Three Technologies That Can Make Shift to Renewable Energy Easier

The cost of renewable energy generation has significantly decreased in the last few years. This is one of the reasons why the U.S. Department of Energy believes renewable energy will be the quickest-growing energy source through 2050 in the country. However, while energy storage is essential, the cost of energy storage is still relatively expensive.

A recent report released by researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that the possibility of increasing energy storage capacity in the U.S. by roughly 3,000% exists. Below are some of the technologies that can boost this shift to renewable energy.

Renewable fuels

While batteries are good for energy storage in the short term, utilities need to store energy for unlimited periods of time.

Renewable fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen can be used for this, as they contain more energy/pound in comparison with batteries. Currently, these fuels are made from nonrenewable fossil fuels or natural gas through inefficient methods. Researchers are working to find ways to produce fuels such as hydrogen using renewable electricity.

Safer batteries

Making batteries safer is another priority, with one of the areas for improvement being electrolytes. Electrolytes are the liquid that enables an electric charge to flow from the anode to the cathode.

When a battery is in use, charged particles usually move around in the liquid in order to balance out the electricity’s charge. Electrolytes usually contain flammable materials, which can make a battery melt, catch fire or overheat if it leaks.

Researchers are working to develop solid electrolytes that would make batteries stronger. Lab results suggest that the batteries could be used in electric vehicles by 2026. However, while these solid-state batteries would be good for electric cars and consumer electronics, flow batteries would be better suited for large-scale energy storage.

A flow battery is made up of a pair of tanks containing liquids, with both its electrodes and electrolyte being liquids. This enables fast charging and makes it easy for bigger batteries to be made as well. At the moment, flow batteries are expensive, but many expect the price to decrease in the future. As a matter of fact, StorEn Technologies Inc. is one of the few companies heavily invested in making vanadium flow batteries economically viable, and progress is being made on that front.

Long charges

Batteries usually work by creating a chemical reaction that produces an electrical current. Currently, most batteries don’t have long discharge times. However, projections show that by 2050, high-capacity batteries will have been installed in plenty. This could have a major effect on renewable energy viability.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to StorEn Technologies Inc. are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/StorEn

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