In May, Tesla Motors, the famous maker of electric cars, rolled out a new line of high-capacity, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, generating excitement in the world of energy storage. The Powerwall, designed for homes, is the size of a refrigerator door and delivers 7 or 10 kilowatts per-hour, whilst the Powerpack is intended to serve businesses, and is the size of a refrigerator, delivering 100 kWh. The firm’s visionary CEO, Elon Musk, believes that users of the ‘Tesla Energy’ line of batteries will be able to store power, pulled from the electric grid, or from wind or the sun, and use it to avoid peak demand charges. Those with sufficient solar or wind power could, in theory, even abandon the power grid. The roll-out of Tesla’s new battery line underscores the impending arrival of “super-batteries” which overcome the cost and efficiency challenges that currently impede the broader application of batteries, including the growth of the electric car industry. Overcoming these barriers, which prevent batteries from being a true competitor to oil, gas, and coal could revolutionise the energy industry. In his new book, ‘The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World’, author and journalist Steve Levine describes how cost effective, high- capacity batteries are, to some extent, key to the full actualisation of renewable energy. Power from solar arrays and wind farms windmills is, in general, only useful when demand for power occurs when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. Oil, gas and coal need neither to unleash their energy. Super-batteries are, therefore, essential if renewable energy is to significantly displace its carbon-based [...]
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We represent the widely understood Central Europe energy sector (electricity generation, distribution and transmission, renewables, gas, oil, heat generation and distribution, chemical industries, etc.), universities and scientific institutions.
