Well, not exactly rhubarb batteries, but something pretty
close.
Observers of battery technology – which is absolutely
critical for electrification of the transportation system – tend to be divided
into optimists and pessimists. I
think it’s hard not be an optimist if you follow science and engineering news
at all.
One of the latest developments, from a group of scientists
and engineers at Harvard, working in conjunction with Sustainable Innovations
of Glastonbury CT, is an experimental “organic mega flow” battery, which stores
electrical energy in a sort of soup of organic chemicals, in this case based on
organic molecules similar to those found in rhubarb! (story here) This type of battery, according to the study
group, could provide a safe, economically viable solution to the problem of
storing energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Imagine a tank of rhubarb soup next to
(or instead of) your tank of home heating oil that stores all the energy you
can collect from the solar panels on your roof, heating and lighting your home
while charging up your electric vehicle.
Future energy solutions could be surprisingly simple in
application!
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