Mass hydrogen storage breakthrough

Source: The Age

From Melbourne's The Age newspaper.

University of NSW researchers led by Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou say they have developed metal alloys capable of storing surplus electricity in the form of hydrogen much more cheaply than lithium batteries to take advantage of the renewables rush.

"You can call me an alchemist, if you will," Professor Aguey-Zinsou said, laughing. "It is a game changer in how we use electricity - it's like the internet revolution."

The scientist said he had spent 20 years developing the metal hydrides that can bond with hydrogen.

The system uses power to create hydrogen, which is then stored until needed for electricity production via a fuel cell.

Professor Aguey-Zinsou said the alloy contained titanium and "other common materials", but declined to name them, pending the issuance of a formal patent expected within weeks.

The solid-state mix can operate in a range of temperatures – such as from minus-10 to 50 degrees – depending on the climate the storage was intended for.

"It's safe ... it's not flammable," he said. "You cannot create the conditions when you have a certain burst of hydrogen."

UNSW"s Hydrogen Energy Research Centre, backed by $10 million from Providence Asset Group, reckons it is ready to produce the world's first hydrogen batteries for households as soon as early 2021.

"We aim to launch the LAVO [brand] commercial product by the end of this year, and start pilot production in the first quarter of next year," Alan Yu, a co-founder of Providence, said, adding the plan was to make the batteries in Australia.

"It’s cheaper and cleaner than buying from the grid," Mr Yu, an entrepreneur who also invests in artificial intelligence, said. "This will help households to accelerate the clean energy transition in Australia and save money."

Amy Kean, a board member of the hydrogen centre and director of Stride Renewables, said the household batteries would most likely hold up to 60 kilowatt-hours, or about five times the capacity of existing lithium storage on the market. About 130 centimetres high, the size of a small fridge, each would weigh 196 kilograms.

The cost could go as low as 2¢ per kW-hour, or less than one-tenth the cost of lithium rivals and buying power from the grid, making the storage highly competitive, Ms Kean said.

Of course, the energy efficiency of converting electricity to hydrogen and back again [70-80%] is lower than from using batteries [90%].  The cost of  2¢ per kWh, compares with the cost of EV battery packs of around $140/kWh for storage.   This seems to be extraordinarily cheap.  I suspect they are talking about different measures, perhaps the cost per kWh delivered as opposed to stored.  Either way, these new stationary batteries will make storage ubiquitous in the grid and bring coal-powered power stations to a grinding halt.