Author: Jing Brendan
25th November 2021
Is Compound The Next Big Thing In Large-Scale Renewable Energy Storage?
As we look to the future, renewable energy is green energy, and it needs to be stored somewhere. This is where lithium-ion batteries come in and are making engineers excited about another possible scientific breakthrough.
According to data by GTM Research, the demand for lithium-ion batteries has risen to 55% yearly since 2017. This trend is expected to continue doing so until 2022. This means the future of lithium-ion batteries is skyrocketing and the market can foresee a growing demand for them.
Advantages & disadvantages of lithium-ion
Lithium-ion batteries have many scientific improvements and advantages. The Clean Energy Institute points out that compared to other rechargeable batteries, like nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-MH), lithium-ion batteries have one of the highest energy densities equal to 100-265 Wh/kg or 250-670 Wh/L.
In addition, lithium-ion batteries can deliver large amounts of current for high-power applications. It also has comparatively low maintenance costs due to not requiring scheduled cycling to maintain its battery life.
Just like anything, there are also disadvantages to lithium-ion batteries. One area of concern is the safety of the battery. The lithium-ion batteries can overheat and can become damaged when it reaches high voltages, which can lead to a combustion-producing fire. This occurred on a Boeing 787 when an onboard fleet reported a fire due to battery combustion. As a result, some shipping companies refused to allow bulk shipments of lithium-ion batteries by plane.
Another disadvantage is lithium-ion batteries need safety mechanisms to be in place to limit voltage and internal pressures. These factors can cause an increase in weight as well as limit its performance.
Long-term prospects for lithium-ion batteries
Lithium-ion batteries can potentially be the first choice of energy storage in renewable energy due to their high energy storage capacity. Currently, it is being studied and used in the electric vehicle sector, and some of the bestselling electric cars, like the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S, both use lithium-ion batteries as their primary fuel source.
If lithium-ion batteries perform well in the electric car sector, they could soon make their way into the renewable energy sector. If this happens, the renewable energy sector around the world is significant enough to produce high demands, and it is in this playing field where lithium-ion batteries can potentially play a major role in terms of their storage.
Renewable energy and lithium-ion
Renewable energy is clean energy which is now in high demand. To meet this request, many complete integrated systems on the market can easily be installed in homes and rooftops. . Hoymiles note that solar power is more accessible than ever, with the microinverter technology offering reliability, stability, and power density. Even at night, a constant source of clean energy is still needed, thus lithium-ion batteries can store the solar energy during the day so it can be used at night.
The future state of renewable energy
With the future looking so prosperous, manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries aim to solve the problems by improving the battery lifespan, preventing overcharging, and recalibrating its thermal management, thus increasing the lithium-ions long-term efficiency for renewable energies. In our post on ‘Building the New Standard in Battery Management & Intelligence’, we discussed the critical aspects of the brain of a battery.
The future of lithium-ion batteries is very promising. The demand is on the rise and its uses are many, but the focus now is on the next big thing — renewable energy, capacity for power, and sustainability.
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Written by: Jing Brendan
Article for: ionenergy.co