Energy Storage

More and more companies are exploring how to extract value by repurposing a second-life for those retired but still capable car batteries in less-demanding applications such as stationary energy storage.

Consumer batteries such as those used in power tools, mobile phones and laptops are normally recycled/disposed after their service life - that's what we normally refer to as the 'end-of-life' of the batteries. However, retired car batteries that are no longer suitable for electric cars could still hold sufficient capacity for second life applications. The 'end-of-life' of an electric car battery needs to be redefined as they could be further used, for example, for another 10 years or even longer in various post-vehicle applications before they are finally recycled/disposed.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 6 September titled Energy Harvesting Microwatt to Megawatt: New Objectives, New Solutions.

IDTechEx expects growth of electric two-wheelers to accelerate internationally beyond Europe, the U.S. and China in the following years.

The Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) is a global series of conferences for companies and academics to present their latest research on Li-ion batteries for the auto industry. Every year it is held in Europe, the U.S. and Asia.

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.