September 18th, 2020 by Tina Casey
File this one under W for With Friends Like These. Under the watchful eye of noted fossil fuel fan and President* Donald J. Trump, the US coal industry has died on the vine, thanks in part to the Department of Energy’s continued pursuit of clean tech. Now the DOE is taking aim at oil and gas. Earlier this week, the DOE threw down a funding award of almost $20 million to propel a new low cost energy storage system into mass production. The effort aims straight at two fields that spell doom for fossil fuels: EV charging and grid-scale storage.
What’s The Big Deal About Sodium-Ion Energy Storage?
The new energy storage system involves sodium-ion technology and not lithium-ion, and there is a good reason for that.
The DOE is interested in various forms of sodium based batteries because they could lead to a game changing improvement over conventional Li-ion technology. Sodium is the main ingredient in table salt, which means that it is both inexpensive and abundant. And also, non-toxic.
In addition, sodium-ion energy storage could provide a reclamation pathway for carbon resources, including agricultural waste.
However, before you try to DIY your own sodium-ion energy storage device with a box of Morton’s and a bowl of apple peels, take heed of the warning expressed by Brookhaven National Laboratory.
“…a typical battery’s cathode is made up of metal and oxygen ions arranged in layers. When exposed to air, the metals in a sodium battery’s cathode can be oxidized, decreasing the performance of the battery or even rendering it completely inactive,” the lab explained a while back.
Sodium-Ion Energy Storage System Takes Aim At Data Center
All of this is red meat to energy storage researchers and investors, too. On the private sector side is Natron Energy, the company that just nailed down the $20 million DOE grant.
Natron crossed the CleanTechnica radar just a couple of months ago and we had a chance to sit down with co-founder and CEO Collin Wessells, who expanded upon the virtues of the company’s sodium-ion technology.
“The more interesting thing about using sodium to store energy in a battery is there is a much broader range of electrode materials. Li-ion needs special characteristics so there is a relatively narrow range. With sodium [there is a broader] spectrum of applications,” he explained.
One of those applications is data centers. Data centers are sucking up ever more of the global grid, which makes them a ripe market for new energy storage, energy efficiency, and renewable energy technology.
“Let’s take data centers, for example,” Wessell explained. “They use batteries for two things. One is for backup power in case of an outage, for a minute or two until diesel generator kicks in. The other is to upgrade to new servers that draw more power. The servers can hit a limit where the grid isn’t providing enough electricity. Since not all computers run at full speed at all times, ‘peak compute’ can be balanced with a battery.”
Wessell also noted that data center energy storage can be a two-way street, by contributing to grid stability.
Your Taxpayer Dollars At Work, COVID-19 Edition
Into this mix comes DOE with $$19,883,951 in funding for Natron (yes, they calculated down to the last dollar). The award was administered through the agency’s ARPA-E office for high risk, high reward research, which indicates that Natron has something special on the table.
Another hint is that Natron is one of only two companies that ARPA-E…
Read More: US Energy Dept. Aims Energy Storage Dart At Oil And Gas Industry