US: World’s largest 8,500 MWh capacity battery to be built in Maine | The project will use iron-air batteries that are easier to build, maintain and also recycle at the end of their life.
https://interestingengineering.com/energy/worlds-largest-battery-us
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From the article: Somerville, Massachusetts-based Form Energy plans to convert the former paper and pulp mill site in Lincoln, Maine, to one housing the world’s biggest battery installation, injecting up to 85 MW of power into the grid at a time. While other energy storage solutions, such as pumped hydro plants, have much bigger capacity, this will be the first installation at such a scale using battery technology alone.
As the world turns greener with the increased adoption of wind and solar power plants, there is also an urgent need for large-scale energy storage solutions that can store excess renewable energy. While pumped hydro storage can deliver such capacities, it involves a massive construction process and is not feasible in all locations.
Lithium-ion batteries are currently the only go-to solution for versatile energy storage. However, the technology is expensive, has limited hours of output, and also comes with a risk, especially in areas with extreme temperatures. Form Energy uses iron-air technology, which is one-tenth as expensive to deploy, can provide 100 hours of energy output, does not catch fire, and is also easier to recycle.
Is it with the oxidation process? Because here in Germany , the KIT a local university where i live, is pushing the same technology, they are planning to repurpose our old coal plants for big iron air storage, so the massive sites dont have to fully be dismantled, which would be crazy expensive
for me easier maintenance and recycling is a win for the planet! Who else is excited about this breakthrough? 🌟