Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

The Importance of Balancing Electricity Demand and Supply

In this section, the speaker discusses the need for constant balance between electricity demand and supply. If there is a sudden decrease in wind power generation, other generators must compensate immediately. However, coal and nuclear plants are not able to respond quickly enough. The speaker introduces the concept of a giant battery as a solution to address intermittency issues with renewable energy sources.

The Role of Batteries in Addressing Intermittency Issues

• A giant battery can help address the problem of intermittency that prevents wind and solar energy from contributing consistently to the grid.

• By drawing electricity from the sun even when it doesn't shine, batteries enable renewables like wind and solar to play a more significant role in meeting electricity demand.

Introduction to Liquid Metal Battery

The speaker introduces the liquid metal battery as a new form of energy storage invented at MIT. They explain that this technology can provide solutions to global energy problems while also sharing some surprising insights gained during its development.

Invention of Liquid Metal Battery at MIT

• The liquid metal battery is a new form of energy storage invented by the speaker and their team at MIT.

• This invention aims to overcome performance limitations faced by current battery technologies, such as high power requirements, long service lifetime, and low cost.

• The speaker emphasizes that innovation is crucial for addressing the country's energy situation and believes that inventing new technologies is an essential part of finding solutions.

Full Spectrum Approach and Lessons for Innovation

The speaker explains how their work on developing the liquid metal battery has uncovered valuable lessons for innovation. They emphasize the importance of thinking beyond traditional approaches and embracing full spectrum thinking.

Uncovering Surprising Heterodoxies in Battery Development

• The speaker's team at MIT has discovered unexpected insights and unconventional approaches during the development of the liquid metal battery.

• These findings can serve as valuable lessons for innovation and inspire new ideas worth spreading.

• To overcome the current energy situation, the speaker believes that conservation, drilling, and bombing are not sufficient. Instead, they advocate for an inventive approach to finding solutions.

The Concept of Spectrum and Broadening Perspectives

The speaker discusses the concept of spectrum and how it relates to their work on the liquid metal battery. They highlight the need to broaden perspectives and explore diverse possibilities in order to find innovative solutions.

Going Full Spectrum in Energy Innovation

• The theme of this year's TED Conference is "Full Spectrum," which refers to the entire range of electromagnetic radiation wavelengths.

• The speaker aims to go full spectrum by not only presenting their solution to a global problem but also sharing surprising insights gained during its development.

• By adopting a broad perspective, they hope to inspire others and encourage innovative thinking beyond traditional boundaries.

Volta's Invention of Battery and Utility of Professors

The speaker discusses Alessandro Volta's invention of the battery and highlights its significance in demonstrating the utility of professors. They draw parallels between Volta's invention and their own work on developing a new battery technology.

Alessandro Volta's Invention and Professor's Utility

• Alessandro Volta invented the battery about 200 years ago at the University of Padua in Italy.

• Volta's invention gave birth to electrochemistry as a field of science and led to technological advancements like electroplating.

• Additionally, Volta's invention demonstrated that professors could contribute significantly through their inventions, challenging previous perceptions about their usefulness.

Designing a Battery and Grid-Level Storage

The speaker explains the basic principles of designing a battery and highlights the need for grid-level storage. They emphasize the current lack of battery technology capable of meeting the demanding requirements of the grid.

Designing Batteries and Grid-Level Storage Challenges

• Designing a battery involves two electrodes (metals) with different compositions and an electrolyte (salt dissolved in water).

• While battery science is straightforward, there is currently no battery technology that meets the high power, long service lifetime, and low-cost requirements for grid-level storage.

• The speaker emphasizes the need to think differently about this problem, focusing on inventing technologies that align with electricity market price points.

Thinking Big and Cheap: Earth-Abundant Elements

The speaker advocates for thinking big and cheap when it comes to developing batteries. They highlight the importance of using earth-abundant elements and simple manufacturing techniques to achieve cost-effective solutions.

Paradigm Shift: Thinking Big and Cheap

• Instead of searching for chemistries based on coolness, it is essential to consider cost-effectiveness aligned with electricity market prices.

• Batteries should be made from earth-abundant elements to ensure affordability.

• Simple manufacturing techniques should be employed to avoid excessive costs associated with complex production processes.

Inspiration from Aluminum Production

The speaker shares their inspiration for developing a new battery technology by looking at aluminum production. They explain how aluminum's economic success motivated them to find similar breakthroughs in energy storage.

Drawing Inspiration from Aluminum Production

• Aluminum production consumes significant amounts of electricity but has become economically viable due to advancements in electrometallurgy.

• The speaker was inspired by this economic miracle and aimed to capture similar economies of scale in energy storage through their invention.

• By using liquid metals and molten salt as components, they developed a battery that could achieve high current flow.

Liquid Metal Battery Design and Manufacturing

The speaker explains the design and manufacturing process of the liquid metal battery. They highlight the use of low-density and high-density liquid metals, along with molten salt, to create an efficient energy storage system.

Designing the Liquid Metal Battery

• The speaker designed the liquid metal battery by placing low-density liquid metal at the top, high-density liquid metal at the bottom, and molten salt in between.

• The choice of metals was based on their earth abundance, opposite density, and high mutual reactivity.

• This unique combination allows for efficient energy storage and retrieval within the battery system.

Overcoming Performance Limitations

The speaker discusses the performance limitations faced by current battery technologies. They emphasize the need for innovative solutions that can meet demanding requirements while being cost-effective.

Addressing Performance Limitations

• Current battery technologies struggle to meet grid-level storage requirements such as high power output, long service lifetime, and low cost.

• Overcoming these limitations requires thinking beyond traditional approaches and inventing technologies that align with electricity market price points.

• The speaker's work on developing the liquid metal battery aims to address these performance challenges through its unique design and use of earth-abundant elements.

Conclusion: Inventing Our Way Out

The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of innovation in overcoming energy challenges. They believe that inventing new technologies is crucial for finding solutions rather than relying solely on conservation or drilling.

Embracing Innovation to Solve Energy Challenges

• To overcome current energy challenges, it is necessary to embrace innovation rather than relying on conservation or drilling alone.

• The speaker advocates for inventing new technologies that can meet the demanding requirements of the electricity market.

• By working together and thinking creatively, they believe that the country can find inventive solutions to its energy situation.

New Section

This section discusses the process of charging a battery and the role of electrons in powering devices.

Charging the Battery

• To charge the battery, a source of electricity, such as a wind farm, is connected.

Alloy Formation and Reversing Current

• The current is reversed, causing magnesium to de-alloy and return to the upper electrode, restoring the initial constitution of the battery. Heat generated by the current maintains temperature.

Laboratory Experimentation

• A student named David Bradwell was hired and mentored to work on developing the liquid metal battery. Despite initial doubts, he successfully built the first-ever liquid metal battery of this chemistry.

Expansion and Funding

• Promising results from David's work attracted major research funding from both private sector and federal government sources. The team expanded to include 20 members working on advancing the technology.

New Section

This section highlights the motivation behind working on grid-level storage using liquid metal batteries.

Motivation for Grid-Level Storage

• Researchers working on liquid metal batteries are driven by a passion for science and service to society rather than personal career building.

• Their motivation aligns with President Kennedy's remarks at Rice University in 1962 about choosing challenging endeavors for their societal impact.

New Section

This section outlines the evolution of liquid metal batteries in terms of size and capacity.

Evolution of Liquid Metal Batteries

• The development started with one-watt-hour cells called "shotglass" cells.

• Progress led to scaling up to 20-watt-hour cells referred to as "hockey puck" cells.

• Further advancements resulted in 200-watt-hour cells known as "saucer" cells.

• The technology proved to be robust and scalable, leading to the formation of a company to accelerate progress and manufacturing.

New Section

This section discusses the future plans for liquid metal batteries, including larger capacity cells and modular battery systems.

Future Plans

• Current efforts involve building 16-inch diameter cells with a capacity of one kilowatt-hour, referred to as "pizza" cells.

• A four-kilowatt-hour cell called the "bistro table" is on the horizon but not yet ready for deployment.

• One variant includes stacking bistro tabletops into modules, creating a giant battery that fits in a 40-foot shipping container with a two-megawatt-hour capacity.

New Section

This section highlights the advantages of grid-level storage using liquid metal batteries.

Advantages of Liquid Metal Batteries

• Grid-level storage using liquid metal batteries offers silent operation, emissions-free energy storage without moving parts.

• The system can be remotely controlled and designed to meet market price points without subsidies.

New Section

This section presents some surprising findings and unconventional approaches in developing liquid metal batteries.

Surprising Findings

• Temperature: Liquid metal batteries are designed to operate at elevated temperatures rather than near room temperature, allowing them to handle high temperature rises from current surges.

• Scaling: Instead of producing many smaller units, liquid metal batteries aim to reduce costs by producing fewer but larger units.

• Human Resources: Rather than hiring seasoned professionals, students and post-docs were hired and mentored to develop liquid metal batteries.