Energy storage

 Battery giants are starting to put their money on new sodium-based technology, a sign that there could be yet another shakeup in the industry that's crucial for the energy transition.Sodium — found in rock salts and brines around the globe — has the potential to make inroads into energy storage and electric vehicles because it's cheaper and far more abundant than lithium, which currently dominates batteries. But while chemically and structurally similar, sodium has yet to be used on a large scale, partly due to the…

In an energy-efficient future, homes may be heated and cooled by pumping from giant pools of water stored underground. A study published this month in Applied Energy looks at how underground aquifers could help significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and help store energy produced by renewables.This Summer’s Hottest UmbrellaThe research deals with a technology known as aquifer thermal energy storage, or ATES. Water is a great way to store thermal energy, and the Earth is an efficientinsulator. ATES is simply the…

European planemaker Airbus announced on Wednesday a partnership with French carmaker Renault to develop a new generation of electric batteries for cars and planes.Engineering teams from both companies will join forces to mature technologies related to energy storage, one of the main roadblocks for the development of long-range electric vehicles, Airbus said in a statement.Also Read: Electric Renault Truck Unveiled by Coca-Cola Ahead of Pepsi’s Tesla Semi Truck“For the first time, two European leaders from different…

A view of the San Diego skyline on November 21, 2020 in California. Photo: Sandy Huffaker (Getty Images)The San Diego Water Authority wants to keep the lights on, even when the Sun goes down. It plans to use San Vicente Reservoir to store solar power energy in so-called water batteries to maximize the city’s renewable energy potential, NPR reports.Cities across California have an abundance of sunny days, which is perfect for providing renewable energy… as long as the Sun is up. The proposed project could store 4,000…

A customer in Vermont stands next to a Tesla Powerwall battery and inverter which she uses to store solar energy.Photo: Dave Gram (AP)Using Tesla’s Powerwall batteries, households on the island of Miyako-jima in Japan have built out a virtual power plant that can send excess power to the electric grid in their area. Over the past year, Tesla’s been creating what they’re calling one of the largest virtual power plants in Japan. This is according to a statement released by the company onFriday. There are currently more…

Patty Durand reached her tipping point in 2019, when Georgia’s Public Service Commission was considering a rate case that would have huge implications for energy bills for people in Georgia. Durand was president of an energy nonprofit in Atlanta, and the commission had invited her to present research on consumer support for various plans that would keep bills lower. Yet the PSC eventually approved a different rate plan, one supported by the state’s powerful investor-owned utility, Georgia Power, that raised power bills by…