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Energy storage is one of the biggest challenges of our transition to a net zero electricity grid. These days, there are plenty of options to generate electricity – solar, wind, hydro – but far fewer options to store electricity.
Storage is important because it can change renewable energy from volatile (generate a lot of electricity, cheaply when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing and then nothing at other times) to reliable. Right now, the world can’t move away from coal or gas as providers of baseload power – the always on, always reliable power source – because of the volatility of renewables.
If the world could find cheap and reliable ways to store renewable energy, then renewables combined with storage could be a replacement for baseload power.
When you start thinking about renewable energy storage, you think of lithium-ion batteries. From our phones, to electric vehicles and to grid-scale storage, lithium-ion batteries have become the standard. But they have a lot of problems. Altech Batteries is an ASX-listed company working on commercialising grid-scale energy storage batteries that don’t require lithium, cobalt, graphite and copper to help drive the world’s energy transition.
The challenge with Lithium-ion batteries
As important as lithium-ion batteries have been, they have two key drawbacks: they’re expensive and they have a habit of setting on fire.
Let’s start with the fire.
Lithium-ion batteries are notoriously sensitive to extreme temperatures, have been known to spontaneously combust, and experience quick degradation.
A press release from the University of New South Wales in March 2023 found that, “Data collated from state fire departments indicate that more than 450 fires across Australia have been linked to lithium-ion batteries in the past 18 months”.
Fire and Rescue NSW acknowledge that not enough is yet known about the probability of lithium-ion battery failure, their mechanisms of failure and potential consequences of failure.
So it is a known risk, but just how large a risk remains unknown. Which isn’t exactly reassuring.
Then there’s the second challenge – the price. Lithium prices have exploded.
And its not just lithium. Key battery metals like cobalt, graphite and copper have also run up in price alongside the world’s demand for energy storage. And the higher input prices, the higher the cost of energy storage.
Altech believe there is a better way
Altech Batteries have developed an alternative. Launched in March 2023, they have developed a solid-state battery that has taken out the lithium, graphite, cobalt and copper and stores energy with salt. Yes, they’ve removed the expensive battery metals and replaced it with your home’s table salt.
The company has called their batteries: CERENERGY® batteries. Why not, you have to call them something. Name aside, they offer a number of key benefits:
- No risk of fire or explosion (that’s pretty important generally, but it also means they can be installed indoors where lithium-ion batteries are currently prohibited)
- No exposure to the rising prices of lithium, cobalt, graphite and copper
- No exposure to the supply-chain, environmental and human rights concerns of battery metals (see Cobalt as just one example)
- A life span of more than 15 years (compared to 7-10 years for lithium storage batteries)
- Can operate at a very wide temperature range of minus 40 degrees to plus 60 degrees
Sustainability credentials are front of mind when considering which technologies to use for our global energy transition. The Centre of International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) was engaged to evaluate the green credentials of the CERENERGY battery project. The life cycle assessment found that CERENERGY batteries exhibit a “greenhouse gas emissions footprint of at least 50% lower than that of lithium-ion batteries.”
The key reason for this lower carbon footprint is they don’t rely on these battery metals – lithium, cobalt, graphite and copper – which are associated with high greenhouse gas emissions from their mining and extraction processes.
How do the costs compare?
Reducing the exposure to expensive battery metals and doubling the batteries expected lifespan is expected to result in a meaningful cost saving.
Europe’s largest application-oriented research organisation, the German government owned Fraunhofer, have estimated that the cost of producing CERENERGY® batteries should be in the region of 40% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries.
This doesn’t factor in the longer operating life. Altech Batteries believe their batteries will have a lifespan of more than 15 years. Currently, most electric vehicle makers guarantee 8 years of battery life for their lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion grid storage batteries are expected to last 7-10 years. A longer life gives operators longer to make their costs back before they have to replace the batteries.
Finally, Altech hope to bring the cost of storage down further by making the system modular. These GridPack’s (pictured below) would offer instant plug-and-play 1MWh storage.
Cheaper, less risk of fire, and longer operating lives. These are starting to sound pretty good.
How developed are Altech’s plans?
Altech has entered into a joint venture with German company Fraunhofer to build a battery production plant. The Altech-Fraunhofer plant will be built on Altech’s land in Saxony, Germany and will focus on producing 100MWh sodium-alumina solid state (SAS) batteries. These 100MWh batteries are grid-scale and so are focused on the large-scale energy storage market.
In parallel to this, Altech have also developed a 60KWh and 1MWh version of the battery for different consumer and business applications.
In fact, over the past couple of years, the company has achieved a number of milestones:
- Nov 2022: Launched 60KWh Gridpack design
- Mar 2023: Launched 1.0MWh Gridpack design
- May 2023: Sent two 60KWh battery prototypes into production
- Jun 2023: Released preliminary battery specifications
- Jul 2023: Confirmed CERENERGY battery project suppliers
- Jul 2023: Independent studies cite 50% less greenhouse gas emissions for CERENERGY vs. lithium-ion batteries
The next milestone for investors to watch is the release of a Definitive Feasibility Study for their 100MWh plant in Germany, which is scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2023.
Where to from here?
McKinsey believes battery energy storage system capacity is likely to quintuple between now and 2030, with the market growing from $44-55bn in 2023 to $120-150bn by 2030.
The likelihood is both lithium and non-lithium batteries will play a role in the future of our grid. The world just needs so much storage, so quickly.
As if to illustrate this point, Altech have also patented a technology that will improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries. They have developed Silumina Anodes which are silicon-based anodes that have been proven to hold more energy, achieve longer driving range, and charge more quickly than traditional lithium-ion batteries.
The company has signed an NDA with a major German automaker to test the product in their vehicles and lithium-ion batteries. If successful, Altech hopes to build a pilot plant in Germany to produce more Silumina Anodes for further testing.
If Altech are able to achieve their visions they will become critical to the energy storage supply chain. They are developing two key technologies – one to improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries and a second that offers an alternative to these lithium-ion batteries – both of which will be needed in the coming years.
The world needs to quickly scale up its energy storage capacity to enable a rapid decarbonisation. Altech Batteries hope to develop technology to enable this rapid transition.