Aluminum has an energy density of more than 50 times that of lithium-ion when considered as the energy carrier in a battery. That is why Swiss scientists are developing this technology as a renewable energy storage facility for cold European winters.
The problem is quite simple: As countries around the world plan their transition to zero-emission energy, they have to deal with the intermittent nature of renewables.
On a daily basis, solar energy harvests most of its energy in the middle of the day, which requires some sort of short-term storage solution that can store that energy in some kind of battery and then release it again later at night.
These types of large batteries have already been installed in many areas, proving their effectiveness. But discontinuity is a much bigger problem at the seasonal level. The farther a person moves away from the equator, the less sun he receives in the winter months.
Parts of northern Europe are notorious for having no sun at all for several months, resulting in a huge solar deficit every year when everyone starts turning on their heaters.
The world needs a way to store the vast amount of renewable energy generated during the warmer months and then release it during the long winters. And it has to be accessible, otherwise it won’t happen.
Researchers at the Institute for Solar Technology (SPF) in Switzerland have been studying the redox cycles of aluminum for many years and, with funding from Horizon Europe and the Swiss government, have come up with a very promising idea.
According to a 2020 report, one cubic meter block of aluminum can chemically store a huge amount of energy: about 23.5 megawatt-hours, which is more than 50 times the capacity of a lithium-ion plant.
Enough to power the average American home for 2.2 years as of 2020. Based on weight, aluminum has a specific energy of 8.7 kWh per kilogram, which is about 33 times that of the batteries Tesla uses in its Model 3.
The entry and exit of this energy is much more difficult. During the “charging process”, the excess renewable energy will be used to convert alumina or aluminum hydroxide into pure elemental aluminium.
Near an industrial electrolysis process requiring temperatures around 800 °C, as well as new inert electrodes.if you want to avoid the carbon dioxide emissions that accompany today’s traditional aluminum smelting processes.
The team estimates that it will be possible to “charge” an aluminum redox system with an efficiency close to 65%. All of these raw materials are relatively cheap and plentiful, with the added benefit of being very easy to store and transport.
No doubt it seems like a great solution to store the energy we lose every day because we don’t have the capacity to store that much electricity.
Source: Computer Hoy
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.
