We Need More Than Duracells to Support Clean Energy

Image Source: Futurism

You know what’s holding us back from a Star Wars future full of X-wings and R2-D2 droids? Better batteries.

Renewable energy production increases daily, but unless we harness that power, we won’t be able to utilize it in off-the-electric grid applications. As previously mentioned regarding energy: if you don’t use it, you lose it. Unless you store it.

Batteries power our phones, computers, and now electric cars. Those are lithium-ion batteries. In the future, we’ll need electricity to power our homes, airplanes, and flying cars. We’ve got to step up our battery game to make that happen.

Here’s the innovation happening in batteries…

Image Source: Tesla

Pros and Cons of Lithium-Ion

“But Tesla already has batteries powering its cars and storing energy,” you might say. That is correct. Lithium-ion batteries will play a big part in the upcoming battery revolution because they’re quick to charge, low maintenance, and have a high energy density.

Tesla’s Powerpack batteries work wonders and now run one of the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery storage projects in the world; a 20 MW energy storage facility that can power 2,500 homes for a day. It stores energy from the grid when demand is low, then delivers needed electricity during peak hours.

Elon, you never cease to amaze us.

Thanks to the massive uptick in usage by the automotive industry, lithium-ions have declined in price by 65% from 2010–2015. BUT, with demand spiking and Tesla’s Gigafactory slated to use today’s entire worldwide production, lithium-ion battery prices remain uncertain for the future. Lithium has been referred to as “the new gasoline”.

This pricing uncertainty coupled with lithium-ion’s potential fiery danger (looking at you, Samsung) gives rise to a number of alternative future battery options.

Are There Any Better Batteries?

• Supercapacitors — Besides having a rad name, supercapacitors have some great qualities. They charge super fast and do not lose their storing capacity over time. But they don’t have a high power density and they’re pricey.
• Flow Batteries — One of the biggest advantages of flow batteries is their ability to almost instantly recharge. Their downside comes from their degradation after multiple charges. If innovation continues, flow batteries could become the popular alternative to lithium-ion. You can read about the handful of flow battery variations if you’re so inclined.
• Cutting-Edge Innovations — From nanobatteries to urine-powered batteries, here’s a list of a bunch of battery innovations.

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Changing the Climate Change Conversation Before the Environmental Movement Is Terminated

Given the volatile state of the world these days, rather than presenting a new technology to add to the docket, let’s rethink how to best map out a path for the cleantech movement. There’s one guy who saved the world before and said he’d be back.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t busy dropping the mic on the president he’s championing the environmental effort. Arnold was on a fitness crusade for 45 years, but something changed within him when he became governor. Gazing slightly upward, he noticed how close the shit was to hitting the fan for the environment.

How would he go about reverting the world onto the path of sustainability?

Governator, Tell Us your Thoughts

A) Yes, climate change is occurring and we must acknowledge the present and future effects from it.

B) 7 million people die each year from air pollution. No one ever talks about this. Why aren’t people obsessed with this?! That’s much more than deaths caused by traffic accidents, war, ISIS, suicides, and homicides together.

When Arnold helped run the effort to drive oil interests out of California and vote down Prop 23, he successfully used the health aspect to catalyze people to get out and vote. Everyone, regardless of other beliefs, wants to have healthy air, clean water, and a clean ground.

C) The renewable energy industry provides jobs. Everyone agrees that eventually fossil fuels will run out. What’s the gameplan then?

Many people have lost their jobs because of the tech boom. Industries continue to get disrupted by innovations, such as the coal industry getting undercut in price by the invention of fracking. For every antiquated job displaced, a new one can be born to produce clean energy.

Ironic isn’t it? Arnold played a high-tech cybernetic organism who uprooted the human race but now outlines a plan to help people who have been dealt a blow by technology.

D) The U.S. must become energy independent to secure national security so that it doesn’t rely on malign countries that don’t wish it well. The faster the U.S. can wean itself off oil’s teat, the faster it can stop poking its finger in the business of other countries.

“When there’s an accident and someone hurts their leg, you don’t think about how you’re going to fix the leg. No, first you figure out how to stop the bleeding. The same with the environmental movement. We have to talk about how it affects us right now.”

To recap, we can do that by:

• Acknowledging climate change, but not solely talking about it
• Giving due attention to the 7,000,000 people that die every year from air pollution
• Renewable energy production provides plentiful jobs
• Not relying on other countries for fossil fuels will lead to better national security

Less Meat Less Heat

Check out this short video made by James Cameron; like in many of Arnold’s other films, it’s unintentionally comical.

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