Startup technology provider EnerVenue has launched a bid to commercialise a variation of metal-hydrogen batteries of the type used on the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope for use in stationary storage applications.
The company, led by CEO Jorg Heinemann, who was previously with zinc bromine flow battery player Primus Power as chief commercial officer, said it has amassed US$12 million in funding to begin its bid to bring the space-age technology down to earth, adapting the principles behind the nickel-hydrogen batteries used in orbit to devices using lower cost materials.
EnerVenue claims the batteries could be a low-cost and maintenance-free alternative to lithium-ion batteries for harnessing renewable energy at scale. While the technology is still not competitive on price, the startup believes it knows the path to making it so, claiming that costs per kilowatt-hour of cycling could be as low as US$0.01, while the batteries could achieve operational lifetimes of 30 years.
“As an example of metal hydrogen batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries have proven to be an incredibly powerful energy storage technology – albeit an expensive one – for the aerospace industry over the past 40 years. The performance and longevity of nickel-hydrogen batteries is well-established and second to none. We’re now able to deliver the same performance and durability at a breakthrough competitive price using new low-cost materials,” EnerVenue founder, chief technology advisor and board member Dr Yi Cui – who is a Stanford University professor of materials science, said.
Claimed advantages include the ability to operate at temperatures from -40 degrees Fahrenheit to 140 degrees, 30-year / 30,000+ duty cycle lifespan without battery degradation and a broad charge and discharge range from C/5 to 5C. Claiming that it also does not run the risk of thermal runaway as lithium batteries do, EnerVenue also said that its devices could even beat lithium-ion on CAPEX cost reductions over time too.
Source : energy-storage
