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MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
11–20 of 101 posts
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#12Seems to me that the potential of simply lifting a weight up (storage) and down (generation) beats these fancy engineering goals for cost and practicality. Especially if the weight being lifted is a container full of rocks. At first glance there are plenty of those everywhere. No hills or reservoirs needed either.
Of course, no papers need to be published ... that may be the goal.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#13Typical university press release: this technology can revolutionize our energy grid by storing energy in a building’s foundation, because we powered an LED with some tiny cells we made.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#14Seems to me that the potential of simply lifting a weight up (storage) and down (generation) beats these fancy engineering goals for cost and practicality. Especially if the weight being lifted is a container full of rocks. At first glance there are plenty of those everywhere. No hills or reservoirs needed either. Of course, no papers need to be published ... that may be the goal.
I’m excited about gravity storage but everything I’ve read indicates that the density and scalability are just not quite feasible.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#15Seems to me that the potential of simply lifting a weight up (storage) and down (generation) beats these fancy engineering goals for cost and practicality. Especially if the weight being lifted is a container full of rocks. At first glance there are plenty of those everywhere. No hills or reservoirs needed either. Of course, no papers need to be published ... that may be the goal.
I’m excited about gravity storage but everything I’ve read indicates that the density and scalability are just not quite feasible.
It isn't. Even with pumping water up hill and letting it flow down, which is far easier and more efficient, there just isn't the land, elevation, and water for the scale we need.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m excited about gravity storage but everything I’ve read indicates that the density and scalability are just not quite feasible.
It isn't. Even with pumping water up hill and letting it flow down, which is far easier and more efficient, there just isn't the land, elevation, and water for the scale we need.
This is one of those sort-of hyperbolic put downs which goes to "we need" encompassing the entire western worlds power requirements.
No, you can't replace all existing power sources now and into the future by pumped hydro.
Pumped hydro has a massive role to play in power supply, time shifting electricity from renewable sources, providing system resiliency, black start, inductive and inertial load, you-name-it. It also exists. It's in widespread use, across the globe. I have one less than 100km from me here in Qld, there is one under construction in the snowy hydro project (with issues) complementing an existing unit at Tumut, Another at Shoalhaven in NSW and there are two large sites in the UK power grid Dinorwig and Cruachan, both of which supply near-instantaneous (Compared to gas turbine load start (minutes), pumped hydro is fast (seconds). Compared to batteries (milliseconds), It's slow. Batteries have capacity limits too. In the capacity stakes, Pumped hydro can beat them hands-down but for a massive initial capital outlay. Snowy 2.0 will supply DAYS of power. 2Gigawatts, as 350GWh of power. 3 million homes equivalent, for a week. People argue about the economics, not about the underlying capability.
Worldwide there are plenty of good sites, including mine shafts. And, gravity models for power include trains, and cranes. Neither of which will replace all sources of power for all burdens in the network either. The idea this is limited to existing land-surface bodies of water simply isn't true.
Not all useful things have to be able to solve the problems "at the scale we need" to be both useful, and able to solve problems.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know nothing of the topic, but this was the type of thing I reflexively wondered about. Hopefully knowledgeable HNers can fill us in on the likely risks or downsides, which are not typically the focus of university press releases.
Carbon black is produced by burning petroleum productd, so that oughta bring on the poo-poo squad directly.
Would it be possible to produce carbon black from atmospheric CO₂?
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#18So i get the electrolyte, but how does this polarize?
I get the impression the capacitor has no physical polarity, but polarity is assigned by charging it.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
#19Typical university press release: this technology can revolutionize our energy grid by storing energy in a building’s foundation, because we powered an LED with some tiny cells we made.
I thought the same thing, so I went and looked at the paper, and unfortunately, the paper itself has some of these kind of speculative claims as well.
Re: MIT engineers create an energy-storing supercapacitor from ancient materials
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