Large iron batteries may very well be key to displacing pure fuel from the grid

VoltStorage’s iron-salt batteries assist it land $24 million Sequence C from Cummins, the diesel engine large

With the approaching passage of the Inflation Discount Act, renewables are about to get a contemporary jolt within the U.S. They’re already a number of the least expensive sources of electrical energy to construct and run, however they haven’t taken over as a result of they’re usually depending on the climate.

The straightforward answer is to retailer any extra energy produced, however that raises the general price of renewable energy. That’s set off a race amongst startups to seek out the most affordable strategy to do it, from batteries to compressed air and even giant concrete blocks.

The entrance runner thus far seems to be batteries, a lot of which use the identical lithium-ion chemistries present in EV batteries. The dimensions of EV battery manufacturing has made lithium-ion straightforward to acquire, permitting it to get a foothold within the sector, however its long-term prospects for grid-scale storage are murkier given its excessive price of supplies.

Competitors for battery supplies is intensifying, and there are many uses for batteries beyond EVs, which is why some firms, like Germany’s VoltStorage, try to construct batteries utilizing the most affordable, most generally obtainable supplies doable — mainly, iron.