4 ms·

$17/kWh https://ambri.com/benefits/ https://ambri.com/benefits/ Edit: this appears to just be the cost for the price of the cathode and the anode...which make

$17/kWh https://ambri.com/benefits/ https://ambri.com/benefits/ Edit: this appears to just be the cost for the price of the cathode and the anode...which makes sense since the pricing on the complete unit would probably vary from customer to customer.

amluto 4y ago
This is an interesting system. Ambri says: > Ambri-based systems generate their own heat during use, thereby eliminating the need for auxiliary power for temperature control. These systems like to be used – a full charge/discharge cycle at least every two days will keep the system at its operating temperature and higher duty cycles will not increase degradation. And: > Capacity: 1000 kWh, 250 kW (per container), so it charges or discharges in 4 hours. So it’s not terribly useful for seasonal storage, but it’s fine for solar or wind with output variations by time of day. Suppose you amortize the cost over 10 years and you cycle once per day, that $17/kWh comes out to 0.4 cents/kWh. Figure a factor of 10 for costs missing targets and the balance of system, and this storage costs around the LCoE of solar. So, in effect, one could use this to turn a solar installation into a solar+storage installation that can spread the output over a full day without even doubling the overall cost. This is pretty awesome! Too bad it doesn’t do much about winter or a cloudy week.
- adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
  If you scale it up it can probably deal with a week. People have pretty bad intuitions about heat loss for big objects because most hot things in our lives are small, but since heat loss follows a square cube law, every 8x volume increase gives 2x decrease in lost heat. It's also important to remember that this doesn't need to be anywhere near 100% efficient. Given the swings in energy prices, you can probably make a profit at 50% efficiency.
  - amluto 4y ago
    Except it’s a bunch of shipping containers. They scale horizontally but not vertically (sorry). And you probably need to leave clearance between them, for service if nothing else, so the thermal performance is what it is. You could add insulation.

amluto 4y ago

This is an interesting system. Ambri says: > Ambri-based systems generate their own heat during use, thereby eliminating the need for auxiliary power for temperature control. These systems like to be used – a full charge/discharge cycle at least every two days will keep the system at its operating temperature and higher duty cycles will not increase degradation. And: > Capacity: 1000 kWh, 250 kW (per container), so it charges or discharges in 4 hours. So it’s not terribly useful for seasonal storage, but it’s fine for solar or wind with output variations by time of day. Suppose you amortize the cost over 10 years and you cycle once per day, that $17/kWh comes out to 0.4 cents/kWh. Figure a factor of 10 for costs missing targets and the balance of system, and this storage costs around the LCoE of solar. So, in effect, one could use this to turn a solar installation into a solar+storage installation that can spread the output over a full day without even doubling the overall cost. This is pretty awesome! Too bad it doesn’t do much about winter or a cloudy week.

adgjlsfhk1 4y ago
If you scale it up it can probably deal with a week. People have pretty bad intuitions about heat loss for big objects because most hot things in our lives are small, but since heat loss follows a square cube law, every 8x volume increase gives 2x decrease in lost heat. It's also important to remember that this doesn't need to be anywhere near 100% efficient. Given the swings in energy prices, you can probably make a profit at 50% efficiency.
- amluto 4y ago
  Except it’s a bunch of shipping containers. They scale horizontally but not vertically (sorry). And you probably need to leave clearance between them, for service if nothing else, so the thermal performance is what it is. You could add insulation.