We are all looking out for sustainable energy solutions, and in this regard, battery energy storage systems- BESS have gone on to become very vital.
It is worth noting that solar photovoltaic- PV as well as wind power will comprise half of overall global power generation by the middle of the next decade. Nations all over the world have come up with policies and incentives to push development when it comes to battery energy storage.
The renewable energy grids need to be stabilized if the move toward a net-zero future is serious. This obviously requires massive investment, which will lead to growth in terms of battery technology and its execution.
Other not-so-common sources, such as sand and may be gravity
The latest developments in, if we can say so, traditional Li-ion battery technologies are quite significant and, in a way, necessary, but there is some thinking outside the box in terms of storing pure energy. By way of replacing traditional liquid or gel electrolytes with varied sources, these batteries can go on to add to the increasing suite of battery choices that are available to take care of the challenge in terms of energy storage.
Green Gravity, which is an Australian start-up, makes use of the untapped power of physics to store renewable power, which is available in the form of gravitational potential energy, by way of suspending the heavy weights in a disused mine shaft, which is attached to a generator that happens to create electricity when the weights get lowered into the shaft. When there is an outstrip of demand in the local supply of renewable power, the excess energy is used in order to raise the weights to the top of the mine shaft. As demand rises, the weights get lowered, winding the generator and hence supplying green energy to the grid.
Although this technology happens to be in the development stage, CEO Mark Swinnerton from Green Gravity opines that the company is most likely to complete the technology development in October 2025. After that, they anticipate to create their first commercial-scale energy storage system for the grid.
There is yet another tech development that comes from Finland. The vast variability in seasonal weather, along with the long and dark Nordic winters, presents an additional challenge for renewable energy supply stability. Due to this kind of geographical issue, Polar Night Energy, which is a Finland-based start-up, is looking up to sand.
At 168 miles north-west of Helsinki, there happens to be the world’s first commercial-scale sand battery at the Vatajankoski power plant.
100 tonnes of sand, which is regarded as too low-grade in terms of building purposes, gets superheated to 600°C by way of using renewable electricity, which comes mostly from wind turbines as well as solar panels. The sand goes on to store energy in the form of heat when full, and apparently, it can hold almost eight megawatt-hours of thermal energy. In the event of a demand rise, the battery can at once discharge nearly 200kW of power, which is enough so as to support heating.
Over Li-ion in terms of battery energy storage, sand has numerous advantages. It is sustainable and is very easy to source, and can also store energy for a much longer duration. Besides, it does not degrade with time. But the disadvantage is that it is suitable only for generating heat and not electricity.
Lithium-ion batteries of the future
Lithium-ion batteries are the benchmark for the sector for portable electronics, electric vehicles-EVs and larger BESS.
The sector has long preferred Li-ion batteries since they are cheap, efficient, and also have a deep discharge cycle life and power density, making them ideal for commercial BESS.
But the fact is that the ongoing research leaves no stone unturned to push the boundaries of Li-ion performance and even their sustainability. Major steps towards high-capacity and nickel-rich cathode materials in Li-ion batteries are indeed pushing the capabilities and capacity, along with longevity of battery storage systems.
Enhancement in this arena holds major importance for the industry. The point is that when we make scientific advancements, the costs often come down, and in this case, BESS may as well see a price dip.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology- MIT has taken a step forward in making Li-ion battery systems more environmentally sustainable. Apparently, there was a group of MIT chemists that developed a new battery by way of making use of organic cathode materials, rather than critical metals, which are pretty common in Li-ion batteries like cobalt or nickel.
These organic batteries get made with multiple layers of bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone, which is an organic molecule forming strong hydrogen bonds, hence making the material highly balanced and insoluble, thereby preventing the material from getting dissolved into the battery electrolyte and thereby slowing the degradation process.
This technology is already competitive with the incumbent technologies, and it can go on to save a lot of the cost and environmental issues pertaining to the mining of the metals that are used in batteries at present.
Although the MIT researchers went on to focus on this new material’s usefulness within the EVs, it can very well have an enormous effect on grid-scale battery technologies.
The move is taking place at quite a fast pace
The exciting news about the BESS sector at this moment happens to be the pace at which novel developments are taking place. There is a growing awareness of storage resources.
As per lead for flexible energy, Aurora Energy Research, Eva Zimmermann, the European BESS market demonstrates a trend, with 22GW of battery storage in the pipeline till 2026.
According to her, what is most interesting is the pace of battery storage that is created by way of appetite for battery projects, both on the developer and also on the investor side. In addition to this, there is a strong political will of European governments so as to boost the battery storage capacity.
There are several of the of the largest energy companies across the world, such as TotalEnergies, RWE, and Vattenfall, who are coming abroad as well. There has been quite significant effort into BESS development, which has been made by Vattenfall. These are the creations of many BESS projects across the UK. The most recent of these projects just got online in October 2023.
Agreeing with Zimmerman’s prospects for the industry, says the director of batteries at Vattenfall, Sebastian Gerhard, that the speed, scale, and ramp-up of the stationary storage sector happen to be quite impressive.
Perspective
The clean energy revolution promise will have the battery energy storage play quite an essential role. Technologies that improve upon existing technologies and the one that push the boundaries are indeed elevating the enthusiasm for the outlook of the industry. Governments as well as businesses happen to be throttling in ensuring that battery energy storage solutions are getting executed with pace, and there are more BESS projects that happen to emerge by the week.
