Energy storage cost of zinc oxygen air battery -Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment
In the past six years, 110 villages in Africa and Asia have received electricity from solar panels and zinc oxygen air batteries. This battery is an important part of an innovative energy storage system developed by Nant Energy. Nant Energy is a company owned by Patrick Soon Shiong, a South African biotechnology entrepreneur and surgeon.
One hundred years ago, Thomas Edison tried to develop batteries made of zinc. But he did not figure out how to make them technically feasible. Nant Energy said that its zinc oxygen air battery was the first battery to be commercialized.
Nant Energy scientists say they have achieved two key goals: making the battery rechargeable and reducing the cost of energy storage to $100 per kilowatt hour. Some insiders said that this figure is crucial for building a clean power grid, and the entire system can operate even when the sun goes down and the wind weakens.(Lithium - Ion Battery Equipment)
Zinc oxygen air battery is one of the potential substitutes for lithium ion battery. So far, lithium-ion battery has been an important component of large-scale energy storage and electric vehicles.
What is the market source of zinc?
Patrick Soon Shiong's company imports zinc from Indonesia. Sri R. Narayan, a chemistry professor at the University of Southern California, said that the United States accounts for about 5% of the world's zinc reserves and 7% of the world's output, most of which come from mines in Alaska. Australia and China account for about half of the world's zinc reserves and are among the largest zinc producers in the world.
Narayan pointed out that lithium is the main component of lithium ion batteries, and its reserves are only one twentieth of zinc, but he added that zinc reserves are not optimistic. He said: "At the current production rate of zinc ore, the zinc reserves can be used by the world for about 25 years. Therefore, it is unclear whether we have enough zinc to meet the huge demand for large-scale battery packs in the world's power grids."
Materials like lithium are expensive in part because they are rare. In areas rich in lithium resources, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, lithium mining also threatens the health and safety of workers. Prolonged exposure to lithium can cause health problems, such as pulmonary effusion. Lithium ion batteries can also cause fires.
According to the MIT Technical Review, the zinc oxygen air battery does not contain toxic compounds, is nonflammable, and can be safely handled. However, there are certain risks in zinc mining and processing. Dr. Narayan said that it comes from an ore composed of zinc sulfide, which is usually produced together with lead, cadmium and nickel. Large scale production may cause potential environmental problems caused by sulfur dioxide and cadmium vapor release.
What is the energy storage cost of zinc oxygen air battery?
Dan Reicher, the Clinton administration's assistant secretary of state for energy affairs, cautioned that the cost of batteries per kilowatt hour depends on the application and scale, so comparisons are difficult.
Nant Energy said the cost of energy storage is 100 dollars per kilowatt hour. In contrast, Yogi Goswami, director of the Clean Energy Center at the University of South Florida and a university professor, pointed out that the energy storage cost of lithium-ion batteries is as low as $250 per kilowatt hour, but it is usually $300 to $400 per kilowatt hour.
Even at the price of US $100 per kilowatt hour, energy storage is still a huge expenditure for the utility industry. Of course, the price of energy storage batteries has been dropping sharply, and it is expected that they will be as common as civil solar panels in the next few years.
Can these batteries be used in homes or mobile devices?
Nant Energy said that their current focus is to provide products for the micro grid. It is mainly a small-scale independent solar cell array, rather than a system for individual residential users or utility scale. But the company expects to supply household batteries in California and New York in the future.
Villages and islands that use such batteries usually connect a single battery the size of a briefcase to a solar array. In addition, this battery also provides power for hundreds of communication towers, which is an important part of NantEnergy's business. For the next step of product development, the company plans to increase energy storage batteries for electric vehicles, buses, trains, motorcycles and other vehicles.