2023-07-08 17:00:00
A group of researchers from Sheffield announces that it has successfully predicted the costs of a potentially key type of battery storage to support the decarbonisation of emerging economies. The results obtained seem to indicate a promising solution for the energy transition, making this technology potentially beneficial for developing countries.
The crucial role of energy storage
Energy storage is a major challenge to achieve the objective of decarbonizing the energy supply. In fact, it makes it possible to conserve excess energy produced by renewable sources, such as the wind and the sun, for use when production conditions are less favourable.
Batteries stand out as a particularly convenient form of energy storage because they can operate as modular systems.”plug and play” not requiring a complex infrastructure.
The potential of soluble lead acid battery
The Brown research group, from Sheffield’s School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, looked at a battery storage system called: soluble lead acid battery (SLFB). These have significant potential for use in emerging economies due to their robustness and expected lifespan.
Their analysis focused specifically on a 24-volt system for a solar charging hub in Sierra Leone, which might provide clean energy for homes, businesses and electric vehicle charging points.
Using a techno-economic model to define and optimize the cost and performance of this system, the researchers determined that the best discharge duration – that is, the time the battery can discharge its stored electricity before need to be recharged – is 4 hours. In an optimistic scenario, the total component cost would be less than £50/kWh.
Comparison with lithium-ion batteries
This cost is attributable to the low raw material cost of the components of this type of system. It is twice the cost of the most common battery type currently, lithium-ion battery storage. However, the cost of the latter is also expected to come down with increased rollout across the globe.
The main technical risk in achieving this low cost for the SLFB is the ability to repeatedly deposit lead of sufficient thickness. This is because thinner deposits make the battery more expensive and less efficient. However, testing for deposits of this thickness has not been achieved over many battery cycles, representing an important gap in knowledge of SLFB that future research will need to fill.
The article is titled “Predicting the cost of a 24 V soluble lead flow battery optimised for PV applications” (Predicting the cost of a 24 V soluble lead-acid battery optimized for photovoltaic applications) and was published in the Journal of Power Sources. The authors are: Diarmid Roberts and Solomon Brown from the University of Sheffield and Ewan J. Fraser, Andrew Cruden and Richard G. Wills from the University of Southampton.
The research was funded by a grant from the Faraday Institution and the Transforming Energy Access program.
For a better understanding
What is a Soluble Lead Acid Battery (SLFB)?
A soluble lead battery is a type of redox flow battery that uses soluble lead ions in an electrolyte solution. This technology has the advantage of being robust and having a long expected lifetime, making it attractive for emerging economies.
What is a techno-economic model?
A techno-economic model is a planning tool that helps assess the economic viability of a technology project by considering both operating costs and technical performance.
What are the advantages of soluble lead acid batteries
SLFBs might offer lower costs thanks to the low cost of the raw materials needed to manufacture them. Moreover, they are robust and have a longer expected life, which might be beneficial for emerging economies.
What challenges remain for SLFBs?
The main technical challenge for SLFBs is the need to deposit lead of sufficient thickness repeatedly. Tests over many cycles of the battery have not yet been carried out, which represents a significant gap in the current knowledge of these batteries.
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