Sunday, April 20, 2014

Liquid Metal Batteries for Grid-Scale Storage

4/2/14
MIT
David Bradwell, Ambri

Aluminum smelting was the inspiration, self-segregating liquids - three layers of magnesium, antimony, salt
Self-heating at a cubic meter with 75% efficiency in and out ac to ac
Shipped cold and solid and then heated up to start operation
35 kWh at cubic meter scale
Price for battery storage now is about $1500 per kWh
Targeting 20 year lifespan 
Developing recycling process for end of life management with an overall toxicity of lead acid batteries
Has had at least one cell operating for a year continuously
Negligible fade rate over 1000s of cycles
Prototype commercial cell by 2015
Three cubic meter 200 kWh cell by 2016
Have to design manufacturing system themselves
Discharge speed designed for complete discharge in two hours
Costs planned to be competitive with pumped hydro
Hawaii will be a laboratory for storage as it is maxing out on the wind and solar the grid can take, as designed
The chemistry means the cells will always be two inches thick

No comments:

Post a Comment