If the catalyst isn’t unattainium and it can be manufactured in mass , this would make batteries with energy density of gasoline.
Cheers
Qazuliggt
After agreeing with your unattainium caution, I say
WOWIE ZOWIE!
Here is a competitor to the lithium-air batteries:
Form Energy: Our first commercial product is an iron-air battery system that can cost-effectively store and discharge energy for up to 100 hours. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which can only provide energy for a few hours at a time due to their relatively high costs, iron-air batteries can deliver energy for multiple days at a time. Made from some of the safest, cheapest, and most abundant materials on the planet – low-cost iron, water, and air – our battery system provides a sustainable and safe solution to meeting the growing demand for grid security and resiliency.
Grid planning studies, performed by both Form Energy and our utility partners, have shown that over the next decade, achieving Form Energy’s cost and performance targets will unlock tens of gigawatts of demand for multi-day storage in the U.S. and accelerate the country’s trajectory towards a more reliable, clean, and resilient electric grid. At such levels of deployment, our technology will catalyze billions of dollars in savings to American electricity consumers.
Always interesting news but I would be very careful about betting on any of the battery developers.
QuantumScape was founded in 2010 to develop solid state batteries. 16 years later it has it’s first paying customer:
Google AI:
Founded in 2010 by Jagdeep Singh, Tim Holme, and Prof. Fritz Prinz of Stanford University, QuantumScape is a San Jose-based company developing solid-state lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles. Backed by Volkswagen and Bill Gates, the company developed a proprietary solid ceramic separator for faster-charging, safer batteries. After merging with a SPAC in 2020, it listed on the NYSE (QS) and now focuses on commercializing B-sample cells with partners like PowerCo.
Key Historical Milestones
- 2010: Founded to revolutionize energy storage, shifting from pure lab research to commercializing solid-state materials.
- 2012: Began collaboration with German automaker Volkswagen.
- 2013: Bill Gates invests in the company, having been pitched by the founders, according to a report from Business Insider.
- 2018: Volkswagen announced a $100 million investment to become the largest shareholder and formed a joint production venture.
- 2020: Merged with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp, debuting on the NYSE.
- 2021-2022: Faced scrutiny from short-sellers, such as Scorpion Capital, but announced achievements in battery technology, including 15-minute charging for a 650 km range.
- 2024-2026: Validated performance with A-samples and shipped B-sample QSE-5 cells to automotive customers for testing.
Google AI:
Based on recent reports in early 2026, Tesla has officially confirmed a major breakthrough in perfecting its dry-electrode process for 4680 battery cells, a journey that spans approximately five years.
The company, which began working on this technology in earnest following its 2019 acquisition of Maxwell Technologies, has finally succeeded in mass-producing 4680 cells with dry-coated cathodes, alongside the already developed dry-coated anodes.
The Captain
Thanks,
I am glad they are still moving forward. I will look into them more.
I have believed based on my experience with back up power that 100 hours is all the on site backup power a telecommunications facility needs.
This would fit nicely.
Cheers
Qazulight
jaagu,
I looked into Form energy. The batteries have a round trip efficiency below 50 percent.
Tried many ways to review the batteries with my experience in telecom power. I could not make a decent business case for them.
I was able to make a business case for energy time arbitrage, but even at twice the price at initial start up, sodium ion had a shorter pay back and a larger roi.
Obviously there are smarter people than me in the space because Google has purchased a very large system for one of its data centers. So, there is a business case, it is just not a slam dunk with the current technology and pricing.
Current tech. Sub 50 percent round trip energy efficiency.
Current cost. At scale 33 dollars a kilowatt hour. This was derived from the large Google installation. So, it could actually be higher for most projects and may come down over time. I think there is talk of 11 dollars a kilowatt hour, that would change the math some, but not as much as you might think.
An increase in round trip energy efficiency and a lowering of cost would be a big deal.
I was not able to detect an optimism that the energy efficiency would change much. This can change though.
Cheers
Qazulight
What is the value of surplus electricity that cannot be sold? Probably almost zero. Zero in makes time delay a value added business. Are batteries still not cost effective w that analysis?
The Captain
I think I used 3 cents in and 25 cents out. From past experience, and this may be more now because 10 years seems like yesterday, it costs 3 cents to deliver free power. I used 25 cents because that is about 50 percent more than typical households pay.
This may be quite low as some peakers have sold power for as much as a dollar a kilowatt hour.
So YES there is likely a narrow business case. Google confirmed this by spending serious money on plants.
Cheers
Qazulight
Great find
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