A Salt and Battery: The Future of Renewable Energy

How do you get power from a wind turbine on a day with no wind? How do you keep a solar-powered device running at night? These tough questions hit renewable energy where it hurts the most -- its unreliability. However, this may change soon, thanks to Drs Manickam Minakshi and Danielle Meyrick of Murdoch’s School of Chemical and Mathematical Sciences, who have pioneered a large-scale, safe, cost-effective and potent energy storage system using sodium. Similar to lithium, sodium is able to store energy for later use, however, due to the amount required, sodium is impractical for small electronics. On top of that, the battery is based on globally abundant and affordable elements -- sodium, iron and manganese -- making it a clear choice for energy in emerging parts of the world.


Dr. Manickam Minakshi and his Sodium-Ion Battery (Source: Murdoch.edu.au)


Source: New Salt-based Battery a Leap for Green Energy (Phys.org - Aug. 8, 2012)