Energy Storage: Sounds Boring and Geekish but...
08 May 2014
Storage does not sound very exciting but it could be revolutionary. The storage in question is storage of energy. We have batteries, of course, which power everything from hearing aids to cars but the fact is that batteries are not yet good enough to do all that we both want and need.
After some years in the wilderness, politicians are again beginning to notice climate change. The ‘Greenest ever Government’, as David Cameron described the coalition a few years ago, has not been at all green but the recent winter storms, which can be reasonably be thought of as a consequence of climate change, have brought about some political change.
Climate change has been mentioned in parliament and the media too, has taken notice. Scientists have not taken their eye off the ball and the evidence for man-made climate change continues to accumulate. So, you may ask, ‘why is energy storage so important?’ Well, it’s not so that your laptop can go for longer between charges.
Clearly, better batteries would have an important role in encouraging people to buy and use electric cars. Presently the range of electric cars is too small and they take too long to recharge. If the performance in these regards can be made to match cars powered by fossil fuels, and if this can be done for a reasonable cost, then there might well be a rush to electric vehicles.
Electric vehicles will only be green if the electricity comes from renewable sources that are not producing carbon dioxide. It is here that energy storage becomes really important. The main renewable energy source in which the government has so far invested is wind energy. If we ignore aesthetics, enriching landowners and damage to the environment then the greatest disadvantage of wind turbines is that the energy produced is intermittent.
When the wind blows, surges of power may have a deleterious effect on the grid. When the wind does not blow it is necessary to have a backup power source which is currently either fossil fuels or nuclear and so the savings in carbon dioxide production are much reduced.
Micro-generation
The main areas of wind power production are remote from populations and so the power has to be transmitted many miles with unsightly pylons and consequent loss of energy. The greater the transmission distance, the more energy is lost as heat. Imagine though, if we had a highly efficient method of storing energy; the wind turbines could capture as much energy as possible when the wind blows and it could be used when the wind does not blow.
More than this, micro-generation would become much more attractive. If we could efficiently store the electricity produced by wind turbines and solar panels each household would have an incentive to garner its own energy and store it for its own use. This is micro-generation. If each house could become self-sufficient in energy we would not need to transmit electricity the length of the country and, in consequence, would not waste energy lost as heat from power lines.
The efficient method of energy storage may not be electrical. It may be chemical. Plants did it millions of years ago in the form of starch.
All over the world people are researching into better ways of storing energy. Let’s wish them luck. Our children’s future may depend on their success. There’s a Nobel prize waiting to be won and it will be well deserved.
Papillon