Hybrid Energy Storage Becomes Big Business says Zhar Research

Delayed electricity is required for backup, to cover intermittency of supply and demand, to smooth fierce inputs and to provide fierce outputs when needed, for example. 

The basic technologies for this include supercapacitors, conventional batteries and facilities resembling chemical factories. 

Between the last two are redox flow batteries RFB headed for $22 billion in sales in 2044 according to the analysis in Zhar Research report, “Redox Flow Batteries: 26 Market Forecasts, Roadmaps, Technologies, 48 Manufacturers, Latest Research Pipeline 2024-2044”. Interestingly, most of that will concern beyond-grid such as microgrids, industrial processes and solar buildings capable of disconnection from the grid. Hybrids of the basic design and a battery are involved.

RFB attributes are very suitable for these needs but, for mainstream grid storage, battery-less solutions such as pumped hydro and underground compressed air have a stronger position, even though RFB can perform the increasingly necessary Long Duration Energy Storage LDES. That is covered by Zhar Research LDES reports.

Hybrids are more than curiosities

A closer look reveals even hybrids of supercapacitors, conventional and redox flow batteries aren't merely curiosities, they are going to outsell some of the core technologies from whence they came.

New analysis by Zhar Research shows Battery Supercapacitor Hybrid BSH, starting with the ones called Lithium-ion Capacitors LIC, will outsell supercapacitors to reach $10 billion in 2044. See Zhar Research report, “Lithium-ion capacitors and other battery supercapacitor hybrid storage: detailed markets, roadmaps, deep technology analysis, manufacturer appraisal, next successes 2024-2044”.

Power and speed

As any karate expert slicing a brick will tell you, the need is both power and speed. Electric equivalents include the new unmanned mining, thermonuclear fusion power and electromagnetic and electrodynamic weapons arriving. 

The supercapacitor bank often used today in these applications provides the speed and fit-and-forget but its size brings inductive and resistive losses and is inconvenient on vehicles, so there are early signs that lithium-ion capacitors LIC are proving better. Actual examples include the Chinese microgrids, shunting locomotives and mining vehicles, the Japan Tokamak fusion reactor and Toyota fuel cells now using them.

Fit-and-forget is demanded

Academics may point out that cycle life sometimes drops from one million for supercapacitors to 50,000 for LIC but industrialists make the more important point that even the lower figure is almost always longer than the life of the equipment to which the LIC is fitted.

In other words, out in the real world, it's still, in effect, infinite life and certainly more than a magnitude better than any battery will achieve. 

This is why Kurt Energy in Germany has a 150kWh LIC driving a large excavator vehicle for fit-and-forget, reliability and safety beyond a lithium-ion battery. 

The SURE company in the Netherlands now employ LIC in its rental e-bikes for greatly improved damage tolerance, life and safety. 

A huge research pipeline, particularly for 2023 and 2024, that is analysed in the report, shows how replacing the lithium in LIC with any of ten metals or exotica such as metal organic frameworks MOF, zeolite ionic frameworks ZIF and MXenes can variously lead to BSH with lower costs, better performance and uncontrolled disposal facilitating much more widespread deployment.

Outselling supercapacitors and traditional RFB

So much for the very important battery supercapacitor hybrids that will outsell supercapacitors. Let us also look at hybrid redox flow batteries that will outsell traditional RFB.

This is analysed in Zhar Research report, “Redox Flow Batteries: Market Forecasts, Roadmaps, Technologies, Manufacturers, Research Pipeline 2024-2044”. The traditional RFB has growing markets despite typically using expensive vanadium that must be recovered at end of life. It looks rather like a chemical factory with its large analyte and catholyte tanks and although ones as small as a few kWh are sold, something more compact, lighter weight and simpler is needed without incurring the flammability, thermal management, battery management cost and associated clutter of lithium-ion batteries.

Hybrid RFB taking a large share

Enter the hybrid of RFB and a conventional battery so, for example, there may be only one tank of liquid. The potential improvement is huge, involving around 60% reduction in size, weight and cost compared to vanadium RFB without performance compromises or valuable or toxic materials being involved. Another huge research pipeline progresses these and companies offering iron, iron chromium and other materials in their hybrid RFB are taking substantial orders now. 

The report finds that RFB will mostly be sold for beyond-grid stationary storage such as industrial processes, solar buildings and microgrids. In 2044, 75% of the $22 billion RFB market will be served by non-vanadium versions that are hybrids such as iron, HBr or HMn-based chemistries.

We have been discussing two different worlds – the BSH mainly managing massive surges in and out and backup and the hybrid RFB mainly providing smoothing and load shifting. Both will sell more into electrical engineering than electronics applications which are still substantial. However, the two hybrids will even compete to some extent. Consider the zero-emission electricity generation that is less intermittent than wind and solar.

It is arriving in the form of ocean wave and open-sea tidal power, for instance, where more modest storage is needed, but it needs to be in a form that is zero maintenance, not flammable, very temperature-tolerant and lasts longer than the equipment to which it is fitted. Both BSH and hybrid RFB are candidates for this. Consider solar buildings arriving everywhere, dead at night. Sustainable Energy Technologies Inc offers BSH for solar buildings and Cougar Creek and ESS offer hybrid RFB for the same application currently covered by lithium-ion batteries with inadequate charge retention and life.

Huge opportunities for devices and their value-added materials

The conclusion must be that you ignore hybrid energy storage technologies at your peril, notably BSH and hybrid RFB. You have major opportunities for your added value materials and devices here.

Capacitor supercapacitor hybrids

A smaller but higher profit opportunity is the tantalum capacitor-supercapacitor hybrid CSH, mostly small devices serving the new forms of laser, radar and military electronics needing better ripple tolerance and smaller size and weight than tantalum electrolytic capacitors. See that analysis in the overview Zhar Research report, “Supercapacitor, pseudocapacitor, CSH and BSH hybrid market forecasts in 30 lines, 95 manufacturers appraised, technology roadmaps, next successes 2024-2044”. 

Learn more at www.zharresearch.com and https://www.giiresearch.com.

Designer Aquaponics is the Aquarium of the Future

Illuminated fish tanks delight from home to restaurant, hotel to cruise ship. Here is your opportunity with the modern equivalent – designer aquaponics. You can support, license, make or sell the aquarium of the future. 

With this, you can educate and otherwise support the vital green revolution. Your customer's school, reception area or other space can display fish and edible plants growing inter-dependently in the same circulated water system. This designer aquarium of the future is luxury decor, a talking point and a magnet for people. Zhar Research is promoting the new venture.

If you are interested in getting involved, you can see one in operation. The residents on display are freshwater crayfish, crabs, shrimps and fish only for display as they feed the greens and herbs you can eat, these purifying the water. Plants grow faster because they have access to nutrients 24 hours a day and optimal lighting. For example, the aquaponic system speeds up the growth of lettuce from two months to one month. This designer form comes with essential know-how and support.

Such aquaponics systems exist in industry but not as the educational, entertaining items of quality furniture presented in this new invention with important associated know-how. They do not harbor soil pests, therefore no pesticides are necessary and water use is near-zero compared to conventional agriculture grabbing most of the world’s clean water. Teach how we can avoid herbicides and artificial fertilise.

No need to fret over complex gardening techniques or soil management. Simply plug it in, set it up, and let the magic unfold. Thanks to its aquaponic system combining plants and fish in one symbiotic system, you will witness a captivating cycle of life as nature’s harmony takes centrestage.

The mesmerising LED lighting, mimicking the gentle hues of sunlight, bathes your plants in a warm, inviting glow. It is not just about aesthetics; it is about creating the perfect environment for growth. The adjustable lighting settings ensure your plants receive the ideal amount of light, encouraging photosynthesis and stimulating their lush greenery. The display fish tank can be at top or bottom, the cabinet size and aesthetics in various designer styles.

Contact us here if you wish to know more about this exciting business opportunity. Sales of individual items are not currently on offer, so you can be in at the beginning.

https://www.zharresearch.com

The Megatrend to Energy Storage Without Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries are not immune from the “S curve”. Their sales are expected to level off within 20 years. One reason is the arrival of better batteries but a bigger impact is coming from failure of any battery to meet certain major new needs for energy storage. This is described in the new 441-page Zhar Research report, “Battery-free electrical energy storage and storage elimination milliWh-GWh: markets, technologies 2024-2044”. 225 companies are mentioned in this context. See 31 forecast lines 2024-2044.

Future electricity grids increasingly escape from batteries

The largest new, emerging requirement comes from most of the world’s electricity grids adopting much more wind and solar power. This usually delivers the lowest cost of electricity but such power is very intermittent and it cannot follow changes in demand. A grid with only 20% wind/ solar can manage with batteries because storing the electricity for a few hours covers most of its requirements. As grids rise to around 50% wind/ solar, it becomes important to compensate solar dead at night and wind dead for similar times. That is why we already see some grids already adopting 12-hour storage where lithium-ion batteries are uneconomic. They leak energy too much and are too expensive so other batteries are used. Also used for this is storage without batteries such as pumping water up mountains (“pumped hydro”) or compressing gases then turning them back into electricity later, when needed.

Grids using mostly wind and solar power are arriving

However, many grids now plan 70-100% wind/ solar power and that makes sense only with average storage one or two months and preferably some storage from summer to winter. Winter power from solar panels is typically only one fifth of that in summer. Wind can be dead for months. No battery can achieve one month or more of storage economically. Storage without batteries, including extra options such as lifting weights or making liquid air are beginning to be used. Making hydrogen (then back to electricity) is also proposed for this. Battery-free technology replaces batteries because the needs change to where batteries are useless. Other benefits of the battery-free storage include life of up to 100 years and typically no toxic or scarce materials. Indeed, most of the non-battery options can provide both short-term and long-term grid storage.

Huge increase in needs for pulsed electricity

Another change in demand increasingly leaves batteries as useless. It is the many new forms of engineering that require pulses of power in and out. Examples are the new military laser pistols and large stationary laser cannon also planned on ships. There are even new weapons that shoot out electromagnetic energy that disables all electronics on an aircraft. Within 20 years we may also see the first thermonuclear electricity generation based on such pulsed storage. Meanwhile, Evans fit-and-forget, tantalum capacitor-supercapacitors are already used by most Tier One defense and aerospace contractors. Applications include laser targeting, communications modules, controls, cockpit displays, phased array radars and control of firing of weapons – all growth markets.

The medical sector uses electrical pulses in MRI body scanners but now many more medical devices with similar needs for pulses are arriving, including robotic treatments. The trends to fit-and-forget devices and very fast charging also make us escape from batteries. 

An example is robot vehicles in factories. The new hydrogen high-speed trains in China cannot provide the fast acceleration and capture of braking energy with batteries. In all these cases supercapacitors or their variants are chosen. The supercapacitor variants are mostly intermediate in technology between conventional capacitors and supercapacitors or between supercapacitors and batteries.

Here comes a $230 billion market for you

The current market for battery alternatives mainly consists of pumped hydro for grids at tens of billions of dollars yearly and supercapacitors at the billion-dollar level. That is only a beginning. Indeed, Zhar Research finds that the battery-free (storage without batteries) market will exceed $230 billion in 2044 with growth rate accelerating throughout the coming years. It reveals your enormous opportunities to sell materials and hardware into this new business. 

In addition the report has coverage of the move to eliminate electrical storage altogether. For example, a later stage of the planned 6G Communications may power devices from the signal beam. However, most of the Zhar Research report “Battery-free electrical energy storage and storage elimination milliWh-GWh: markets, technologies 2024-2044” analyses the huge opportunity for alternatives to batteries.

https://www.zharresearch.com