Scientists Turn Red Bricks Into Energy Storage
Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis have found a new use for red bricks, one of the world''s most used building materials.
Imagine plugging into your brick house. Red bricks — some of the world's cheapest and most familiar building materials — can be converted into energy storage units that can be charged to hold electricity, like a battery, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
Pumped hydroelectric facilities are the most common form of energy storage on the grid and account for over 95% of the storage in use today. During off-peak hours, turbines pump water to an elevated reservoir using excess electricity.
You can learn more about these and other energy storage technologies in the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Storage Handbook . There are various forms of batteries, including: lithium-ion, flow, lead acid, sodium, and others designed to meet specific power and duration requirements.
Two forms of storage are suited for long-duration storage: green hydrogen, produced via electrolysis and thermal energy storage. Energy storage is one option to making grids more flexible. Another solution is the use of more dispatchable power plants that can change their output rapidly, for instance peaking power plants to fill in supply gaps.
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