Google Bets on Carbon Dioxide Battery for Greener Energy Storage
Google is making a significant move towards its goal of operating entirely on renewable energy. As you know, finding reliable ways to store renewable energy is a huge challenge. So, they're investing in Energy Dome, a startup with a really interesting approach.
Energy Dome's tech is all about carbon dioxide batteries. Instead of the lithium-ion batteries we're used to, they use CO2 to store energy. The idea is that when there's a surplus of renewable energy – like when the sun's blazing or the wind's howling – they use that energy to compress carbon dioxide into a liquid. Then, when energy is needed, they let the liquid CO2 expand back into a gas, which spins a turbine to generate power.
This is a big deal because typical lithium-ion batteries can only store energy for a few hours. Energy Dome claims their CO2 batteries can store and dispatch energy for much longer – we are talking about 8 to 24 hours. That could really help Google rely on renewable energy, even when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing.
Google seems optimistic about this technology. I agree with them, mainly because they believe Energy Dome's approach can be scaled up faster and at a lower cost than some other clean tech solutions. If that's true, it could be a game-changer for making renewable energy more reliable and accessible.
Source: Engadget