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Beyond Lithium: New Tech Stores Clean Energy for Nights
19 Jul
Summary
- Liquid air cryobatteries store energy by cooling air to -196C.
- Molten salt batteries heat salts to 560C to store energy as heat.
- Sand batteries store energy by heating thousands of tonnes of sand.
New energy storage technologies are being developed globally, moving beyond reliance on lithium-ion batteries. In the UAE, a large-scale project combines solar power with 19GWh of battery storage. Meanwhile, researchers are creating micro-batteries for tracking aquatic species. Alternative battery types are gaining traction due to concerns over critical mineral sourcing and the finite cycles of lithium-ion. Many new technologies offer indefinite use and simpler recycling.
Liquid air cryobatteries, like the one being built in Trafford, Manchester, store renewable energy by cooling air to -196C. This reduces air to a liquid state, which can be regasified to generate electricity. This project is expected to provide 300MWh of storage.
In Nevada, molten salt storage heats a reservoir of salts to 560C, storing energy as heat for up to 10 hours. Denmark is also utilizing molten salt technology for large-scale energy storage and decarbonizing heavy industry. This method stores clean electricity for up to two weeks.
Finland is using sand batteries, employing thousands of tonnes of sand to store heat for local heating networks. These sand batteries provide 1MW of thermal power and 100MWh of storage capacity. Researchers in Japan are exploring human sweat as a power source for wearable technology using enzymatic biofuel cells.
