Solar Energy storage?
One of the vexing issues for successful solar power has been adequate storage for excess power. Now, solar energy can be stored in liquid batteries. This helps to address issues related to use of solar power at night or on cloudy days. The future of solar power now looks a little bit brighter!
Leave it to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to find a solar power solution:
“Donald Sadoway, a materials chemistry professor at MIT, and his team have fabricated prototypes of the liquid battery, and have demonstrated that the materials can quickly absorb large amounts of electricity, as required for solar energy storage.”
Even though the following video is in German, it gives you an idea of solar battery issues:
Liquid Batteries to store solar energy
MIT has been a leader in solar power research recently. The new liquid battery would be comprised of three layers of liquids: two electrode liquids on the top and bottom (electrodes are usually solid in conventional batteries), and an electrolyte liquid in the middle. The liquid may be made of molten metals such as magnesium and antimony, with a molten salt in the middle (sodium sulfide).
Here’s how it is supposed to work:
“As electrons flow into the battery cell, magnesium ions in the electrolyte gain electrons and form magnesium metal, rising to form the upper molten magnesium electrode. At the same time, antimony ions in the electrolyte lose electrons, and sink to form the lower molten antimony electrode. At this point, the battery is fully charged, since the battery has thick electrode layers and a small layer of electrolyte. To discharge the electrical current, the process is reversed, and the metal atoms become ions again.”
So, that’s all well and good, but what makes the liquid batteries superior for solar energy storage?
Three reasons: (1) it costs less than regular batteries; (2) it has a longer lifetime; and (3) its electrodes can operate at currents 10s of times higher than other batteries, which allows it to absorb large amounts of electricity very quickly.
Within the next 5 years, researchers hope to have the liquid batteries on the market.
While that may seem like a long time, we’ve been waiting forever for a viable solar battery. I cannot wait! It will be here before we know it.
Tags: liquid battery storing solar energy, MIT solar power research, solar energy storage
