From Molten Salt to Sweat, Engineers Chase New Ways to Store Renewable Power
Developers from Nevada to the Gulf are testing unconventional battery designs to keep clean energy flowing after dark
Energy developers around the world are testing unconventional battery technologies, including ones built from molten salt and even human sweat, to solve one of clean energy's most stubborn problems: how to store power for when the sun isn't shining, according to The Guardian.
The challenge is central to the future of renewable energy, since solar and wind power are only generated intermittently but demand for electricity continues around the clock.
In the deserts of the United Arab Emirates, a sprawling clean energy project spanning an area roughly the size of 12,600 football fields is combining 5.2 gigawatts of solar power capacity with 19 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, creating what developers describe as the largest battery scheme in the world. The setup is designed to let solar energy power the equivalent of half a million homes through the night.
Smaller-scale experiments are underway elsewhere, too. Developers from Nevada to Manchester, England, are trialling storage technologies built around molten salt and sweat-based chemistry as alternatives to conventional lithium-ion batteries, The Guardian reported.
The flurry of experimentation reflects the scale of investment now flowing into grid-scale storage as countries race to expand renewable capacity without sacrificing reliability.
— Compiled from reporting by The Guardian.