So this thread will be dedicated to discussing the broad area of electricity, and will move beyond our hobby and can include ANYTHING to do with electricity. Only thing I want is NO COAL 
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Tony Hawk, starring in the new Hulk film
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Lithium ion batteries are not sustainable and impractical for grid level storage.
Just because you can make a ridicuously massive lithium ion battery with a million mile range doesnt mean it’s actually a good idea.
The future is aluminum ion batteries, and fuel-cell (running waste vegetable oil and biodiesel) supercapacitor hybrids. We have a MASSIVE recycling and processing infrastructure for aluminum already set up.
Grid problems will be solved by nuclear fusion.
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I agree that batteries in their current form aren’t the best solution. Unfortunately things like nuclear fusion are decades from being usable in large scale commercial operations, whereas lithium is where things are at currently. Got something I can read on aluminum ion batteries? Never heard of it
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Basically, they will have a slightly lower terminal voltage at 2.65V, but triple the capacity. Aluminum ions actually have a slightly smaller atomic radius than lithium ions.
Not to mention easier and cheaper to produce and recycle.
Pumped storage has been a proven technology for decades and it is still more practical than grid level battery storage.
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Sound super cool, I’ll have a read tonight.
Pumped storage using batteries is what Tesla’s end goal is. The idea is that the things that have batteries (car, Powerwall) will feed the grid when costs are high and pull from the grid when costs are low. They recently applied and were granted permission to operate as a grid level supplier in the UK. I know the batteries arent ideal, but there is a serious level of vertical integration happening here that will make costs lower for everyone. Tesla already produces cars, batteries, inverters, solar panels and now the last piece of the puzzle is linking everything together. Use of aluminum ion will simply increase the amount we can safely store. The next 10 years or so of batteries will be crazy I think
Pumped storage uses water and a height difference.
way cheaper per kWh than batteries at large scale
the UK uses pumped storage extensively to balance grid load.
don’t buy into the snake oil.
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Okay that seems like a really cool way of doing it. At what point though do load balancing techniques cease to be effective because eventually one day we will have so many solar panels and wind farms that load balancing isn’t even required? My knowledge of grid level power is spotty at best
When the entire world has encompassed by one massive power grid, which will probably never happen, because the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and governments that hate each other are a thing.
Why? solar panels don’t work at night
The wind doesn’t always blow.
Nuclear Fusion’s on-demand power generation will solve that problem.
How far off are we for usable nuclear fusion?
ITER, the experimental reactor is expected to come online in 2025.
DEMO, the first commercial power station, 2040.
The promise of unlimited clean energy
The fuel is water, the waste is completely inert helium.
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I just heard nikola tesla smile…
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It’s always been 30 years away.
But like @Gamer43 said ITER is being constructed as we speak, it’ll surpass the LHC as the largest and most expensive science experiment.
I think their hope is a 1:2 power generation ratio.
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1:10 input to output ratio :).
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100% safe Fission - already happened in 60s but shut down, needs to be revived. 5 min video ahead…
I’d say more like 99.99% safe. Nothing is 100% safe.
But yeah, getting scared away from nuclear was a huge mistake for humanity, and the planet got fucked partially because of that.
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esk8 motors with adjustable kv?
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It’s called adding rotor iron and applying a negative d axis current.
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