Emerging markets are aggressively harnessing wind and solar technology, and demanding cheaper batteries with more capacity. Salt water battery technology is eyeing these new opportunities, and hoping for a critical breakthrough in energy storage. We review the current situation with input from the Oil Price website.
Salt Water Batteries Reduce Reliance on Lithium Technology
Fresh challenges have been knocking on lithium’s door this year, as battery makers shy away from the relatively scarce resource. New ideas, fresh from laboratories are challenging entrenched loyalties. Latest salt water battery ideas appear to promise cheaper capacity for grid-scale applications, and this is tantalizing indeed.
Oil Price mentions a U.S. based start-up rolling out saltwater flow technology for standalone storage. And also powering diverse equipment. One tank is a salt solution, while the other is their proprietary electrolyte. But this arrangement will need to compete on price with sodium-sulfur batteries with up to four-times lithium’s capacity.
Business Research Insights predicts a rosy future for these seawater batteries. The fledgling industry may have only achieved $4 million sales in 2021. However, their market analysts predict 37% compound annual growth, reaching $36 million in five years’ time.
A Great Opportunity to Increase Energy Diversity
We are in general agreement with Oil Price, that we ought not to depend on one dominant energy source. Historically, we migrated from wood, to coal, to oil, but this turned out to be ‘out of the fat into the fire’. Salt water battery developments could break our growing dependence on lithium, by providing a universally available alternative.
We are excited to hear of a cordless lantern in Columbia that generates 45 days of continuous light from half a liter of saltwater. The device ‘sparks a reaction with the magnesium, and emits hydrogen gas’. This potentially sounds like a wonderful idea to democratize electricity in areas where it is still in scarce supply.
We rather like the idea that we are moving into a ‘blue economy’, where the ocean joins hands with the sun and wind to free us from the shackles of oil and coal. We’ve heard tell of a ‘saltwater floating solar power plant’ in Seychelles. It may only be five megawatts, but bring it on for we are in urgent need of new ideas.
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