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It feels like every 3-6 months we get "Company changes energy storage game with fancy new battery!" and then.... nothing. You never hear about it again. Presuma
by ryanmercer 7y ago
It feels like every 3-6 months we get "Company changes energy storage game with fancy new battery!" and then.... nothing. You never hear about it again. Presumably because they just aren't economically feasible, scalable and/or safe for most applications.
- Recurecur 7y agoImproved batteries are a huge deal, so naturally there's a lot of coverage and interest. Out of the large number of candidates, some will be successful. IBM is certainly a reputable R&D company, so this announcement has more substance than most. I'm also optimistic about the new Goodenough battery design, with its non-flammable solid electrolyte and a version replacing lithium with sodium. One thing that did occur to me while reading this article is that if a "five minute 80% charge" is possible, for a 70 KWH battery pack that would involve a 672 KW rate, not accounting for losses. That's a whole lot of power! A 1 GW powerplant could support charging less than 1500 cars simultaneously at that rate...
- ryanmercer 7y agoIf these became a viable commercial product, I imagine power companies would be some of the customers then. Installing them at substations and the like to help smooth out demand peaks and valleys.