Here Comes the Energy Storage Revolution

The push to decarbonize electricity production in the U.S.
focuses heavily on solar and wind generation. But delivering
reliable energy from intermittent resource will require an
upgrade in energy storage capabilities.


This episode of Grid Talk features Don Sadoway who is the John F.
Elliott Professor of Materials Chemistry at MIT. He’s one of the
leading experts on emerging battery products and at the helm of
about a half dozen startups ready to speed deployment of the most
promising approaches into the marketplace.


“We have to deal with the intermittency. And nobody wants green
electricity that’s only available part-time; they want it all the
time, so that means storage.”


That’s where the liquid metal battery comes in. Sadoway will
explain why he believes it will revolutionize battery storage.


“The aluminum/sulfur battery is no cobalt, no nickel, no
manganese, no volatile flammable electrolyte, no graphite, forget
the silicon. This is no lithium.”


One of his companies is set to release its first product in about
a year. When people see it working, things could really take
off. 


“A liquid metal battery could be in the basement of every one of
the skyscrapers in Manhattan.”


Professor Sadoway has been at MIT for 44 years. His research
seeks to establish the scientific underpinnings for technologies
that make efficient use of energy and natural resources in an
environmentally sound manner. This spans engineering applications
and the supportive fundamental science. The overarching theme of
his work is electrochemistry in nonaqueous media.


He holds the following degrees:


B.A.Sc., Engineering Science, University of Toronto


M.A.Sc., Chemical Metallurgy, University of Toronto


Ph.D., Chemical Metallurgy, University of Toronto