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In the past six years, 110 villages in Africa and Asia have been powered by solar panels and batteries using zinc and oxygen. The batteries are the basis of an innovative energy storage system created by NantEnergy, a company owned by Patrick Soon-Shiong, a biotech entrepreneur and surgeon originally from South Africa.
Thomas Edison tried to develop zinc-based batteries 100 years ago. But he did not understand how to make them technologically viable. NantEnergy says its zinc-air batteries are the first to be marketed.
NantEnergy scientists said they have achieved two key goals: making batteries rechargeable and reducing their energy storage cost to $ 100 per kilowatt hour. It's a number that some people in the industry believe is critical to creating a carbon-free grid that works even when the sun is down and the wind is calm.
Zinc-air batteries are one of the many possible alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, which until now have been the focus of large-scale energy storage systems and electric vehicles.
What are the commercial sources of zinc?
Dr. Soon-Shiong, whose company gets its zinc in Indonesia, cited the abundance of the ore. According to Sri R. Narayan, a professor of chemistry at the University of Southern California, the United States accounts for about 5 percent of the world's zinc reserves and 7 percent of production, mostly from Alaska's mines. Australia and China have about half of the world's reserves and are among the largest producers.
Narayan said the reserves of lithium, an essential element of lithium-ion batteries, were twenty times lower than those of zinc, but he added a note of caution. "At the current pace of zinc production, zinc reserves will last about 25 years," he said. "The available reserves therefore do not allow us to know if we will have enough zinc to meet the enormous needs that will result from the demand for batteries at the network scale."
Materials like lithium are expensive in part because they are rare. Lithium mining has also threatened the health and safety of workers in areas where it is plentiful, such as Congo and Africa. Prolonged exposure to lithium has been associated with health effects, such as fluid accumulation in the lungs. And lithium-ion batteries can pose a risk of fire.
Zinc air cells do not contain toxic compounds, are not flammable and can be disposed of safely. according to MIT Technology Review. However, the extraction and treatment of zinc are risks. According to Dr. Narayan, it comes from a zinc sulphide ore and is generally produced in association with lead, cadmium and nickel.
What is the cost of energy storage with zinc-air batteries?
Dan Reicher, the Clinton administration's assistant secretary of energy, warned that the cost of a battery per kilowatt hour was application- and scale-dependent, making comparisons more difficult.
According to Yogi Goswami, eminent university professor, NantEnergy said that at $ 100 a kilowatt hour, the cost of zinc-air batteries compared favorably with that of lithium-ion batteries, which can be 250 dollars per kilowatt hour. and director of the Clean Energy Center at the University of South Florida.
Even at $ 100 a kilowatt hour, Energy storage remains a significant expense for the utilities sector, even though battery prices have fallen precipitously and are expected to become as common as residential solar panels over the next few years.
Will batteries be available for homes or mobile devices?
NantEnergy stated that its immediate goal was to provide its product for micro-grids – standalone solar power plants serving small areas – rather than for individual residential customers or large systems. But the company plans to supply domestic batteries in the future, California and New York.
Villages and islands using batteries – in packets the size of briefcases – usually connect them to solar panels the size of the type of sail that can be found on a parking lot or in a school. In addition, batteries power hundreds of communications towers, an important part of NantEnergy's activities. For the next version of the product, the company plans to add transportation systems such as electric cars, buses, trains and scooters.
And beyond that? "We have a first mobile radio prototype," said Dr. Soon-Shiong. "We do not want to surprise, but the energy density of our battery makes it really possible."
"We will focus on this market," he added. "It's huge, but probably 2020 for us."
Jack Begg contributed to the research.
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