Welcome to "This Week in Batteries" (TWIB for short). Electrochemical energy storage, or batteries, if you prefer, seems to be all over the news lately, and for good reason. Without getting into any controversy about global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or the wisdom of debating complex science by email, I think we can all agree that humans would be better off if we cut back the amount of CO2 that we put into Earth’s atmosphere, and that reducing our dependence on oil is one big step toward that. (I suppose you may disagree if you work for an oil company!)
Improved batteries are a fundamental element of enabling this, whether for transportation or for power grid storage.
But with interest comes hype, and misinformation. And there is a lot of it when it comes to batteries! My purpose in starting this blog is to be an (arguably) independent expert evaluating the various news items that come across my virtual, desk and provide some objective analysis to help you separate the truth from the hype.
The name TWIB is a take on TWIT, which stands for "This Week in Tech", a podcast by Leo Laporte (see http://twit.tv/). TWIT is one of the top-rated tech podcasts out there and has spawned a whole lot of "This Week in.." podcasts, including "This Week in Law", "...in Google" etc. A combination of an iPhone and TWIT is guaranteed to make sure you are not bored for the hour you spend on the treadmill everyday, but that's for another blog.
Leo appears to be running a grand franchise with sponsors, etc. I do not have any sponsors (but would love some. Call me), and have rent to pay. So I have a day job as a Staff Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and this blog's upkeep will be subject to me hanging on to that day job. The "This Week" portion of TWIB may be a tad optimistic, but, hey, one can hope. I promise that I will be online everytime there is a newsworthy event.
I will start the blog with a few generic postings to set the stage for what is possible with batteries. We will start by talking about limits of energy density of batteries and ask why the development of batteries has not proceeded as well as in, say, semiconductors (short answer: moving electrons is one thing, reacting them is a whole other story). I'll also say something about the problems in getting PHEVs/EVs on the road (in a word: cost) and ask if nanotechnology is the answer to all our problems (not really, but it has its uses). I will also deviate a bit from my comfort zone, go crazy, and say a few things about making money in the battery business (Anyone thinking about making money in the battery business is obviously crazy!)
So let’s hope you have fun reading this blog (and let’s hope I have fun writing it).
Thank you Venkat, this is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Please post every day.
ReplyDeleteVenkat, congrats on your new blog. I think battery technology will be one of the most important areas of development for the next decades.
ReplyDeleteI have a question to you. When I read around on the web, I see news of breakthroughs almost on a daily basis, a lot more than a few years ago. Is there really so much more development going on, or is it merely the attention it gets from the media?
Anne- Its a little bit of both. The high gas prices that we saw 2 years ago helped get the public (and the media) interested in more energy efficient vehicles. And there is so much talk about green jobs now that battery technology has become a important issue. With attention comes more funds, both in the research and the technology side. More and more scientists from various fields are getting interested in energy storage. The obvious result of this is more breakthroughs and new technologies being developed. Its a great time to be in the field of batteries.
ReplyDeleteVenkat
Venkat - thanks
ReplyDeleteVenkat,
ReplyDeleteI don't like the making money in the battery business is for locos. Seeing as I hope to accomplish that in the next 5 years. :)
This is such a great idea for a blog. Obviously you must know a lot about batteries to have started it. I have always had this question, "Why are batteries so expensive?"
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I wouldn't have initially thought I could find a blog specifically on batteries all that interesting, but you've done a great job. Congrats on your new blog and I look forward to reading more.
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Hi Venkat,
ReplyDeleteAnything you can do to promote reducing CO2 emissions and generally taking more care of our planet with thinks like promoting more use of Solar power, CO2 emissions, and yes even dependency on oil is a great thing, and I applaud you for doing this.
Keep up the excellent work.
Regards
Jen
P.S. My Mission is to specially promote Solar Power awareness so lets work together on getting the message out there that the Earth is a finite research which we should be ensuring we really do look after.
I have been working on a lot of battery backup systems at work and finding it interesting how the temperature range can effect the performance of the batteries in a big way. I'm intrigued by your blog and hope you continue to post.
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Thanks Venkat ! I am glad to meet you. I just came back from 15 days holidays and got chance of reading your article. This is awesome. You shared informative post. I appreciate your way of sharing the things with others. Great !
ReplyDeletenice one.. very informative..keep it coming.
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I support your saying "we cut back the amount of CO2 that we put into Earth’s atmosphere, and that reducing our dependence on oil is one big step toward that", everyone all over the world should wake up and do something in order to save the Earth’s atmosphere!
ReplyDeleteAre you finding it difficult to get government funding for your team's research? What about corporate sponsorship?
ReplyDeleteTechnologies help the world go green - thanks for the efforts!
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or the wisdom of debating complex science by email, I think we can all agree that humans would be better off if we cut back the amount of CO2 that we put into Earth’s atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI hear you whith the following: "Improved batteries are a fundamental element of enabling this, whether for transportation or for power grid storage". If we won't wake up as soon as possible and stop ruining our planet with all non expendable garbage, we'll regret it later on!
ReplyDelete