The information: One of the main corporations providing options to lithium batteries for the grid has simply obtained an almost $400 million mortgage from the US Department of Energy. Eos Energy makes zinc-halide batteries, which the agency hopes might in the future be used to retailer renewable power at a decrease price than is feasible with current lithium-ion batteries.
What they’re fabricated from: Eos’s batteries are primarily constructed from zinc, the fourth most produced metallic on the earth, and use a water-based electrolyte (the liquid that strikes cost round in a battery) as an alternative of natural solvent. This makes them extra secure than lithium-ion cells, and means they gained’t catch fireplace.
Why it issues: While the price of lithium-ion batteries has plummeted over the previous decade, there’s a rising want for even cheaper choices. The zinc-based know-how Eos hopes to commercialize might retailer electrical energy for hours and even days at low price. Read the complete story.
—Casey Crownhart
How water might make safer batteries
Batteries’ electrolytes dictate lots about how they work, in addition to how protected they’re. A rising variety of different battery makers are turning to an attention-grabbing ingredient to make use of of their electrolyte to decrease the danger of them catching fireplace: water.
Casey has dug additional into the fascinating know-how behind different batteries within the newest version of The Spark, her weekly local weather e-newsletter. Sign up to obtain it in your inbox each Wednesday.
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