Tag: batteries

As demand for energy skyrockets amid the rise of AI, one of Tesla’s co-founders is betting on a new solution: giving old EV batteries a second life. JB Straubel, who helped launch Tesla and served as its CTO until 2019, founded Redwood Materials in 2017 to recycle batteries and build a closed-loop supply chain for electric vehicles. Now, Straubel is using EV batteries that still hold usable capacity for grid-scale energy storage. Redwood’s new energy division recently partnered with AI infrastructure company Crusoe to launch its first microgrid, showcasing how repurposed batteries can help power data centers. CNBC visited Redwood’s Nevada operations to see how the company has grown and to learn more about its plans to use second-life batteries to meet the surging energy needs of the AI era

Sodium-ion battery technology isn’t exactly new, but something interesting is happening. CATL, the world’s biggest lithium battery manufacturer, says that up to half the market could switch to sodium. That’s right—the biggest name in lithium batteries is betting against lithium. Looks like lithium might need to recharge its reputation. After all, sodium-ion batteries are nearly as good lithium, and salt is much cheaper and easier to access than lithium. So maybe its not surprising that CATL and some other companies are getting ready to manufacture huge numbers of them in preparation for what could be a massive market shift. But is sodium really the future of energy storage, or is it just another battery technology destined to live in lithium-ion’s shadow?

We can’t control the weather (yet). But we can control how we store weather-dependent renewable energy. By making use of salt caves, former mining sites, and depleted gas wells, compressed air energy storage can be an effective understudy when wind or solar aren’t available. It has the potential to offer longer-duration storage that other technologies can’t for a lower capital investment. Can compressed air change the energy storage game? Or is it just a little too niche?

If there’s any doubt that solid state batteries are actually here, well … here’s your proof. You can actually buy this for yourself and get it delivered to your door in a day or two. No, solid state batteries aren’t everywhere and definitely not mass market yet, but they also aren’t vaporware and always five years away. Just like this Yoshino battery, there’s other solid state batteries right on the cusp of ending up in consumer electronics devices near you. But do these early versions live up to the hype? And who is this Yoshino battery really good for?