The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a reputation for innovative, dare we say disruptive technology. MIT researchers appear to have come up with affordable storage batteries for connecting renewables to a utility grid. They have developed a way to breathe fresh air through batteries that use it as a catalyst. This certainly adds a breath of fresh air on batteries, so to speak.
Benefits When We Breathe Fresh Air Through Batteries
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology design costs a fraction of current commercial technologies, especially lithium-ion. Moreover, their ‘air breathing’ battery stores energy ‘for very long durations’, and in almost any situation without causing emissions. We hope their initiative enables us to feed irregular wind and solar power, into distribution systems that must deliver steadily.
The MIT battery uses sulfur dissolved in water for its anode, both of which are abundant. The cathode is an aerated salt solution. Both air and salt are in cheap and in abundant supply too. First, fresh air flows in and out the salt solution releasing oxygen. Then the oxygen balances the charge as ions flow between the electrodes.
As the oxygen flows into the cathode salt solution, the anode sends electrons through an external circuit. As the oxygen flows out the other side, the electrons return to the anode recharging the battery. “This battery literally inhales and exhales air,” a researcher explains, “but it doesn’t exhale carbon dioxide, like humans – it exhales oxygen.” We simply breathe fresh air through batteries.
A Distinct Possibility for Commercial Use
Current energy storage systems cost around $100 per hour, which is almost prohibitive. The MIT batteries could do the job for $20 to $30 an hour if scaled up. They would then be commercially viable because the cathode, anode, and electrolyte materials cost about a 30th of competing batteries. Breathing air in and out, we love this idea. Because it reminds us of the cycles of the seasons and the tides.
Related
Sulfur Batteries Soar with Wings
Chinese Saline Solution for Batteries
Preview Image: MIT Research Team
