Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Americas roads and infrastructure might be crumbling, but the US government still has plenty of money to spend on longshot research projects, to try to solve the intermittency of renewable power.
No doubt better batteries will have their uses. But when the government invests taxpayer’s money in chasing politically useful goals, as opposed to economically useful goals, there is a significant opportunity cost. The $155 million which appears to have been spent on these projects could have been used to improve healthcare, urban regeneration, or simply left in the pockets of taxpayers struggling to pay their bills.
I am not disrespecting scientists who have taken advantage of these grants – if someone offers you money to pursue your passion, who wouldn’t accept? It is the policy of offering such grants which I am questioning.
$155 million is not a large number in the context of the mind numbing budget of the US Federal Government. But government waste rarely manifests as big ticket items which can easily be eradicated, instead it trickles away in innumerable small rivulets which have to be tracked down and stopped.
The full list of projects on the Government website is below.
The website invites people interested in an energy storage research grant to apply for funding.
| ABB Superconducting Magnet Energy Storage System with Direct Power Electronics Interface Graphic of ABB Technology’s project | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,580,020 |
| Location: | Cary, NC |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2010 to 06/30/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.abb.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Abengoa Solar High-Efficiency Solar-Electric Conversion Power Tower Graphic of Abengoa’s technology | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,875,104 |
| Location: | Lakewood, CO |
| Project Term: | 01/11/2012 to 07/31/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.abengoasolar.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Alveo Energy Open Framework Electrode Batteries for Cost-Effective Stationary Storage | |
| Program: | OPEN 2012 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,599,935 |
| Location: | Palo Alto, CA |
| Project Term: | 02/21/2013 to 03/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.alveoenergy.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Intermediate Temperature Hybrid Fuel Cell System for the Conversion of Natural Gas to Electricity and Liquid Fuels | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,999,999 |
| Location: | Lemont, IL |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 09/30/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.anl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Battelle Memorial Institute Battery Fault Sensing in Operating Batteries Image of Battelle’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $948,261 |
| Location: | Columbus, OH |
| Project Term: | 11/01/2012 to 09/30/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.battelle.org |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Beacon Power Development of a 100 kWh/100 kW Flywheel Energy Storage Module Graphic of Beacon Power’s project | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,245,875 |
| Location: | Tyngsboro, MA |
| Project Term: | 03/06/2012 to 10/31/2015 |
| Project Status: | CANCELLED |
| Website: | http://www.beaconpower.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Boeing Low-Cost, High-Energy-Density Flywheel Storage Grid Demonstration Graphic of Boeing’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,264,090 |
| Location: | Chicago, IL |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2013 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.boeing.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Case Western Reserve University High Energy Storage Capacity Low-Cost Iron Flow Battery Case Western | |
| Program: | OPEN 2012 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,075,804 |
| Location: | Cleveland, OH |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2013 to 12/31/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.case.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Ceramatec Electrochemical Ammonia Synthesis for Grid Scale Energy Storage | |
| Program: | OPEN 2015 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,349,995 |
| Location: | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Project Term: | 03/22/2016 to 03/21/2019 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.ceramatec.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Citrine Informatics A Machine Learning-Based Materials Discovery Paradigm Applied to Solid Ion Conductors | |
| Program: | IDEAS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $499,023 |
| Location: | Redwood City, CA |
| Project Term: | 12/22/2015 to 12/21/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.citrine.io |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| City University of New York (CUNY) Energy Institute Low-Cost Grid-Scale Electrical Storage Using a Flow-Assisted Rechargeable Zinc-Manganese Dioxide Battery Graphic of CUNY’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,497,133 |
| Location: | New York, NY |
| Project Term: | 09/15/2010 to 03/31/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.cuny.edu/site/energy.html |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Colorado School of Mines (Mines) Low-Cost Intermediate-Temperature Fuel Flexible Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cell Stack Graphic of Mines’ technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $999,999 |
| Location: | Golden, CO |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 09/30/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.mines.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Det Norske Veritas (DNV GL) Third Party Valuation of Grid and Microgrid Energy Storage Technologies | |
| Program: | CHARGES |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,198,779 |
| Location: | Katy, TX |
| Project Term: | 04/27/2015 to 04/26/2019 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.dnvgl.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Det Norske Veritas (DNV KEMA) Sensor-Enhanced and Model-Validated Batteries for Energy Storage Image of DNV’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,030,962 |
| Location: | Katy, TX |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 04/01/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.dnv.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Dioxide Materials High Efficiency Alkaline Water Electrolyzers for Grid Scale Energy Storage | |
| Program: | OPEN 2015 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,000,000 |
| Location: | Champaign, IL |
| Project Term: | 02/01/2016 to 01/31/2019 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.dioxidematerials.com |
| Technical Categories: | Grid Storage |
| EaglePicher Technologies Planar Sodium-Beta Batteries for Renewable Integration and Grid Applications Graphic of EaglePicher’s technology | |
| Program: | OPEN 2009 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $10,200,000 |
| Location: | Joplin, MO |
| Project Term: | 02/01/2010 to 03/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | CANCELLED |
| Website: | http://www.eaglepicher.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Eaton Corporation Predictive Battery Management for Commercial Hybrid Vehicles Image of Eaton’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,000,000 |
| Location: | Cleveland , OH |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2013 to 03/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.eaton.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Energy Storage Systems (ESS) 10kW 80kWh Energy Storage System Based on All-Iron Hybrid Flow Battery | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,825,689 |
| Location: | Portland, OR |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 08/30/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.energystoragesystems.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Fluidic Energy Enhanced Metal-Air Energy Storage System with Advanced Grid-Interoperable Power Electronics Enabling Scalability and Ultra-Low Cost Graphic of Fluidic’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,993,128 |
| Location: | Scottsdale, AZ |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2010 to 03/31/2013 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.fluidicenergy.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Ford Motor Company High-Precision Tester for Automotive and Stationary Batteries Image of Ford’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,128,000 |
| Location: | Dearborn, MI |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2013 to 03/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.ford.com/technology |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| FuelCell Energy Dual-Mode Intermediate Temperature Fuel Cell: Liquid Fuels and Electricity Graphic of FuelCellEnergy’s technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,500,000 |
| Location: | Danbury, CT |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 09/30/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.fce.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Gayle Technologies State-of-Health by Ultrasonic Battery Monitoring with In-Service Testing (SUBMIT) Image of Gayle’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $729,600 |
| Location: | Nashville, TN |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 12/31/2014 |
| Project Status: | CANCELLED |
| Website: | http://www.gayletech.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| GE Global Research Control Enabling Solutions with Ultrathin Strain and Temperature Sensor System for Reduced Battery Life Cycle Cost Image of GE’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,128,285 |
| Location: | Fairfield, CT |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2013 to 12/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://ge.geglobalresearch.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| General Atomics Soluble Lead Flow Battery Technology Graphic of General Atomics’ technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,986,308 |
| Location: | San Diego, CA |
| Project Term: | 09/01/2010 to 08/28/2013 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.ga.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| General Compression Fuel-Free, Ubiquitous Compressed-Air Energy Storage and Power Conditioning Graphic of General Compression’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $750,000 |
| Location: | Newton, MA |
| Project Term: | 09/13/2010 to 04/01/2011 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.generalcompression.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Georgia Tech Research Corporation A Novel Intermediate-Temperature Fuel Cell Tailored for Efficient Utilization of Methane | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,000,000 |
| Location: | Atlanta, GA |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 09/30/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.gatech.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Halotechnics Advanced Molten Glass for Heat Transfer and Thermal Energy Storage Halotechnics logo | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,303,719 |
| Location: | Emeryville, CA |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2012 to 09/30/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.halotechnics.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Harvard University Small Organic Molecule Based Flow Battery for Grid Storage Harvard | |
| Program: | OPEN 2012 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,340,035 |
| Location: | Cambridge, MA |
| Project Term: | 02/01/2013 to 03/25/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://seas.harvard.edu/news-events/press-releases/greener-storage-for-green-energy |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| ITN Energy Systems Demonstration of 2.5kW/10kWh Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) Through Rationally Designed High Energy Density Electrolytes and Membrane-Electrode Assembly (MEA) | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,724,843 |
| Location: | Littleton, CO |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 06/30/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.itnes.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Hydrogen Bromine Flow Batteries for Grid Scale Energy Storage Graphic of LBNL’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,021,977 |
| Location: | Berkeley, CA |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2010 to 09/30/2013 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.lbl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Battery Management System with Distributed Wireless Sensors Image of LLNL’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,000,000 |
| Location: | Livermore, CA |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 09/30/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.llnl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Metallic Composites Phase-Change Materials for High-Temperature Thermal Energy Storage Graphic of MIT’s technology | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $874,679 |
| Location: | Cambridge, MA |
| Project Term: | 11/21/2011 to 11/30/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.mit.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Advanced Thermo-Adsorptive Battery Climate Control System | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,556,689 |
| Location: | Cambridge, MA |
| Project Term: | 12/13/2011 to 09/13/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://drl.mit.edu/research.cgi?p=storage |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) HybriSol Hybrid Nanostructures for High-Energy-Density Solar Thermal Fuels Graphic of MIT’s technology | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,966,654 |
| Location: | Cambridge, MA |
| Project Term: | 01/09/2012 to 01/08/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.mit.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Electroville: High Amperage Energy Storage Device–Energy for the Neighborhood Graphic of MIT’s technology | |
| Program: | OPEN 2009 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $6,949,584 |
| Location: | Cambridge, MA |
| Project Term: | 01/15/2010 to 09/30/2013 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://sadoway.mit.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Materials & Systems Research, Inc. (MSRI) Advanced Sodium Batteries with Enhanced Safety and Low-Cost Processing | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,224,905 |
| Location: | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 09/30/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.msrihome.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Materials & Systems Research, Inc. (MSRI) Intermediate-Temperature Electrogenerative Cells for Flexible Cogeneration of Power and Liquid Fuel Graphic of MSRI’s technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,799,978 |
| Location: | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Project Term: | 11/01/2014 to 10/31/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.msrihome.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| NAVITASMAX Novel Tuning of Critical Fluctuations for Advanced Thermal Energy Storage Graphic of NAVITASMAX’s technology | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $812,328 |
| Location: | Chandler , AZ |
| Project Term: | 12/01/2011 to 08/30/2013 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http:// |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Temperature Self-Regulation for Large-Format Li-Ion cells Image of ORNL’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,000,000 |
| Location: | Oak Ridge, TN |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 02/15/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.ornl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Nanocomposite Electrodes for a Solid Acid Fuel Cell Stack Operating on Reformate | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,750,000 |
| Location: | Oak Ridge, TN |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 10/07/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.ornl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Reversible Metal Hydride Thermal Storage for High-Temperature Power Generation Systems Graphic of PNNL’s technology | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $712,511 |
| Location: | Richland, WA |
| Project Term: | 12/05/2011 to 04/30/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.pnnl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Electric-Powered Adsorption Heat Pump for Electric Vehicles Graphic of PNNL’s technology | |
| Program: | HEATS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $802,820 |
| Location: | Richland, WA |
| Project Term: | 11/21/2011 to 01/04/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.pnnl.gov |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) Smart Embedded Network of Sensors with Optical Readout (SENSOR) Image of PARC’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,774,297 |
| Location: | Palo Alto, CA |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 12/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.parc.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) Reformer-less Oxygen Conducting Natural Gas Intermediate-Temperature Fuel Cell (RONIN) Graphic of PARC’s technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,500,000 |
| Location: | Palo Alto, CA |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 03/15/2016 |
| Project Status: | CANCELLED |
| Website: | http://www.parc.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) A Multi-Purpose, Intelligent, and Reconfigurable Battery Pack Health Management System Image of Penn State’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,355,922 |
| Location: | University Park, PA |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2013 to 03/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.psu.edu |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Phononic Devices Advanced Semiconductor Materials for Thermoelectric Devices Graphic of Phononic’s technology | |
| Program: | OPEN 2009 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,000,000 |
| Location: | Raleigh, NC |
| Project Term: | 12/11/2009 to 03/30/2012 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.phononicdevices.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| PolyPlus Battery Company A Revolutionary Approach to High-Energy Density, Low-Cost Lithium-Sulfur Batteries PolyPlus | |
| Program: | OPEN 2012 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,500,000 |
| Location: | Berkeley, CA |
| Project Term: | 02/06/2013 to 03/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.polyplus.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Primus Power Low-Cost, High-Performance 50-Year Electrodes Graphic of Primus Power’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,999,999 |
| Location: | Hayward, CA |
| Project Term: | 09/01/2010 to 12/31/2012 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.primuspower.com/index.html |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Proton Energy Systems Transformative Renewable Energy Storage Devices Based on Neutral Water Input Graphic of Proton’s technology | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,598,306 |
| Location: | Wallingford, CT |
| Project Term: | 09/01/2010 to 03/31/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.protononsite.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Redox Power Systems Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Transformational Energy Conversion Graphic of Redox’s technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $5,250,000 |
| Location: | Fulton, MD |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 09/30/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.redoxpowersystems.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Robert Bosch Advanced Battery Management System Image of Bosch’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $4,245,659 |
| Location: | Farmington Hills, MI |
| Project Term: | 01/01/2013 to 12/31/2016 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.bosch.us |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| SAFCell Solid Acid Fuel Cell Stack for Distributed Generation Applications Graphic of SAFCell’s technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $3,699,230 |
| Location: | Pasadena, CA |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2014 to 03/31/2017 |
| Project Status: | ACTIVE |
| Website: | http://www.safcell.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Sharp Laboratories of America Low-Cost Sodium-Ion Battery to Enable Grid Scale Energy Storage: Prussian Blue-Derived Cathode and Complete Battery Integration | |
| Program: | OPEN 2012 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,904,393 |
| Location: | Camas, WA |
| Project Term: | 03/28/2013 to 03/27/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.sharplabs.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| SiEnergy Systems Direct Hydrocarbon Fuel Cell – Battery Hybrid Electrochemical System Graphic of SiEnergy’s technology | |
| Program: | REBELS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $2,650,000 |
| Location: | Cambridge, MA |
| Project Term: | 09/17/2014 to 11/20/2015 |
| Project Status: | CANCELLED |
| Website: | http://www.sienergysystems.com |
| Technical Categories: | Distributed Generation Storage |
| Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Novel SOC and SOH Estimation Through Sensor Technology Image of SwRI’s technology | |
| Program: | AMPED |
| ARPA-E Award: | $712,001 |
| Location: | San Antonio, TX |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 02/15/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.swri.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage Transportation Storage |
| Teledyne Scientific & Imaging Potassium-Based Aqueous Flow Battery for Grid Application Teledyne | |
| Program: | OPEN 2012 |
| ARPA-E Award: | $556,732 |
| Location: | Thousand Oaks, CA |
| Project Term: | 02/04/2013 to 01/31/2014 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.teledyne-si.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| TVN Systems Hydrogen-Bromine Electrical Energy Storage System | |
| Program: | GRIDS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $1,724,000 |
| Location: | Lawrence, KS |
| Project Term: | 10/01/2012 to 06/30/2015 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.tvnsystems.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) High Performance and Regenerative Redox-Air Flow Cells for Transportation Applications | |
| Program: | IDEAS |
| ARPA-E Award: | $499,972 |
| Location: | East Hartford, CT |
| Project Term: | 07/02/2015 to 07/01/2016 |
| Project Status: | ALUMNI |
| Website: | http://www.utrc.utc.com |
| Technical Categories: | Storage |
| Total Award: $155,217,222 | |
It’s starting to look like desperation.
http://www.energydigital.com/renewableenergy/4205/German-energy-storage-to-break-1-billion-by-2021
Battery bonanza!
Rubbish.
You didn’t even read the paywalled report, Griff.
67 MW of storage capacity are installed now, but total production nameplate capacity is 200 GW. So using all storage gives you 0.03 % of total capacity.
Average hourly production is 73 800 MW (647 000 000 MWh / 8766 h), which is 1100 times more than you could get from storage, if that were even possible for one hour (it is not, by far).
About 600 000 000 MWh are used yearly, 68446 MWh in an average hour. Your hyped storage is good for 1/1000 of hourly use, if that were possible (it isn’t). Then you have to recharge resp. pump for 8 hours again with no storage capacity available.
Why dont you lie down and lay low.