacts on the entire U.S. grid,” said Gyuk.
…[/font][/font]
[font size=5]Sandia National Laboratories researchers find energy storage “solutions” in MetILs[/font]
[font size=3]ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sandia researchers have developed a new family of liquid salt electrolytes, known as MetILs, that could lead to batteries able to cost-effectively store three times more energy than today’s batteries.
The research, published in Dalton Transactions, might lead to devices that can help economically and reliably incorporate large-scale intermittent renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, into the nation’s electric grid.
The grid was designed for steady power sources, making fluctuating electricity from intermittent renewable energy difficult to accommodate. Better energy storage techniques help even out the flow of such fluctuating sources, and Sandia researchers are studying new ways to develop a more flexible, cost-effective and reliable electric grid with improved energy storage.
“The U.S. and the world need significant breakthroughs in battery technology for renewable energy sources to replace today’s carbon-based energy systems,” said Anthony Medina, director of Sandia’s Energetic Components Realization program. “MetILs are a new, promising battery chemistry that might provide the next generation of stationary storage battery technology, replacing lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries and providing significantly higher energy storage density for these applications.”
For the past 20 years, lithium-ion batteries have been at the forefront of energy storage research. Their compact, lightweight design is well suited for cell phones, laptop computers and personal electronics, but lithium-ion batteries are expensive and degradation issues limit their use in stationary, high-capacity application on the nation’s electric grid.
Sandia researcher and inorganic chemist Travis Anderson is leading a team developing the next generation of flow batteries. A flow battery pumps a solution of free-floating charged metal ions, dissolved in an electrolyte — substance with free-floating ions that conducts electricity — from an external tank through an electrochemical cell to convert chemical energy into electricity. Flow batteries are rapidly charged and discharged by changing the charge state of the electrolyte, and the electroactive material can be easily re-used many times. Anderson said flow batteries can sustain more than 14,000 cycles in the lab, equivalent to more than 20 years of energy storage, which would be unusual in a lithium-ion battery.
However, flow battery grid storage systems are roughly the size of a house and can cost more than equivalent lithium-ion batteries. The goal of researchers is to make flow batteries smaller and cheaper, while increasing the amount of energy stored for a given volume, or energy density.
…
“The MetILs approach represents an ingenious, out-of-the-box solution to the cathode/electrolyte paradigm. Because it is based on readily available, inexpensive precursors, it may well lead to innovative, cost-effective storage systems with major impacts on the entire U.S. grid,” said Gyuk.
…[/font][/font]