English 
Spanish 
3 min read
0 comments
Company revolutionizes the solar energy sector with its new iron-air battery: innovative technology promises to be up to 10 times cheaper than lithium batteries, transforming the energy storage market.
US battery manufacturer Form Energy has announced the creation of a new iron-air battery technology that can provide up to 100 hours of battery life. The new battery can be used to store renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, and is 10 times cheaper than a conventional lithium battery.
Understand how the new iron-air battery technology works
The cheap battery uses oxygen to convert the iron in the power cell into rust and then back into iron. This process of converting iron to rust allows the energy to remain stored in the iron-air battery for much longer and more efficiently.
According to the CEO and founder of the American Startup Form Energy, Mateo Jaramillo, the company conducted an extensive review of available technologies and reinvented the new iron-air battery to optimize it for storing solar or wind energy for several days on the grid.
- Researchers simulate 500 million years of evolution with AI and create a new artificial fluorescent protein
- Is it possible to have a fan on a solar panel? See how it works
- How much does it cost to leave your cell phone charger plugged into the socket without charging any device?
- Company launches bike with two chains — Helps people travel further with less effort
With this new, inexpensive battery technology, clean energy can be made available when and where it is needed, even during days of extreme weather or grid outages.
Despite sounding very advantageous, the new technology has its problems. It would be great to be able to use this new cheap and durable battery in cars or smartphones, but iron-air cells are still very large and each one is the size of a washing machine. They work in huge arrays, capable of store larger amounts of energy for long periods.
New technology promises to be 10 times cheaper
Like a traditional AA battery, the iron cells and air electrodes are stacked inside a non-flammable water-based electrolyte. When grouped together over an area of about 4 square meters, thousands of batteries together can provide up to 1 MW of power, which would be enough to power 1.500 homes.
According to the head of research and development at ArcelorMittal, a steel manufacturer who is financing the project, Greg Ludkovsky, the new iron-air battery technology, which can store electricity for several days, has exciting potential to overcome the issue of intermittent supply and smooth out peaks in solar and wind power, as the iron-air battery “breathes” oxygen when it is discharged.
Current battery technologies cost an average of $80, or about R$480 per kWh of storage. According to Form Energy, the new iron-air cells could sell for less than $6 (R$36) per kWh. Furthermore, because they are made from a safe, cheap and naturally abundant material, they could become a viable source of energy year-round.
When can the new cheap battery start working and be sold?
Form Energy expects the first U.S. power complex built exclusively on this new iron-air battery to be fully operational by next year.
The company's idea is to implement similar solutions in various parts of the country to reduce energy costs and ensure continuous supply in regions with large population concentrations.
According to Mateo Jaramillo, one point to consider is the price per unit, since large quantities are needed to provide a quality and intermittent supply. New technology for solar and wind energy could be the key to gradually replacing systems based on extremely expensive and environmentally harmful fossil fuels.
