Energy storage innovations hold a significant potential for the future. There are a string of announcements made in the USA in this regard. Today most of the energy storage announcements are targeted towards powering automobiles. This is because electrical cars are the future since fuels powering them now will be extinct soon. There are other interesting solutions included as well that focus on energy storage. Let us have a quick look at the energy storage innovations in 2010.
A major lithium battery manufacturer in the USA called International Battery has tied up with American Electric Power to build a smart grid in Ohio. The project intends to enable using renewable sources of energy for backup power. American Electric Power is a major supplier of battery systems across the United States. The other example is of GS Battery who has partnered with solar cell maker, Suniva to develop systems that are powered by rechargeable batteries that store solar energy.
The State of California has also joined the fray by introducing 11 utilities with Ice Energy. This company is known to create ice at night to cool the buildings during the day and reduce their dependence on air conditioners. All these test solutions will soon become commercial products to be marketed across the world. They have a good long term potential and they will significantly change the way energy is stored I the future.
There are quite a few energy storage innovations taking place in the automotive industry as well. There are plans to introduce plug in hybrids to cut down the vehicles’ dependence on oil. Ford and Volkswagen are two US automobile companies that are planning to introduce hybrid cars in the near future. The utilities across the United States are depending more on these energy storage solutions so that no power goes to waste and can be used whenever it is needed. The utilities will have to make use of this replenished power so that they can meet the increased demand of the government for replenished power. To ensure that these new operations go smoothly the companies have to stabilize the production of these innovative energy storage solutions.
Though energy storage has a promising future there are certain obstacles such as the innovations being too expensive as of now. Then there is the safety factor to be considered in case of energy backup devices such as backup batteries.