Why Lithium-based Batteries Are the Solution To Climate Change

Although not perfect, current research on energy storage bets for this kind of battery to completely redo our energy industry and finish fossil fuel dominance.

Tesla Megapack / Courtesy of Tesla

We all know that the current energy generation mix is not sustainable in the long run due to greenhouse effect gas emissions. Still, electricity produced from solar and wind is intermittent and not always available when needed. It also depends a lot on geography and the season.

This is why we need to find a way to store this energy when the source is available to use it when needed. After decades researching, the only way forward seems to create a considerable battery industry.

Massive renewable sources

Wind power has been around at a profitable rate for several years now. It is very popular in countries like China, the US, Germany, and Spain but as wind is not constant over time, neither it is the electricity it produces.

Same story with solar energy which has gained a lot of momentum in the last years and it promises the best cost-to-benefit ratio of any other energy source. But it will only work while the sun is there and it is very changing depending on geography and season of the year.

In the current energy industry, these super producers need a backup source that in most countries is natural gas and nuclear. Natural gas plants are very versatile and can be switched on and off like no other power plant. But it is a powerful greenhouse effect gas emitter

On the other hand, nuclear power plants are expensive to build and run and have been surrounded by the bad press which makes them too controversial for our policymakers and leaders (although this seems to be changing).

Energy storage

If we want to stop gas power plants at first, and nuclear power stations in the long term, we need to find a way to effectively store the electricity generated by renewable sources to use when needed.

There are several methods to convert this energy to other types and be able to store it. They are, in general, not very…