These plastic panels can help store renewable energy on the grid
Susan Babinec, who leads the energy storage program, says conductive polymers could become a major player in grid electricity storage, but whether that happens will depend on the rate of work. the company can scale its technology and, importantly, how much the battery costs. at Argonne National Laboratory.
Some search just $20 per kilowatt hour of storage is a long-term goal that will help us achieve 100% renewable energy use. It’s a milestone that the other alternative grid storage battery is focused on. Form Energy, which makes iron-air batteries, says it can achieve that goal in the coming decades.
PolyJoule may not calculate the cost that low, Paster admitted. It is currently targeting $65 per kilowatt-hour of storage for its first systems, reasoning that industrial customers and utility companies may be willing to pay that price because the product will Lasts longer and is easier to maintain.
So far, Paster says, the company has focused on building a simple manufacturing technology. It uses water-based manufacturing chemicals and uses commercial machines to assemble its battery cells, so it doesn’t need the specialized conditions sometimes required in battery manufacturing.
It’s not yet clear what the battery’s chemistry will gain when stored on the grid. But PolyJoule’s plastics mean a new option has emerged.