The next breakthrough in grid capacity may not be battery storage. Ultracapacitors are faster, discharging in fractions of a second rather than seconds, perform over broader temperature ranges (-40°C to +65°C) and provide more power.
As batteries produce and store energy through a chemical reaction, rather than storing it in an electric field, they have more capacity.
According to Dr. Kimberly McGrath, Director of Business Development at San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies, combining these technologies prolongs battery life by not exposing it to the high power conditions. Based on some studies, Maxwell knows ultracapacitors prolong the life of batteries from 10% to +30%.
“The key part of the ultracapacitor technology is that when we talk about cycling, we talk about hundreds of thousands of cycles versus thousands like batteries do. We don’t have the same type of degradation mechanisms. So we have a very long lifespan and that is very important when you talk about grid applications because the energy storage systems on the grid have to last 15 to 20 years,” she said.
An increased usage of ultracapacitors would pave the way for significantly higher adoption of renewable energies into the grid.
“If you have fast responding resources like ultracapacitors tied to solar and wind, the power output becomes so much more reliable.” said McGrath. “There is going to be a good mix of generation and storage technologies on the grid. Gas power plants, renewables, batteries and ultracapacitors all have a role.”
The Latest on: Grid Capacity
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Grid Capacity” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Grid Capacity
- Scientists use gut bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseaseson April 23, 2024 at 5:47 am
Chinese scientists have developed a more natural strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases by changing insects gut microbes which might be used as ...
- Chinese scientists use gut bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseaseson April 19, 2024 at 11:40 am
Chinese scientists have developed a more natural strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases by changing insects' gut microbes, which might be used as an alternative to controversial experiments that ...
- China Focus: Scientists use gut bacteria to prevent mosquito-borne diseaseson April 19, 2024 at 5:36 am
BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have developed a more natural strategy to prevent mosquito-borne diseases by changing insects' gut microbes, which might be used as an alternative to ...
via Bing News
