Energy Storage

There has been a resurgence in interest and activity surrounding fuel cell technologies for stationary storage applications in 2018. In this premium article, IDTechEx looks at the most suitable technologies for off-grid power and explores the chemistry behind the use of ammonia as an off-grid fuel source in more detail.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 23 August titled New Supercapacitor Materials Enable Huge New Markets.

The lead acid battery industry repeats a mantra that almost all of them are recycled and they are by far the lowest cost solution for cars and much else besides. Many forces now question and begin to change this.

Cleantech Hub reports that a mere 13% of lead acid batteries are recycled in Nigeria. Yet there is a mini-grid revolution about to take off in Nigeria, such as the World Bank and the Rural Electrification Agency $350 million project as well as other investments into the sector, driving more batteries.

The cost of renewable energies such as tidal and wave power in the open sea, wind and solar power have come down greatly in recent years but they are rarely considered viable for base power, largely because of the energy storage needed.

In this premium article IDTechEx highlights some of the presentations analysts found interesting, with commentary, as well as shared insight on interviews undertaken with the market leaders and new entrants on the exhibition floor.

Some supercapacitors will become smart materials and be sold as feedstock by value added material companies such as Dow DuPont and Nitto Denko. Which companies and when is as yet uncertain. This is part of the emerging big picture for supercapacitors that will make even their materials a multi- billion dollar business.

As society and equipment become more mobile and remote from grids, diesel and gas gensets will be bought in larger numbers for a few years yet - possibly peaking at around $30 billion global market size when over 600GW will be deployed. The Zero Genset market will rise to at least $100 billion if it replaces significant grid power.

Supercapacitor materials are rapidly improving by new routes. The active materials are the dominant part of cost and the cause of limitations such as flammability, toxicity, cost, energy density and self- discharge. Currently the active electrodes almost always consist of bulk "hierarchical" carbon with a range of pore sizes, often made the old way from botanical materials.

In any emerging technology, the pace of innovation is rapid, sometimes dauntingly so. Patent Analytics is a service that IDTechEx provides utilising our long-standing expertise in a range of emerging technologies to provide clients of our services the answers they need.