Solar cells and batteries could 'go viral'

[kristopher]

Solar cells and batteries could 'go viral'

Investors looking to get fabulously rich may want to place a few bets on solar cell and rechargeable battery technology. At least, that's one way to frame an onstage chat between U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and billionaire Bill Gates at a recent energy innovation conference.

A combination of breakthroughs in solar and battery technologies will allow them "to go viral in the same way that cellphones went viral not only in the developed world, but also in the developing world," Chu said at the annual summit of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy.

The agency is a branch of the energy department that President Barack Obama launched in 2009 to spur innovation. The concept is to provide the short-term funding needed to push research out of the lab to something that can attract private sector investment.

One success story showcased at the summit was Envia Systems' new lithium-ion battery that has achieved an energy density of 400 watt hours per kilogram, which is nearly twice that of existing rechargeable batteries.

The breakthrough could extend the range of electric vehicles from 80 miles to 300 miles per charge as it slashes the battery cost by 50 percent....

Read more at: http://www.futureoftech.msnbc.msn.com/technology/futureoftech/solar-cells-batteries-could-go-viral-295634

Yes, the world record energy density of 400Wh/kg in Li-ion rechargeable batteries has been achieved by Envia

Envia Systems Prototype Cell Test
GDD GXS 12-005
1. Introduction
1.1 Naval Service Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) Test & Evaluation Branch was tasked by Advanced Research Products Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) to perform Verification & Validation testing on two high capacity lithium ion pouch type cells, manufactured by Envia Systems of Newark, California. The testing included verification of cell capacity and energy density at C/10 and C/3, 100% depth of discharge (DOD), as well as cell capacity and energy density at C/3, 80% DOD. One cycle at C/20 was performed at the manufacturer, therefore Crane's cycling started at cycle 2. Total testing cycles were 23, with 22 of those being performed at Crane (Cycles 2-23).

2. Test Samples
2.1 The Envia Systems cells are prototype lithium pouch rechargeable cells. The cells have a capacity of 46 Ah and an energy density of 400Wh/Kg. The cell's dimensions are approximately 97 mm wide, 190 mm long and 10 mm thick. The cell's approximate weight is 365 grams. Cell serial numbers are 400WhK-07-005-111205 (designated as 005) and 400WhK-07-006-111205 (designated as 006).

5. Conclusions
5.1 One of the highest energy cells used in consumer applications is the NCR18650A manufactured by Panasonic, which can be used as a comparative asset to the Envia cells. The NCR18650A cell specification claims 3100 mAh capacity, 3.6 V average and weighs 45.5 grams. The calculated energy density of this comparative cell would be approximately 245 Wh/Kg.

5.2 The test results from the prototype cells tested at Crane were in line with the results obtained from the manufacturer. The claims of 400 Wh/Kg were substantiated through the cycling tests performed at Crane. This is a 160% energy density increase over the industry standard indicated in paragraph 5.1.

http://enviasystems.com/announcement/

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. I have a colleague who is vitally concerned about what this could do to the social infrastructure

Her viewpoint is that if the well to do enclaves start to take themselves off the grid (and stop paying into the system) the potential for social problems is fairly high. She may have a point.

[kristopher]

3. Apparently the meaning of the term "go viral" eludes you

Even under the current pricing structure that is right-wing inspired claptrap:


California Solar Installations Highest in Middle Income Households

Solar Installations Adoption Highest for Middle Class
California solar installations are highest in middle income households according to a recent report by SunRun and PV Solar Report titled, “Solar Adoption is Highest in Median Income Zip Codes.” Almost two thirds of the California solar installations installed in 2009, 2010, 2011 were in zip codes where the median annual household income was less than $85,000. That’s right solar installations are not just for the rich!

Solar installations continue to rise in middle income households faster than any other segment of the California solar installation market. Thinking solar installations are a home improvement project reserved for the rich is something of the past. So far in 2011, of the 16,428 solar installations installed in California 10,193 of them were for households with an annual income between $40,000 and $84,999.

The report took a sample of 1,639 zip codes throughout California broken down by 2011 projected median household income and compared with the number of solar installations that had been completed according to data collected by the California Solar Initiative (CSI). The result undeniable data that California solar installations are more common for middle class homes than the rich. This means your neighbors are more likely to have solar installations than your company’s CEO.

In fact, Fresno and Bakersfield, two of the Top 5 Solar Cities in California I wrote about in the blog post by the same title, have an annual household income averaging between $40,000 and $50,000. Malibu, a city with an annual household income of $160,000 didn’t even make the top 25 cities for California solar installations...

http://www.yoursolarinstallation.com/california-solar-installations-highest-in-middle-income-households/

Report: http://www.pvsolarbuzz.com/images/stories/PDFs/solarbyincome.pdf

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. Apparently you are not aware of some of the more recent trends

Last edited Tue Mar 6, 2012, 12:33 AM - Edit history (1)

Going viral means becoming wildly popular in a short period of time. Something renewables do not qualify as. The market has been growing reasonably as the technology matures and incentives/rebates are available to fund installations, though there are more that its fair share of hucksters in it.

As for the funding structure in CA, it is a declining subsidy program of which I have taken considerable advantage. Malibu is not what I would use for sample community. Heavily transient and lots of renters. Look for landed gentry kind of places.

My colleague has been following the prepper trends for quite some time as to its impact on the social fabric. An outgrowth of that has been more people either prepared or actually dropping off the grid and going to renewables, a significant retreat from the commons. The latest group to get interesting in prepping is the really wealthy. They have their own retreats, can easily afford to stockpile, and go independent of utilities. It is starting to make some inroads and there are clearly some social impacts. When you no longer need power from the grid, you quit paying for the grid. That saddles the older, poorer areas with older power plants and no way to fund them.

It will be interesting to see how the electric utilities are allowed to handle that if it becomes an issue. A precedent may be water where many of utilities moved from a quantity model to a connection model in terms of the majority of revenue as serious conservation took hold.

Again, this is a colleague;s view more than my own. She is coming at it from non-technical POV, and it may have some merit. Those with the means can take advantage of the emerging technology and effectively dump the rest of the burden on those less well off. While it is reasonable to expect some of that to happen, how wide spread it is and how it is handled remains to be seen.

[kristopher]

5. Speaking of problems with social infrastructure...

Distributed renewables are seen as alleviating this is a well recognized problem:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/11278346

[gordianot]

2. Lithium becomes the new oil with much less pollution.

Got Lithium will be great.

[kristopher]

4. Except lithium can be recycled.