New battery tech online? Thermal energy storage with x6< capacity by volume, and cheaper...

[kage69]

PV is even less efficient than a heat engine with that kind of temperature differential. The best pv cells are still less than 30%.

Yeah the best I know of is like 21-22%.

I'm guessing that's where the "specialized multi junction photovoltaic solar cells" come in.

I have no information on this component. Do you?

 

[herm0016]

I have no information on this component. Do you?

hmm. looked around. the best commercial, terrestrial multi junction stuff out right now is 30ish% in a normal kind of setup and 42 with unspecified concentration, so that is much better. I am not sure how much multi-junction would help here though, as the "glow" given off the silicon would not be full spectrum. Multi-junction uses different junction materials in the cell to produce power from different wavelengths of light.

 

[Jaskalas]

"The system would work using heavily insulated, 10-meter-wide tanks made from graphite and filled with liquid silicon, kept at a “cold” temperature of almost 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit.This would be connected to a “hot tank” by a series of tubes exposed to heating elements, powered by excess renewable electricity. Liquid silicon is pumped out of the cold tank, through the heated tubes, and into the hot tank, where the thermal energy is stored at a much higher temperature of about 4,300 F.

I did not realize material existed that could survive as a solid at those temperatures. Let alone survive well enough to provide actual function.

The idea of something hotter than lava sitting near me is... disturbing. That much concentrated thermal energy feels highly dangerous.

 

[herm0016]

Graphite has no melting point at atmo.

 

[kage69]

hmm. looked around. the best commercial, terrestrial multi junction stuff out right now is 30ish% in a normal kind of setup and 42 with unspecified concentration, so that is much better. I am not sure how much multi-junction would help here though, as the "glow" given off the silicon would not be full spectrum. Multi-junction uses different junction materials in the cell to produce power from different wavelengths of light.

My take was the "specialized" mention probably meant optimization/focus on specific wavelengths, maybe it's something new that just devours red and violet and compensates for lack of full spectrum input.

I wonder also, might it be possible to modify the silicon in a way that alters it's light emitting properties at operating temps? I saw no mention of special isotopes or additives but still has me thinking.

 

[kage69]

I did not realize material existed that could survive as a solid at those temperatures. Let alone survive well enough to provide actual function. The idea of something hotter than lava sitting near me is... disturbing. That much concentrated thermal energy feels highly dangerous.

I really want to know what they did for heat mitigation too. Often it's not just a material but a lack of one. Vacuums work great, and we've come along way with modern ceramics and alloys. 20 years ago if I told people transparent aluminum was real they'd say I was hitting the Star Trek too hard.

Silicon and graphite seem to be up to the task, although I definitely agree it's unnerving. Keeps making me think of getting a little too close to the lava in Hawaii once. Heat so strong it makes your contacts warp, and your shoes start to melt.

 

[dawp]

https://www.theepochtimes.com/uci-s...ble-battery-that-lasts-400-years_2865069.html
not sure about source but if true this could be a gamechanger.

 

[Paratus]

PV is even less efficient than a heat engine with that kind of temperature differential. The best pv cells are still less than 30%.

Yeah the best I know of is like 21-22%.

I'm guessing that's where the "specialized multi junction photovoltaic solar cells" come in.

I have no information on this component. Do you?

Highest is more like 46%

 

[mect]

PV is even less efficient than a heat engine with that kind of temperature differential. The best pv cells are still less than 30%.

True, but I assume this would be coupled with PV or wind or whatever other intermittent energy source, so the overall efficiency would be the product of the two. So regardless of the efficiency of the PV, the overall efficiency of the heat engine would still be important.

 

[hal2kilo]

hmm. looked around. the best commercial, terrestrial multi junction stuff out right now is 30ish% in a normal kind of setup and 42 with unspecified concentration, so that is much better. I am not sure how much multi-junction would help here though, as the "glow" given off the silicon would not be full spectrum. Multi-junction uses different junction materials in the cell to produce power from different wavelengths of light.

Has to be multilayered to capture as much spectrum as possible. A company, in let's just say the exotic energy business Brilliant Light Power (www.brilliantlightpower) has as one of it's biggest stumbling blocks, the need for the most efficient conversion of light to power to make their magic box work, so they are driving the tech to the max.

 

[blankslate]

If this turns out to be actually workable and is developed into products that industry and consumers can use I see it being used to store energy collected by various means during the day for use at night. Or even use in vehicles that will be driven for very long distances in a 24 hour period and able to be recharged within 48 hours
That being said I've seen enough stories about potential breakthroughs in Battery Tech that I'm not letting myself get too excited until I hear more news about this technology within the year.


_____________

 

[Moonbeam]

The need for storage is the result of the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources like solar and wind and the fact that fossil fuel sources are destroying the livability of the climate. Perhaps the most logical solution to this is assembly line manufactured thorium reactors, reactors that potentially offer something real as a solution to our endlessly unsolved nuclear waste problem.

The problem there is the average person doesn't trust the nuclear industry, don't want to live by nuclear reactors, will add massive economic costs and misery by political and legal resistance and financing has dried up because of these kinds of uncertainties.

That leaves the problem that renewables that take up a lot of land area must be even over built so as to insure supply at night and or on cloudy or windless days. Of the methods proposed for this, pumping water back up behind hydroelectric dams is the cheapest.

And here, I think, is the point. The issue isn't efficiency but cost. You don't buy something that is twice as efficient that costs ten times more for large scale use and the MIT thingi is estimated to cost less than the current cost leader, reusing water for hydro. Also, there is no requirement for natural altitude gradients in the local geography or the presence of hydroelectric dams. These boxes can also be situated to relieve transmission line losses in areas that have a lot of local, maybe roof top generation.

 

[Moonbeam]

If this turns out to be actually workable and is developed into products that industry and consumers can use I see it being used to store energy collected by various means during the day for use at night. Or even use in vehicles that will be driven for very long distances in a 24 hour period and able to be recharged within 48 hours
That being said I've seen enough stories about potential breakthroughs in Battery Tech that I'm not letting myself get too excited until I hear more news about this technology within the year.

I would not personally care to drive on a highway with vehicles full of molten silicon.

 

[kage69]

Highest is more like 46%

Nice, this helps me see where my understanding was off, and dated, regarding PV. Updated, thank you.