New Battery Invention Could Smooth Power Supply From Renewable Energy

October 20, 2014- U.S. engineers invented a new battery made of three molten metals that aims to help store energy on the scale of a national power grid. Previous battery designs have been too expensive to help store energy at that scale.

Published in the journal Nature, this latest attempt at a scalable solution for storing electricity is set for commercial demonstrations within a year.

The new liquid battery has a negative electrode made of lead, which is cheap and melts easily, mixed with a dash of antimony to boost performance. This lowers the cost, as well as the heat required to liquefy the metals.

“Sometimes, when the wind is blowing strongly, we have spare capacity available -- if only we could store it, so that we could use it when the wind isn't blowing," said Professor Ian Fells, a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the U.K.

Read the full BBC post here.

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