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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #50 on: April 29, 2015, 08:57:15 PM »
Big announcement, on big battery, due this week?

Tesla batteries already powering Wal-Mart
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/tesla-batteries-already-powering-wal-marts/

Related/previous article:
Tesla Wants to Power Wal-Mart
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-22/tesla-powered-wal-mart-stores-attest-to-musk-s-energy-ambitions
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #51 on: May 01, 2015, 02:11:32 PM »
Announced yesterday:  Elon Musk wants to sell you a battery. And he doesn’t care whether you drive an electric car.
Quote
Musk, ever the showman, unveiled his grand “Tesla Energy” scheme to electrify the world on Thursday night, and it actually makes a lot of sense. Tesla, which is in the middle of building a vast “Gigafactory” battery production plant in the Nevada desert, plans to offer new versions of the batteries is puts in its Model S car to residential, commercial, and utility customers.
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/tesla-batteries/
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Yuha

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #52 on: May 01, 2015, 04:34:58 PM »
Here's a bit more information on Tesla's stationary batteries:
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Reporting-Live-From-the-Tesla-Mystery-Product-Unveiling

Quote
The big reveal from Tesla Energy tonight: it will cost $3,500 for a ten kilowatt-hour energy storage pack that includes batteries, a DC-to-DC inverter, thermal management, and software. The price was the first thing that Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, told the gathered press corps and the 1,000 Tesla fans in attendance. (That price is the cost to installers and does not account for incentives.)

The audience actually whooped when Musk revealed the price.

Musk also said that the 100 kilowatt-hour industrial and utility units costs $250 per kilowatt-hour.

"There's nothing remotely at these price points," said Musk.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #53 on: May 01, 2015, 08:00:10 PM »
Here's an article with a video of Elon's presentation.  It's fun to watch; some surprises are included.
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/tesla-energy-could-revolutionize-the-power-grid/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #54 on: May 01, 2015, 10:07:56 PM »
@elonmusk: For more info on Tesla Energy, check out press kit. $250/kWh for utility scale is the real kicker
http://www.teslamotors.com/presskit/teslaenergy


The reason his presentation started so late:
@elonmusk: @romn8tr Press conference went way over time. Tried to give all the journalists who'd traveled far an opportunity to ask a question.
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Neven

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #55 on: May 01, 2015, 10:23:14 PM »
Quote
The big reveal from Tesla Energy tonight: it will cost $3,500 for a ten kilowatt-hour energy storage pack that includes batteries, a DC-to-DC inverter, thermal management, and software.

Holy Mary, mother of God, I want to order one right now! This thing would make my eco-passive-blah-blah-house perfect, practically self-sufficient while still producing surplus energy for my e-bikes/neighbours. These things cost more than 10K over here in Austria/Germany.
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jai mitchell

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #56 on: May 02, 2015, 12:09:05 AM »
Elon Musk's full presentation


 ;D :o 8) ;) :'( :-* :)
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silkman

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #57 on: May 02, 2015, 11:11:07 AM »
Elon Musk managed to push the General Election off the front page of the Times in the UK this morning with an upbeat message:

"Power to the people in energy revolution - Eco-batteries will slash household bills"

It's been coming for a while but Musk's household batteries look like a game changer to me. I can't wait to get my hands on one, even at current prices.

tombond

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #58 on: May 03, 2015, 04:55:35 AM »
Elon Musk must be congratulated on producing such a great battery for a low price and like his car it will have a niche market mainly aimed at rich people.

His marketing ploy is very astute as he taps into the ethos of the environmental movement and thus will get unbelievable coverage as thousands of unpaid green supporters will advertise this product for him free of charge.  I see the video has had a million hits already.

For me personally this battery is almost useless, as the storage is just one day of my electricity use and will cost about A$5K.  I only use A$1Ks worth of electricity a year.

My solar panels produce all the electricity I use in a year but they generate 70% between Sept 20 and March 20 and only 30% between March 21 and September 19, yet my electricity use is fairly constant as I use gas for heating in winter.

So I am a net exporter to the grid during the summer and a net importer from the grid during winter.  Batteries cannot store all the surplus electricity generated in summer for use in winter.

If you look at his site he already knows this and is marketing the battery as a way to maintain constant power.  A house can run exclusively off the battery which is topped up by solar during the summer and by the grid during winter.

I think this is an important selling point as it provides power security 24/7 which is increasingly becoming more important.

ghoti

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #59 on: May 03, 2015, 05:51:49 AM »
Yeah at this stage it is more symbolic except in areas with very high additional charges based on peak rate of consumption. Under those conditions just decreasing peak draw can save significantly.

I've been really amazed at how much this got noticed by the main stream who normally remain clueless about renewables. My neighbour asked me about them (I also have PV on my roof so I guess I'm someone to ask). The Ontario minister of the environment has tweeted several times about this and included the link to the video.

So I'd have to say the main goal for Tesla isn't to sell small packs to home owners but to make the point that power from solar can work now and to begin the roll out of utility scale grid smoothing systems.

The province of Ontario already awarded a bunch of relatively large contracts for storage mainly for research purposes and proof of concepts. The Tesla battery systems help push things in the right direction.

oren

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #60 on: May 03, 2015, 08:12:17 AM »
Elon Musk must be congratulated on producing such a great battery for a low price and like his car it will have a niche market mainly aimed at rich people.

His marketing ploy is very astute as he taps into the ethos of the environmental movement and thus will get unbelievable coverage as thousands of unpaid green supporters will advertise this product for him free of charge.  I see the video has had a million hits already.

For me personally this battery is almost useless, as the storage is just one day of my electricity use and will cost about A$5K.  I only use A$1Ks worth of electricity a year.

My solar panels produce all the electricity I use in a year but they generate 70% between Sept 20 and March 20 and only 30% between March 21 and September 19, yet my electricity use is fairly constant as I use gas for heating in winter.

So I am a net exporter to the grid during the summer and a net importer from the grid during winter.  Batteries cannot store all the surplus electricity generated in summer for use in winter.

If you look at his site he already knows this and is marketing the battery as a way to maintain constant power.  A house can run exclusively off the battery which is topped up by solar during the summer and by the grid during winter.

I think this is an important selling point as it provides power security 24/7 which is increasingly becoming more important.

What do you do at night during the summer?

tombond

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #61 on: May 03, 2015, 08:47:31 AM »

What do you do at night during the summer?

I import from the grid at night but during the day I export much more than I use so I am a net exporter of electrical power over the Spring/Summer period despite using a airconditioner.   

silkman

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #62 on: May 03, 2015, 11:11:39 AM »
Musk is probably going to make another fortune by creating the first "affordable" home energy storage system but, if he's successful and follows it with the promised grid scale kit,  it will mark a big step towards smart grids, local energy generation and the demise of our total dependence on big, remote and polluting power plants.

All ground breaking technologies have to start with the early adopters as it's from from their experience that valuable lessons are learned.

I said higher up this thread that I'd be keen to participate in this experiment as I did with Solar Thermal and PV. It wasn't cost effective at the time but that wasn't the point. It was "Eco-bling" at the time and could probably be seen as such today. But it made a statement and it's made a real difference to the attitude of friends and family to the importance of the environment.

I would like my generation to leave a better world for my grandchildren and for the most part us baby boomers aren't making much of a fist of it.

As far as I'm concerned this is another potentially big step in the right direction and I'll add it to others that start at the beginning with teaching the kids how to grow vegetables in my garden. That's a skill I'm sure they'll need!




« Last Edit: May 03, 2015, 01:06:29 PM by silkman »

crandles

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #63 on: May 03, 2015, 01:49:00 PM »
For me personally this battery is almost useless, as the storage is just one day of my electricity use and will cost about A$5K.  I only use A$1Ks worth of electricity a year.

I assume you pay for grid electric at night in summer and get very little for your exported electric as that is what happens here in the UK. Hard to judge but maybe A$500 savings a year?

If it saves $500 a year on a cost of $5000 and battery lasts 3650 recharge cycles then it isn't cost saving useful at all but might be considered for co2 saving purposes but probably only by someone very green. If it lasts 5000 recharge cycles (13.7 years of daily charge and discharge) then I make the rate of return 4.98% if electricity prices stay constant.

Really need to know how long the battery lasts to judge how good it is. Maybe after 12 years you will be able to replace the battery for $1000?

tombond

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #64 on: May 03, 2015, 03:16:39 PM »
I assume you pay for grid electric at night in summer and get very little for your exported electric as that is what happens here in the UK. Hard to judge but maybe A$500 savings a year?

I receive a generous rate for my exported electricity, as I was an early subscriber to the first feed in tariff scheme here in Australia and as a result pay nothing for my electricity annually once the import and export costs are balanced.  Your comment has made me realize that if I only received the minimal wholesale rate for my exported electricity, the purchase of a Musk battery could be much more attractive. As Governments around the world wind back generous feed in tariff schemes the take up of the Musk battery will be more likely. 

jai mitchell

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #65 on: May 03, 2015, 11:02:57 PM »
The battery is being offered at $3,500  and in his presentation musk says that once the gigafactory is up and running in 2017 that price will go down.

It seems that there would also be some utility incentive for this system as it provides significant load smoothing and peak power demand reduction.  One thing about California is that to be on a net-metering system, you have to put in a solar system that is comparable to your current usage.  If you use a battery then this system could be on *your* side of the meter so you wouldn't have to worry about net metering, can have as big a solar system as you like, and with proper energy efficiency go pretty much completely off grid.

By the way, Tombond, the battery system is 10 Kwh of supply but that is for the portion of the day when the sun isn't shining.  If you use more than 15 Kwh of electricity per day and you heat your home and your water with natural gas then you are running a very inefficient mansion (home). 

For example, I heat with wood, and my water heat is electric with a heat pump water heater (uses about 1/2 the electricity)  and I still only use about 8.2 kWh per day on average.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #66 on: May 06, 2015, 08:01:21 PM »
And here I laid a garage pad with a two-foot-deep section especially for future solar batteries, and Musk's units are only 7 inches deep (and indoor/outdoor, to boot).  :-\  ;D
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #67 on: May 06, 2015, 08:03:54 PM »
Another reason why battery-swapping will likely never become a big thing.

BRUSA to commercialize WiTricity’s wireless charging system
Quote
During the past year, several leading European and Japanese carmakers have publicly announced plans to introduce wireless charging for next-generation electrified vehicles,” said WiTricity CEO Alex Gruzen. “BRUSA is well positioned to be a Tier 1 supplier to these carmakers.”
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/brusa-to-commercialize-witricitys-wireless-charging-system/
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ghoti

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #68 on: May 07, 2015, 05:08:10 AM »
Quote
Musk says response to the Powerwall battery system is just “nutty,” with 38,000 reservations for home customers, and 2,500 for utilities.

So while we can debate whether or not batteries are currently cost effective they clearly are popular enough to sell out through mid-2016 or something.

Laurent

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #69 on: May 07, 2015, 10:06:33 AM »
What's Inside a Tesla Battery, Sociologically?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/markus-giesler/whats-inside-a-tesla-battery_b_7218942.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Green

Quote
If one follows this analytical tact, in last week's announcement, Musk's true innovation may be to have moved battery meanings to a new sociological level: from performance to total autonomy. The intention behind Tesla's POWERWALL may not only be to escape the fossil fuel era but to also reframe traditional energy governance as a historical fossil that stands in the way of clean energy.

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #70 on: May 07, 2015, 10:54:18 AM »
Does anoyone know the full specs of the Powerwall, and specifically the DC-inverter?

silkman

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #71 on: May 07, 2015, 12:12:40 PM »
... And whether, when installed, it would replace the existing inverter in a PV set up?

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #72 on: May 07, 2015, 12:13:53 PM »
Does anoyone know the full specs of the Powerwall, and specifically the DC-inverter?

A clue?

http://www.solaredge.com/articles/solaredge_announces_collaboration_with_tesla_motors
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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #73 on: May 07, 2015, 01:10:35 PM »
Thanks Jim, I haven't seen that. But detailed specs still needed if one consider adding the powerwall to your existing setup.

silkman, it won't, you still need a DC-AC inverter. :(
http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall
Quote
DC-AC inverter not included.
 

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #74 on: May 07, 2015, 02:18:45 PM »
Can Tesla's home battery lower your electric bill?
Quote
Utilities may also offer some assistance, because having more power available from battery owners may let them avoid the capital cost to build as many new plants, usually burning natural gas, to generate peak-load power. One of the earliest plans is a Sacramento Municipal Utility District pilot study on how to integrate at-home solar and storage systems into a smart grid.

"There's a lot of room for incentives, and there are certain to be a lot of options,'' Duvall said.
...
Rábago also said that early adopters wouldn't necessarily be motivated, or discouraged, by cost savings. He recalled an interview he was present at a decade ago in Colorado with a guy who had a 9-kWh solar system and was asked if it was cost-effective. "He said, 'You're sitting on a $9,000 couch. Do I look like a price-sensitive consumer?'"

"People who will want to do it first are those who desire energy self-sufficiency and autonomy. They will think it's worth it," Rábago said. "And the more of them we get, the cheaper the next version will be for the rest of us."
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102654345
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #75 on: May 07, 2015, 02:34:58 PM »
Article has link to Musk's webcast at the bottom of the page. (Registration required.)

Tesla's new bet: A home battery to slash energy costs
Quote
Sooner or later though, Musk is determined to make it happen. Needed first, of course, is batteries from the Gigafactory to open next year – and, this venture happens to be ahead of schedule.

However, adding to the picture’s complexity, Musk said today due to off-the-wall Powerwall demand, he’s contemplating expansion of the Nevada plant by 50 percent.

“The sheer volume of demand here is just staggering … we could easily have the entire gigafactory just do stationary storage,” said Musk.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102654345
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Yuha

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #76 on: May 07, 2015, 03:13:14 PM »
More information on Tesla batteries emerging:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/05/tesla-already-has-38000-reservations-for-the-powerwall-but-use-case-is-narrow/

Quote
But Musk also admitted that he thought that ultimately, more of Tesla's sales would be to industry and utility customers, rather than to individual consumers. “We expect most of our stationary storage sales to be at the utility or industrial scale,” Musk said, adding that he expects to eventually sell five- to ten-times more megawatt hours in power packs than Telsa Energy will "deploy at the consumer scale." Although Powerwalls are flying like hotcakes, individual households in the US may soon find that a Powerwall may not make much financial sense for them in the short term.

Last Thursday, Elon Musk said his company would be selling consumers 10kWh batteries at $3,500 and 7kWh batteries at $3,000. The two kinds of batteries have cell chemistry differences as well as size differences—the larger battery uses a nickel-cobalt mix and can only be used for backup energy storage as its chemistry won't permit frequent cycling. The smaller battery is a nickel-manganese battery that is intended for daily cycling, and if you wanted to get off the grid entirely that would be the one you'd want for evenings after the sun goes down.

Still, a single Powerwall battery, although cheaper than other lithium ion stationary batteries on the market, may not be as robust as consumers are wont to believe, and in the US, the daily cycle battery doesn't make sense for consumers—yet.

“There are two versions of the Powerwall; the daily cycling version and the power backup one,” Musk explained on the earnings call today. For people with solar panels, “the daily cycling one, it is true, in the US they are more expensive than being on the grid,” and simply selling solar energy back to the utility and buying the energy back at night. “This doesn't mean that people won't buy it [in the US]. Some people want to go off-grid on principle.” Musk continued to say that the 7kWh daily cycling battery was designed with Germany and Australia in mind, where solar power is plentiful and traditional power is expensive.

Yuha

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #77 on: May 07, 2015, 03:23:57 PM »
A rough price comparison:

https://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/07/tesla-powerwall-price-vs-battery-storage-competitor-prices-residential-utility-scale/

Quote
Anyhow, if you didn’t need me to tell you, this is quite a complicated topic. There are factors that go far beyond the per-kWh price of a battery pack — lifecycle, size, the battery management system, other hardware and software costs, etc.

My overall thought is that Tesla has quite a competitive product, and its costs will continue to come down and get increasingly hard to beat, but there’s still a lot of risk inherent in this nascent market — and it’s actually several markets (home storage, commercial & industrial storage, utility-scale storage, and battery management as well as battery hardware).

jai mitchell

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #78 on: May 07, 2015, 05:33:35 PM »
At 38,000 reservations, Tesla’s Powerwall is already sold out until mid-2016

Quote
Just days after the Tesla Powerwall was announced, the company has reported that it has sold out of the hot new product until mid-2016. Yowza.

http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/05/07/powerwall-is-sold-out/
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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #79 on: May 07, 2015, 06:33:43 PM »
In the presentation video Elon musk says the lead batteries sucks... well what he does propose sucks too ? isn't it ?
It doesn't sound too good for the environment nickel-cobalt...hum no, lithium... hum no, nickel-manganse...hum no...

What about the old nickel-iron batterie combined with a nanocarbon supercondensator (or something similar)? should be fine ?


(Should be able to use sodium hydroxide instead of potassium hydroxide)
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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #80 on: May 07, 2015, 07:37:45 PM »
Laurent, evertyhing sucks more or less, except minimizing consumption and energy needs. ;)
Fuji has been working on a aluminium-air battery filled with water. But aluminium mining isn't great either. I've been looking at battery banks for a decade now but I'm still not sure...


Yuha, I saw that Bloomberg article earlier today, so thank you for that link to arstechnica. I thought it was a bit out of order. And the 7kWh model is "For daily cycle applications" as stated in Teslas specs, but I haven't seen the explanation until now, thanks.

A quote from arstechnica and Bass.
Quote
Musk was in part referencing an article written by Bloomberg that said Tesla's batteries “wouldn't work well with solar.” The report claimed Tesla's main installation partner, SolarCity, was refusing to install 7kWh batteries for its customers. Jonathan Bass, Vice President of Communications for SolarCity, told Ars in a phone call this afternoon that the Bloomberg article was “completely wrong.”

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #81 on: May 11, 2015, 02:05:59 AM »
Tesla's Battery Grabbed $800 Million in Its First Week
Bloomberg did the math on the early reservations for Elon Musk's new batteries
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-08/tesla-s-battery-grabbed-800-million-in-its-first-week
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #82 on: May 15, 2015, 08:05:18 PM »
LG Chem Power CEO: We’re the Li-ion leader for PEVs because of material science
Quote
Charged: The other Li-ion market that’s poised for explosive growth is large-scale energy storage. Where do you think that fits in?

Dr. Patil: I think it will be as big, or bigger, than the automotive market. A few years ago, Li-ion was dominated by consumer electronics (CE) – cell phones and laptops. I think by the 2020 time frame, the automotive market will match or maybe be bigger than CE. The current total installed capacity of the consumer electronics market is maybe 25 GWh. To give you an idea of scale, Tesla says its Gigafactory alone will be at 35 GWh of annual capacity by 2020.

For the storage market, we have the largest install in North America at the Tehachapi Energy Storage Project in southern California – 32 MWh of batteries for wind farm support. The market is slow to develop because of the size of the installations and the cautiousness of utilities. But I think as soon as it turns the corner, the large size of the installs will play to make it a very big segment.
http://chargedevs.com/features/lg-chem-power-ceo-were-the-li-ion-leader-for-pevs-because-of-material-science/
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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #83 on: May 16, 2015, 12:56:45 PM »
I've been attempting to lobby the UK's shiny new Department of Energy & Climate Change to prioritise energy storage.

https://twitter.com/V2gUK/status/599347516862238721

I'll let you know how I get on. They suggested I call them back in a couple of weeks!
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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #84 on: May 16, 2015, 07:12:40 PM »
Haiku of Futures Passed
My "burning embers"
are not tri-color bar graphs
+3C today

Yuha

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #85 on: May 17, 2015, 03:37:07 AM »
good summary of recent battery advances and the players involved

Many more companies developing batteries and related systems are listed here:

http://cleantechnica.com/2015/01/15/27-battery-storage-companies-watch/

One of the most interesting technologies currently is lithium batteries with solid-state electrolytes. At least three startups with big backers are developing them:

Jim Hunt

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #86 on: May 17, 2015, 11:18:37 AM »
Past experience suggests David Mackay, ex Chief Scientific Advisor to DECC, does in fact check his "social media" so I thought I'd give this a try too:

https://twitter.com/V2gUK/status/599623981717659648

Please feel free to liven up the LinkedIn "Distributed Energy Storage" group if you're on there as well as here.
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

sidd

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #87 on: May 17, 2015, 06:44:13 PM »
I have been watching Aquion. I like their tech, simple and comes from very old (Alessandro Volta) ideas about Voltaic piles. Carbon, manganese and salt water.

sidd

Yuha

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #88 on: June 05, 2015, 06:15:44 PM »
Advanced Migrogrid Solutions to install 500 MWh of Tesla batteries:

http://fortune.com/2015/06/04/advanced-microgrid-solutions/

Quote
A three-year-old, well-connected San Francisco startup has signed a contract to buy and install a whopping 500 megawatt hours worth of grid batteries from Tesla. That size of deal is the equivalent of installing tens of thousands of Tesla’s Powerwall batteries, many in California, over the course of the next five years. The startup is called Advanced Microgrid Solutions and the company installs batteries in buildings and uses smart software to manage the collective battery energy to help utilities better run the power grid.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #89 on: June 08, 2015, 09:39:28 PM »
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #90 on: June 12, 2015, 01:46:04 AM »
Tesla says it will double capacity of home battery
Quote
The home energy storage product that Tesla Motors Inc. unveiled one month ago is getting an upgrade and now will have twice its original capacity, company CEO and co-founder Elon Musk said yesterday.
...
"We've dramatically increased the power capability of the Powerwall," Musk told shareholders meeting in Mountain View, Calif. "It basically more than doubled the power output of the power pack, and the price is going to stay the same."
Quote
"The Powerpack is independent of renewables," Musk said. "You could actually take probably something close to half of all the power plants in the world and turn them off if you had batteries. I'm not sure this is well appreciated."
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060019968
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #91 on: June 12, 2015, 01:50:21 PM »
Skeleton Technologies raises €9.8 million in Series B, aims to make ultracapacitors the future for EVs
Quote
The company plans to use the funds to ramp up production of its graphene-based ultracapacitors. Customers include hybrid truck manufacturers, Tier 1 suppliers, grid-scale energy storage companies, and the European Space Agency, which recently announced a deal that will send ultracapacitors into orbit for the first time.
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/skeleton-technologies-raises-e9-8-million-in-series-b-aims-to-make-ultracapacitors-the-future-for-evs/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #92 on: June 16, 2015, 02:19:41 AM »
New IRENA report:  More Energy Storage Needed for Renewables Success

Quote
The cost of renewable power generation has already fallen so far that around 250 GW of the existing 400 GW of installed diesel generators world-wide could be replaced with clean energy at lower cost.
http://newsroom.unfccc.int/clean-energy/more-energy-storage-needed-for-renewables-success/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #93 on: June 20, 2015, 07:59:39 PM »
Polymer donor and a nano-scale fullerene acceptor.

Chemists devise technology that could transform solar energy storage
Quote
The materials in most of today's residential rooftop solar panels can store energy from the sun for only a few microseconds at a time. A new technology developed by chemists at UCLA is capable of storing solar energy for up to several weeks -- an advance that could change the way scientists think about designing solar cells.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150619103601.htm
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #94 on: June 23, 2015, 06:00:08 PM »
Sion Power to provide lithium-sulfur batteries for Airbus high-altitude aircraft
Quote
Sion’s custom Li-S battery packs provide specific energy of 350 Wh/kg, which the company claims is the highest available for a rechargeable battery.
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/sion-power-to-provide-lithium-sulfur-batteries-for-airbus-high-altitude-aircraft/
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #95 on: June 25, 2015, 08:19:17 PM »
Couple WaPo articles:

Why the solar-plus-battery revolution may be closer than you think.  (With video of a panel discussion, "Solar + Storage = Revolution?")
Quote
“It is a revolution,” Pfund said, adding that “it isn’t that far away.” When asked how much solar energy capacity and battery storage capacity people would need to fully power their homes with solar energy at night and also charge their electric vehicles overnight, she commented, “remember your cellphone, how unfunctional and expensive and huge it was in those early days. Obviously there’s a cost curve that’s coming down…there’s a long waiting list of people wanting to do this.”
...
Pfund, though, argued that Tesla and SolarCity have had to encounter skepticism at every stage – and have overcome it each time. “This is a movie we’ve heard before,” she said. “‘You can’t reduce the cost of solar.’ ‘You can’t build an electric car that people will actually drive.’ ‘You can’t get the batteries cheap enough for an entry level vehicle.’ ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ We have heard every naysayer there is out there, and somehow, Tesla and SolarCity have managed to, you know, sell a lot of cars, install a lot of solar, and achieve very impressive market capitalizations.”

The panelists did all agree that one major sector where there will be a dramatic change thanks to storage technologies is the electric grid. Pfund noted that if power companies can store energy collected by solar panels during the day, they’ll be able to use fewer natural gas-fueled “peaker plants,” which can be dirty and expensive but are necessary for times of peak demand. Nocera added that “That’s what storage is, in a grid sense, it makes it a commodity that people can then set a market on.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/06/23/the-energy-storage-revolution-is-coming-but-not-without-some-arguments-along-the-way/

From May 1:
Why Tesla’s announcement is such a big deal: The coming revolution in energy storage
Quote
The major upshot of more and cheaper batteries and much more widespread energy storage could, in the long term, be a true energy revolution — as well as a much greener planet. Here are just a few ways that storage can dramatically change — and green — the way we get power:...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/04/30/why-teslas-announcement-could-be-such-a-big-deal/
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mati

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #96 on: June 25, 2015, 11:59:33 PM »
MIT research halves the manufacturing cost of Lithium Ion batteries!
and that is what they have now...
http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/manufacturing-lithium-ion-battery-half-cost-0623
and so it goes

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #97 on: June 30, 2015, 12:52:01 AM »
Researchers add compounds to electrolyte to prevent dendrite growth
Quote
Those doggone dendrites are the bane of battery boffins working on otherwise promising lithium metal anodes. Now a group of researchers from SLAC, Stanford and MIT have discovered that adding lithium polysulfide and lithium nitrate to an ether-based electrolyte can prevent dendrite growth and minimize electrolyte decomposition.
http://chargedevs.com/newswire/researchers-add-compounds-to-electrolyte-to-prevent-dendrite-growth/
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Jim Hunt

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #98 on: June 30, 2015, 01:15:08 AM »
Some alternatives to Tesla Energy batteries, plus a representative of the UK regulator assures me that:

Quote
Traditional [V2G] battery worries have been overcome by technology

I could have told him that!

http://www.V2G.co.uk/2015/06/is-distributed-energy-storage-on-ofgems-roadmap/
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

Sigmetnow

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Re: Batteries: Today's Energy Solution
« Reply #99 on: June 30, 2015, 02:29:38 AM »
Rare earths are neither rare nor irreplaceable.  A financial story.

How a Bet on Rare Earths Flopped as Scarcity Was a Mirage
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-28/how-a-bet-on-rare-earths-flopped-as-scarcity-was-a-mirage
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