The information: One of many main firms providing options to lithium batteries for the grid has simply acquired a virtually $400 million mortgage from the US Division of Vitality. Eos Vitality makes zinc-halide batteries, which the agency hopes may someday be used to retailer renewable power at a decrease value than is feasible with present lithium-ion batteries.
What they’re made from: Eos’s batteries are primarily created from zinc, the fourth most produced steel on the earth, and use a water-based electrolyte (the liquid that strikes cost round in a battery) as a substitute of natural solvent. This makes them extra steady than lithium-ion cells, and means they received’t catch fireplace.
Why it issues: Whereas the price of lithium-ion batteries has plummeted over the previous decade, there’s a rising want for even cheaper choices. The zinc-based know-how Eos hopes to commercialize may retailer electrical energy for hours and even days at low value. Learn the complete story.
—Casey Crownhart
How water may make safer batteries
Batteries’ electrolytes dictate quite a bit about how they work, in addition to how protected they’re. A rising variety of different battery makers are turning to an fascinating ingredient to make use of of their electrolyte to decrease the chance of them catching fireplace: water.
Casey has dug additional into the fascinating know-how behind different batteries within the newest version of The Spark, her weekly local weather e-newsletter. Enroll to obtain it in your inbox each Wednesday.
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