Why Salt Water may be the Future of Batteries

this video is brought to you by incognate  there's no shortage of potential solutions to   the world's critical need for renewable energy  storage but there is a shortage of accessible   and cheap resources to use for those Solutions  with the limitations of materials like lithium   and Vanadium in mind it's logical to look for  Alternatives that are basically Limitless how   about regular run-of-the-mill salt just a little  sodium chloride actually dude it's solved that's   what I said sodium chloride redox flow batteries  or rfps can exploit the abundance of elements   like sodium and iron one US company already has  salt water batteries ready to go with at least   two others developing iron flow variations built  effectively to run on Rust they promise to last   longer and be far cheaper than the competition  so what happens if we go with the flow I'm Matt   Farrell welcome to undecided [Music] before we  get into why regular old salt maybe a winning   ingredient to our energy storage needs it's  important to understand what it's up against   two major problems hold back renewable energy  intermittency and curtailment you could sum   it up as being an issue of feast or famine  we can't rely on the forces of sunshine and   wind 24 7 and at the same time without proper  infrastructure we lose out on a lot of power   when Supply overtakes demand to complete the  renewable energy transition and cheapen energy   for everybody we need long-term storage for Excess  power and that's where grid storage systems come   into play Lithium-ion batteries are a popular  powerful option but they can be unstable both   in the cost of materials and on a chemical level  it's just not feasible to rely on lithium-ion   as the primary storage option by comparison flow  batteries are a lot cheaper and some chemistries   can lower or even eliminate the risk of fire  ultimately each approach serves its own purpose   generally speaking Lithium-ion batteries are  light and compact flow batteries tend to be broken   that said they're inherently scalable in ways  that lithium-ion isn't now we've covered flow   batteries before both Vanadium and bromine but if  RFB sounds more like a music genre than a battery   to you here's a quick rundown of how they work a  redox flow battery or RFB takes the form of two   tanks a catholite and an analyte now these tanks  surround a chamber that split down the middle and   the liquid electrolytes flow from the tanks into  either side the process of reduction oxidation   also known as redox since the electrons from  the catholite to the analyte when the battery   is being charged and the reverse happens when the  battery is being discharged when it comes to the   design a major Edge that rfps offer is the direct  control over their energy and storage capacities   as long as you have enough electrolyte you can  theoretically increase the storage as much as you   want by increasing the size of the tanks and  if you increase the number of electrode cell   Stacks or the middle bit between the tanks that  means more power there's an overwhelming number   of variations in RFB electrolyte but Vanadium is  currently the gold or maybe the rainbow standard   it has the capacity to exist in multiple oxidation  states which allows Vanadium rfbs to function with   fewer electroactive components as a result of how  the redox reaction works out vrfbs last longer   relative to other chemistries for more detailed  look at the science behind this you can check out   our previous video on it here's where Vanadium  like just pretty much everything else runs into   trouble and that's costs the element is notorious  for its price volatility it's one of the most used   materials in the industrial sector like alloying  steel so vanadium's Beauty and flexibility does   not come cheap according to a 2016 study the  chemicals needed for vrfbs can represent nearly   60 percent of the overall cost of the system newer  research shows that the prices have only gone up a   2021 study by the University of California Irvine  found that electrolyte using Vanadium pentoxide   accounted for a whopping 80 percent of a vrfb's  total cost now here's where things get salty   us-based company infinity turbine has proposed  its cell Gen X flow battery is an answer to this   problem it functions the same way as any other  RFB does except one of its tanks contains chlorine   gas dissolved into a proprietary electrolyte  and the other is full of nothing but good old   sodium chloride and water in the company's words  it's just add water but with salt now the source   could be the ocean geothermal brine power plant  cooling ponds you get the idea now before I get   into what makes this salt battery so special I'd  like to think incogni for sponsoring this portion   of today's video I've mentioned this before but  I signed up for a newsletter from a small online   retailer and after I did I saw a major increase  in the number of promotional emails that I was   receiving from companies that I've never heard of  and that's because they sold my information to a   data broker I'm sure you've experienced it too and  cognit can help you with this we have the right to   request that data Brokers delete our information  but it takes a lot of time and effort I signed up   for incognity gave them the legal right to work  on my behalf and then just sat back and relaxed   you'll see updates on your account for which data  Brokers they've sent legal requests to and which   ones have complied it couldn't be easier I've  been letting incogni stay on top of this for me   for quite a while now and I'm very happy with  the results I've noticed a difference if you   want to take back some of the control around who  has access to your personal information giving   Cockney a try the first 100 people to use the  code undecided the link below will get 60 off in   cognity thanks to incognate and to all of you for  supporting the channel now back to a very salty   battery now as you might expect taking advantage  of the ubiquity of salt water means saving a lot   of money a 2022 US Department of energy study  estimates that depending on the acid and grade   of the Vanadium used vrfb electrolytes can cost  between 105 and 180 per kilowatt hour meanwhile   salgenex claims that the cost of its batteries  electrolytes is less than five dollars per   kilowatt hour as for how the celgenex battery  Stacks up to existing products on the market   infinity turbine claims that it's less expensive  to acquire and faster to deploy than the Tesla   mega pack but notes that the mega pack involves  less moving parts but the saltonx battery does   have a simplified configuration relative to other  flow batteries and unlike most types of rfps the   salginx battery has no membrane separating the  electrode instead they take advantage of the   natural immiscibility of the electrolytes fluids  to keep the components separated think oil and   water on its website infinity turbine argues that  the cell gen X's lack of a membrane saves huge   upfront purchase costs maintenance and consumable  expenses the idea does hold water that's because   the batteries typically rely on ION permeable  membranes to limit what's known as crossover   it's a crossover which can tank the battery's  capacity and these membranes also play a big role   in the voltage and Energy Efficiency of the RFB  striking this delicate balance is pricey to put   these costs into perspective a 2014 study found  that the ion exchange membranes were undoubtedly   an expensive component of the flow batteries with  their calculated price coming out to several times   more than the battery's plates and electrodes they  estimated the future cost the membranes would drop   significantly but the cost range was still much  higher relative to the rest of the battery's parts   economics aren't the only thing that South  Nexus battery has going for it according to   their website they list saltwater flow batteries  round-trip efficiency at 91 which is impressive   and on par with many lithium-ion battery  chemistries the company also advertises an   energy density of 125.7 Watt hours per liter but  it is important to note that's markedly less than   the average energy density of a lithium-based  battery regardless of what kind figures from   the U.S national renewable energy laboratory or  nrel between Lithium ion phosphate lithium nickel   Cobalt aluminum and lithium nickel manganese  Cobalt you're looking at energy densities from   at least 210 Watt hours per liter to as high  as 600 watt hours per liter however infinity   turbine has unique applications in store in March  the company revealed its ongoing development of a   desalination system that uses the celgenex battery  with this Tech the same movement of ions between   the electrodes that generates power would also  produce fresh water at the same time now this   has big implications for places like cruise ship  liners cargo ships and military bases and just   this month the company announced that the salginx  redox process can also be adapted to produce   graphene for example the fiberglass and carbon  fiber fabrication industry could essentially   use esselgenex battery as both a source of power  and a graphene making machine infinity turbine   claims the savings would be serious cutting  the cost of graphene from an average of 100   to 400 a gram to 1.25 cents a gram but take that  with a grain of salt because that still has to   be proven out another American company is also  experimenting with saltwater FBS and if you've   seen our previous video on floating solar it's  doing so in a very familiar place in February ESS   and iron salt battery manufacturer announced its  collaboration with the Turlock Irrigation District   a california-based utility as part of project  Nexus the district's initiative is to install   solar panels over the state's irrigation canals  ess's batteries will provide long duration energy   storage the plan is to finish Construction  in 2024 ESS will also be installing iron   flow battery facilities in Sacramento California  as part of a collaboration with the Sacramento   Municipal Utility District starting this year so  what makes ess's energy Warehouse batteries so   special well like cell genex's battery it operates  with a saltwater electrolyte but it's using iron   salts in the water instead which is particularly  advantageous because iron is at least two orders   of magnitude more Bountiful than Vanadium we're  talking about a crustal abundance of about 52   000 parts per million compared to 138. on top  of that Vanadium is more difficult to substitute   and remember we really like it for our steel  production now in contrast the ferrous chloride   that's present in the energy Warehouse electrolyte  can actually be produced from steel making waste   the chemical cocktail and iron flow batteries has  the potential to make use of the dregs that's left   behind what steel makers call pickle liquor  which sounds like something you'd be drinking   while playing pickleball now so ironically  what makes Vanadium expensive and difficult   to obtain is exactly why iron can be so easy to  use in rfps where Vanadium electrolyte represent   as much as 80 percent of a flow battery's costs  iron electrolyte makes up only about four percent   now iron flow batteries are also non-toxic which  is obviously very helpful in light of the high   toxicity of vanadium oxides now ESS claims that  its energy Warehouse reduces or eliminates the   need for hazardous permits for transport HVAC fire  suppression and end-of-life Disposal planning this   is consistent with the conveniences of other flow  batteries that use water-based electrolytes like   zinc bromine and just like other rfps iron salts  and salt water batteries allow for higher degree   of safety in comparison with lithium ion you  don't worry about thermal runaway when a battery   just isn't flammable in the first place as for  longevity both the energy warehouse and celgenex   boast a life expectancy of about 25 years the  energy Warehouse also knocks other batteries out   of the park in terms of cycle life and broadly  speaking the number of cycles of lithium-ion   battery can last is usually limited to just over  one thousand to two thousand Cycles zinc bromine   batteries can last up to about 5000 cycles and ESS  holds that energy Warehouse can last for over 20   000 Cycles that's truly the battery that just  keeps on going the duration is another leg up   that ESS claims over lithium-ion which translates  into lower costs the company estimates that past   the four hour storage duration Mark its iron flow  batteries remain cheaper than lithium-ion all the   way up to their maximum of 12 hours when you  take all of this into account you can see why a   lot of people are excited about the potential for  salt and iron in rfps readily available materials   that are cheap and safe which could help answer  the growing demand for energy storage and not to   get salty here but when someone says to me just  go fill in your favorite tech here like just go   nuclear just go solar just go whatever it is it  drives me a little nuts there's not one energy   storage or generation option to rule them all  here we need a wide array of options to satisfy   all the different use cases that we have and  this salty one may be a great one to add to   the mix even if it's just for flavor so what do  you think jump in the comments and let me know   and be sure to check out my follow-up podcast  still to be determined we'll be discussing some   of your feedback and thanks to all my patrons who  get ad-free versions of every video and a welcome   to New supporter plus member dryfrog and thanks  to all of you for watching see in the next one

Channel: Undecided with Matt Ferrell

Views: 589,157

Keywords: batteries, battery, energy storage, flow battery, flow battery energy storage, lithium, lithium battery, lithium ion battery, redox, renewable battery, renewable energy, salt, salt water, salt water battery, undecided with matt ferrell

Id: vm2hNNA4lvM

Length: 12min 10sec (730 seconds)

Published: Tue May 09 2023