CHAPTER THIRTEENWhy Cheap Energy Storage Matters
Energy storage, cheap or otherwise, is not something we've ever had before. Electricity is used as soon as it is produced. Being able to store it cheaply for use at a later time has profound implications for homes, businesses, utilities, and the transportation sector. In this chapter, we'll look at how energy storage will effect each of the above.
My second law of technology states, “When it comes to technology, changes happen much faster than anyone expects they will.” That's certainly been the case with the introduction of energy storage. The reason it's happening so fast is the plummeting price of lithium-ion batteries. That's not a recent phenomenon, either. The price of lithium-ion batteries has been dropping since the early 1990s and energy density has been on the rise. Take a look at Figure 13.1.
FIGURE 13.1 LITHIUM-ION PRICING AND ENERGY DENSITY
Data sources: dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/1007/Li-Ion%20Battery%20Costs%20-%20Anderson%20-%20MP%20Final.pdf?sequence=1 and rael.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Kittner-Lill-Kammen-EnergyStorageDeploymentandInnovation-NatureEnergy-2017.pdf and www.teslarati.com/tesla-partner-panasonic-20–30-percent-energy-density-increase/. Accessed April 28, 2017. Graph by author.
The data for Figure 13.1 comes from three different sources. It depicts lithium-ion ...