Plurion | Case Study Energy On Demand

Plurion and C0₂Reduction | Energy on Demand | Wind and Solar Generation

Aligning energy collection with energy consumption isn’t easy. In fact, technologies such as photovoltaics and windmills lack utility-scale batteries that can adequately store and generate power when it’s needed. At least 3 percent of all renewable energy produced in the US is wasted because it cannot be immediately consumed, according to the United States Department of Energy. But with the Plurion battery, renewable energy technology starts to become truly viable, delivering peak power on demand.

Based on patented breakthroughs in the science of Reduction/Oxidation (Redox), Plurion’s high-capacity electrical storage batteries work by housing electricity generated by both conventional and renewable energy sources and then delivering electricity directly to the power grid during periods of peak usage or emergency outages. Designed to store anywhere from 100W to 5MW of power in modular configurations, Plurion batteries can deliver a high per-cell voltage (2.6v) through environmentally-friendly materials and fault-tolerant chemistry.

“The Plurion battery offers an economical, low-maintenance solution for storing and distributing electricity,” explains Robert Clarke, chief technology officer at AIC and one of the technology's early pioneers. “Because it’s a flow battery with reusable electrolytes, the system has an exceptionally long life span.”

With the United States Department of Energy projecting a 50 percent surge in power demand by 2030, technologies like the Plurion battery stand to play a pivotal role in transforming the world’s energy infrastructure. Even in the absence of major power failures, advanced battery technologies could save tens of billions of dollars annually, according to a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. “Plurion makes storing and transporting large reserves of electricity a reality,” says Clarke.

Click here to learn more about carbon-reduction measures in the United States.

Sources:
Promoting Low-Carbon Electricity Production
Issues in Science and Technology, March 22, 2007

U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory
US EPA Report 430-R-07-002, 2005

Understanding the Cost of Power Interruptions to U.S. Electricity Consumers
Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2007, Report # DOE-EIC-0383

California is among several states that have committed to generating at least 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010, and state energy agencies are considering increasing this goal to 33 percent by 2020. California is also considering policies to help the electricity sector reduce its share of emissions—specifically, adopting an emissions “cap” that would limit emissions from any new power plant to the amount emitted by a combined-cycle natural gas plant of equivalent generating capacity.

Nationwide, US legislators are considering instituting an emissions “tax,” cap-and-trade systems, and renewable energy portfolio standards. But a meaningful shift towards renewable energy sources such as wind, wave, and solar necessitates the availability of electricity storage technologies such as Plurion’s flow batteries to manage generation and transmission of these inherently intermittent energy sources.