Google parent company, Alphabet, aspires to revolutionize the way we store and utilize renewable energy. Alphabet's X division is researching the capabilities of a salt-based solution that can supposedly store power in a much more efficient way than current technology.
X is famous for its "Explorations" or so called "moonshots" like Glass and drone internet delivery, among many others. The new endeavor though aims to introduce an innovative method of storing energy and tackling the issue of wasting excessive renewable wind and solar power which can't be stored effectively and efficiently with the traditional methods of today.
The project is based on the work and the idea of the Nobel prize-winning Stanford physics professor Robert Laughlin who came up with a storage model, which takes in wind and solar energy in the form of electricity and uses salt to store it as thermal energy by utilizing high and low temperatures at the same time.
'Malta' boasts that the stored energy will last much longer than conventional lithium-ion batteries and, at the same time, provide a more cost-efficient solution. Even though the technology is in the early stages of research and development, the new experiment, if successful, could pave the way for the future and solve renewable energy's storage problem.
In its future plans, Alphabet wants to test the waters by building a prototype power plant and further examining the possibilities of commercial implementation of the Malta technology.
Source & Image: 9to5Google
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