Energy storage emerging: A perspective from the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research

Abstract

Energy storage is an integral part of modern society. A contemporary example is the lithium (Li)-ion battery, which enabled the launch of the personal electronics revolution in 1991 and the first commercial electric vehicles in 2010. Most recently, Li-ion batteries have expanded into the electricity grid to firm variable renewable generation, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of transmission and distribution. Important applications continue to emerge including decarbonization of heavy-duty vehicles, rail, maritime shipping, and aviation and the growth of renewable electricity and storage on the grid. This perspective compares energy storage needs and priorities in 2010 with those now and those emerging over the next few decades. The diversity of demands for energy storage requires a diversity of purpose-built batteries designed to meet disparate applications. Advances in the frontier of battery research to achieve transformative performance spanning energy and power density, capacity, charge/discharge times, cost, lifetime, and safety are highlighted, along with strategic research refinements made by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) and the broader community to accommodate the changing storage needs and priorities. Innovative experimental tools with higher spatial and temporal resolution, in situ and operando characterization, first-principles simulation, high throughput computation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence work collectively to reveal the origins of the electrochemical phenomena that enable new means of energy storage. This knowledge allows a constructionist approach to materials, chemistries, and architectures, where each atom or molecule plays a prescribed role in realizing batteries with unique performance profiles suitable for emergent demands.

Hydrogen technologies for energy storage: A perspective

“…3 Each of these energy storage technologies poses different advantages and challenges, with no single technology capable of fulfilling all application needs. 4 In addition to these energy storage options, chemical energy storage is also of interest. Hydrogen not only serves as a vital feedstock for critical industrial processes (e.g., the Haber-Bosch process for ammonia production) but is also a versatile energy storage medium that can be produced from a wide variety of sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear power, and renewables.…”

How has external knowledge contributed to lithium-ion batteries for the energy transition?

“…Besides cheaper and more energy-dense materials, LIBs have been driven along the learning curve by increasing adoption of stationary and mobile batteries, and therefore also mass production, resulting in substantial cost reduction ( Nykvist and Nilsson, 2015 ; Schmidt et al., 2017 ). Although LIB diffusion started with consumer electronics and mobile applications where high density was critical ( Trahey et al., 2020 ), it has shifted toward power and transportation applications ( Chung et al., 2015 ) with higher capacity, and lower cost and charging time ( Trahey et al., 2020 ). Today, even stationary applications of LIBs in the electricity grid can be attractive for investors ( Stephan et al., 2016 ).…”

“…Today, even stationary applications of LIBs in the electricity grid can be attractive for investors ( Stephan et al., 2016 ). Each different application hence brings its own different economics and scale and imposes different requirements ( Trahey et al., 2020 ) (I10)—from medical applications where price is not a driver, but safety and reliability are critical, through to grid-scale applications where size, cost, and lifetime are dominant (I10), and from immediate returns on investment to economic long-term benefits from climate change mitigation ( Trahey et al., 2020 ). Especially the widespread diffusion of electric vehicles still requires policy support until economics will take over (I1).…”

“…First, due to their ability to serve energy and power requirements ( Dunn et al., 2011 ), LIBs can cope with the requirements of both a decarbonized electricity system ( Battke et al., 2013 ; Crabtree, 2019 ; IEA, 2015 ) and the electrification of transportation ( Crabtree, 2019 ; Dunn et al., 2011 ; IEA, 2019 ; Lowe et al., 2010 ); (lithium-ion) batteries can even become the critical element toward widespread electric vehicle diffusion, and innovating countries might benefit from economic and geopolitical benefits ( Crabtree, 2019 ). This potential dual role, together with the need for further innovations in this field ( Crabtree, 2019 ; Sivaram et al., 2018 ; Trahey et al., 2020 )—especially to overcome barriers to high electric vehicle market shares ( Deng et al., 2020 )—and potential economic and geopolitical benefits for innovating countries ( Crabtree, 2019 ), underpins the interest of many policymakers in fostering LIB technology development ( IEA, 2019 ; REN21, 2016 ). Second, previous research has indicated that innovations in LIBs have extensively built upon external knowledge, which has been measured by patent citations across technologies ( Battke et al., 2016 ; Clausdeinken, 2016 ).…”

2D Heterojunction Between Double Perovskite Oxide Nanosheet and Layered Double Hydroxide to Promote Rechargeable Zinc‐Air Battery Performance

“…With the 21 st century goal to explore renewable energy resources, electrochemical storage devices are envisaged as the major technologies to develop decentralized storage systems [1] . Although metallic anode based batteries with appreciable specific capacities are regarded as one of the most promising storage devices, [2] the recent developments of metal‐air battery (MAB) have shown promises to overcome the issues such as prolonged operation, where flat discharge voltage is the key bottleneck [3] .…”