51茶馆

February 16, 2018

Charging ahead: how Australia is innovating in battery technology

Since sodium is abundant, battery technology that uses it side-steps many of the issues associated with lithium batteries.

Lithium-ion remains the most widespread battery technology in use today, thanks to the fact that products that use it are both portable and rechargeable. It powers everything from your smartphone to the 鈥溾�� in South Australia.

Demand for batteries is in coming decades with the and the need to , such as . But rising concerns about and for lithium-ion batteries 鈥� as well as 鈥� have led to a search for alternative technologies.

Many of these technologies aren鈥檛 being developed to replace lithium-ion batteries in portable devices, rather they鈥檙e looking to take the pressure off by providing alternatives for large-scale, stationary energy storage.

Australian companies and universities are leading the way in developing innovative solutions, but the path to commercial success has its challenges. 

Australian alternatives

Flow batteries

In the cathode and anode are liquids, rather than solid as in other batteries. The advantage of this is that the stored energy is directly related to the amount of liquid. That means if more energy is needed, bigger tanks can be easily fitted to the system. Also, flow batteries can be completely discharged without damage 鈥� a major advantage over other technologies.

ASX-listed battery technology company has been developing for residential and commercial energy storage. Meanwhile, is developing a vanadium-based flow battery for large-scale energy storage systems.

Flow batteries have been receiving considerable and due to their inherent technical and safety advantages. A of 500 energy professionals saw 46% of respondents predict flow battery technology will soon become the dominant utility-scale battery energy storage method.   

 

 

   

Ultrabatteries

Lead-acid batteries were and have been the backbone of energy storage applications ever since. One major disadvantage of traditional lead-acid batteries is the faster they are discharged, the less energy they can supply. Additionally, the lifetime of lead-acid batteries the lower they are discharged.

Energy storage company has been formed around CSIRO-developed Ultrabattery technology 鈥� the combination of a lead-acid battery and a carbon ultracapacitor. One key advantage of this technology is that it is highly sustainable 鈥� essentially all components in the battery are recyclable. Ultrabatteries also address the issue of , taking advantage of the ultracapacitor characteristics to allow high discharge (and charge) rates.

These batteries are showing excellent performance in applications. Ecoult has also recently to expand to South Asia and beyond.  

 

 

   

Repurposed storage solutions

Rechargeable batteries are considered to have reached their 鈥渆nd of life鈥� when they can only be charged to 80% of their initial capacity. This makes sense for portable applications 鈥� a Tesla Model S would have a range of 341 km compared to the . However, these batteries can still be used where reduced capacity is acceptable.

Startup has developed a that allows end of life electric vehicle batteries to be used in residential energy storage. This provides a solution to about the disposal of lithium-ion batteries, and reports that . Relectrify has recently secured a .

   

 

   

Thermal energy storage

Energy can be stored in many forms 鈥� including as , , and energy. Thermal energy storage can be a highly efficient process, particularly when the sun is the energy source.

Renewable energy technology company has developed a thermal energy storage solution based on concentrated solar power (CSP). This technology gained attention in Australia with the announcement of the . CSP to provide a solution.

is developing a technology for large-scale applications that stores energy as heat in molten silicon. This technology has the potential to demonstrate and efficiencies in applications where both heat and electricity are required. For example, in manufacturing facilities and shopping centres.

Research and development

Sodium-ion batteries

At the 51茶馆 I鈥檓 part of the team heading the Smart Sodium Storage Solution . It鈥檚 a A$10.5 million project to develop sodium-ion batteries for renewable energy storage. This project builds upon previous research undertaken at the 51茶馆 and involves three key battery manufacturing companies in China.

We鈥檝e selected the sodium-ion chemistry for the S⁴ project because it sidesteps many of the raw materials issues associated with lithium-ion batteries. One of the main materials we use to manufacture our batteries is sodium chloride 鈥� better known as 鈥渢able salt鈥� 鈥� which is not only abundant, but also cheap.

We鈥檒l be demonstrating the sodium-ion batteries in a residential application at 51茶馆鈥檚 and in an industrial application at Sydney Water鈥檚 Bondi Sewage Pumping Station.   

 

 

   

Gel-based zinc-bromine batteries

, a spin-off company from the University of Sydney, is developing gel-based 鈥� similar to the Redflow battery technology. They are designed for use in .

The Gelion technology is claimed to have performance comparable with lithium-ion batteries, and the company has attracted to develop its product. Gelion is still in the early stages of commercialisation, however plans are in place for large-scale manufacturing by 2019.

Challenges facing alternatives

While this paints a picture of a vibrant landscape of exciting new technologies, the path to commercialisation is challenging.

Not only does the product have to be designed and developed, but so does the manufacturing process, production facility and entire supply chain 鈥� . Lithium-ion batteries have a headstart in these areas. Combine that with the consumer familiarity with lithium-ion, and it鈥檚 difficult for alternative technologies to gain traction.

One way of mitigating these issues is to piggyback on established manufacturing and supply chain processes. That鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing with the S⁴ Project: leveraging the manufacturing processes and production techniques developed for lithium-ion batteries to produce sodium-ion batteries. Similarly, Ecoult is drawing upon decades of lead-acid battery manufacturing expertise to produce its Ultrabattery product.

Some challenges, however, are intrinsic to the particular technology.

For example, Relectrify does not have control over the quality or history of the cells it uses for their energy storage 鈥� making it difficult to produce a consistent product. Likewise, 1414 degrees have working with very high temperatures.

Forecasts by , , and all point to an explosion in the future demand for energy storage. While lithium-ion batteries will continue to play a large part, it is likely these innovative Australian technologies will become critical in ensuring energy demands are met.

, Associate Research Fellow in Battery R&D,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

UOW academics exercise academic freedom by providing expert commentary, opinion and analysis on a range of ongoing social issues and current affairs. This expert commentary reflects the views of those individual academics and does not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the 51茶馆.