Why Batteries Matter for Renewable Energy
Imagine your home being powered entirely by renewable energy like wind and solar power. Sounds great, but there’s a problem: the sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow.
That’s where batteries come in. Jimmy Jiang, a researcher at the University of Cincinnati, believes that the right kind of battery can help us store energy until we need it, making renewable sources more reliable.
The Problems with Current Batteries
Traditional batteries, like the ones you find in cars, use a mixture of sulfuric acid and water. While these materials are cheap and easy to find, they don’t store a lot of energy.
Plus, they can be pretty dangerous. If the battery’s voltage gets too high, the water can break down into hydrogen and oxygen, which can be explosive.
So, these kinds of batteries aren’t ideal for storing the large amounts of energy we’d need to power a whole city.
A Groundbreaking New Battery Design
Here comes the exciting part. Jiang and his students have created a new kind of battery that solves these problems. First, their battery doesn’t use water, which makes it safer.
It can generate almost 4 volts of power, a lot more than traditional batteries. But the real kicker is that they’ve found a way to make the battery without an expensive part called a membrane-separator.
This membrane is like a wall inside the battery that keeps the positive and negative sides apart. But it’s costly and not very efficient.
According to Jiang, removing the membrane could cut the battery’s cost by up to 30%, making it cheaper to produce.
The team has already applied for a provisional patent, and while Jiang says there’s still a lot to do, he believes we’re on the brink of a “battery revolution” within the next 20 years.
This new battery could be a game-changer for renewable energy. If it becomes widespread, we could store energy more efficiently and at a lower cost, making wind and solar power a more practical choice for everyone.
Countries are in a race to find cheaper, more efficient batteries, and this new design could very well put us ahead in that race.
The research findings can be found in Nature Communications.
Follow us on Twitter for more articles about this topic.
Source: University of Cincinnati
