Batteries and the energy transition: what we’re listening to

A recent podcast explores how batteries are driving the move away from fossil fuels.

A recent episode of The Climate Question podcast entitled The Battery Revolution highlights the central role batteries, and lithium-ion batteries in particular, are playing in the transition away from fossil fuels.

This episode discusses how big installations and individual households both benefit from a technology that used to be quite expensive but is becoming more affordable.

Unlike fossil fuels, neither the renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, nor the materials inside battery are consumed. Gerhard Goldbeck, Goldbeck Consulting Limited, and partner in the BatCAT project says, “we are truly investing into a more sustainable system.” And, as is pointed out on the podcast, we don’t need to rely on imports because eventually we will be able to just use recycled materials to make new batteries.

However, we still need to get better at producing high-quality batteries reliably in different locations. That is where manufacturing digital twins come into play. Digital twins are software systems that help to steer processes to run in the best possible way. The BatCAT project is contributing to these systems to improve materials use and reduce waste.

Another aspect highlighted in the podcast are the cheaper alternative for the stationary storage of larger amounts of electricity, a role currently performed by systems, such as pumped hydro energy storage. A promising electro-chemical alternative is Redox-flow batteries (see this recent review published in RSC Advances), which are part of the BatCAT portfolio of technologies to complement lithium-ion options.

Together, these systems help to address major challenges of the “Climate Question”. They are “empowering societies to choose their local and affordable solutions”, say Gerhard.