For decades, lithium-ion batteries have been on the cutting edge, but now, sodium-ion batteries could make renewable energy storage more abundant, cheaper, and less carbon-intensive. Dr. Shirely Meng explains how sodium could be used to complement lithium-ion batteries, especially for large scale grid storage, by relying on an abundant resource and existing manufacturing infrastructure.
California’s ambitious goal to achieve 60% renewable energy by 2030 brings new challenges in managing grid stability due to the variable nature of solar and wind energy. With growing demands from electric vehicles and energy-efficient buildings, enhancing energy storage capacity becomes crucial for a sustainable transition.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are more than just a means of transportation: they’re mobile batteries that store large amounts of power on the road. Because EV batteries are often underutilized by drivers, some of the energy stored in these batteries can be pushed back into the electrical grid through a process known as vehicle-to-grid integration. Vehicle-to-grid integration involves creating EV batteries that are capable of bidirectional charging, meaning they can both receive electricity from and return electricity to the power grid. If electric vehicles were to be adopted on a large scale, they could help supply renewable energy to buildings and homes.
Wind turbines are a method of energy conversion. They take one form of energy — kinetic energy from wind — and transform it, through a series of mechanical processes, into electricity. Wind energy is considered renewable because it occurs naturally in the world around us. Earth will never run out of wind.