www.ted.com What’s the key to using alternative energy, like solar and wind? Storage — so we can have power on tap even when the sun’s not out and the wind’s not blowing. In this accessible, inspiring talk, Donald Sadoway takes to the blackboard to show us the future of large-scale batteries that store renewable energy. As he says “We need to think about the problem differently. We need to think big. We need to think cheap.”TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the “Sixth Sense” wearable tech, and “Lost” producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com If you have questions or comments about this or other TED videos, please go to support.ted.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5
25 comments
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foggy4180 says:
February 4, 2013 at 4:53 pm (UTC 0)
Take a look on graphene on youtube and the solution is there.for solar cells, storage and batteries, cars, planes, clean drinking water out of sea and a whole lot more.
podskizee says:
February 4, 2013 at 5:15 pm (UTC 0)
Wow, where did you get all these numbers?
Robert Bernal says:
February 4, 2013 at 6:09 pm (UTC 0)
It may still be expensive, but machines WILL lead to the EXPONENTIAL growth of solar, to the tune of some 100,000 square miles, globally. Giant “pools” of molten metals and salt will store it. ONLY then will solar be cheap.
Do not base the FUTURE of energy on the past.
miles4711 says:
February 4, 2013 at 6:21 pm (UTC 0)
Nice advertisement talk to promote his invention.
crazywaterz says:
February 4, 2013 at 7:04 pm (UTC 0)
It’s STORAGE solution, not an energy production solution like your irrelevant example. It is a giant UPS for storing electricity when there is no sun or wind. You’re now a certified bozo. Go back to school.
Rob Freda says:
February 4, 2013 at 7:18 pm (UTC 0)
REALITY. Wind = $.09-13 kWh, solar = $.18-.25 Natural gas = $.065 kWh. Wind subsidy = $.0265 kWh AGM batteries = $250 per kWh. (MIT review liquid metal cost 1/3 “today’s best battery”) Liquid metal = ~$80 per kWh. Per 1 MW wind turbine storage (to operate like NG or coal needs 3 days of storage minimum) = 1000 x 24 x 3 = 72,000 kWh, 72,000 x 80 = $5,760,000. 1 MW GE wind turbine all-in cost = $1,800,000. Sadoway’s cost of wind = $.28 and solar = $.60 per kWh.
Solution? not even close.
fullfist says:
February 4, 2013 at 7:19 pm (UTC 0)
“no subsidy”, very impressive and important.
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because the fossil fuels we use now are actually subsidized, that’s the politics of keeping the oil industry in business.
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if this could get the same subsidy and attention, well, who knows.
52111centrumcz says:
February 4, 2013 at 7:53 pm (UTC 0)
40% round trip efficiency and very expensive catalysts (so far). So while it is possible, it is extremely expensive.
Lavelle Klopp says:
February 4, 2013 at 8:17 pm (UTC 0)
Hey There! Thanks a lot for this helpful video. By the way, I notice lots of people keep on talking about Xobotano Home Energy (google it), but I’m not sure if it is good. Have you ever tried this alternative home energy called Xobotano Home Energy? I have heard some incredible things about it.
bighands69 says:
February 4, 2013 at 8:31 pm (UTC 0)
Hydrogen energy storage is also a solution as there is allot of water on earth that could be used to create hydrogen.
And when that hydrogen has been used it can be used to form water for either drinking or putting back into the oceans.
bighands69 says:
February 4, 2013 at 9:27 pm (UTC 0)
With efficiency the amount of rare metal needed will be reduced. Rare metal can also be integrated with carbon and silicon to create greater efficiency.
Recycling is also going to become big business as energy systems produce abundance.
Reserves will stretch out as systems become more efficient.
There is a looming graphene industry coming around the corner that will replace allot of metal such as copper.
concretecorner says:
February 4, 2013 at 10:22 pm (UTC 0)
sorry but can i ask, what did they “invent”? another battery? a-ha, OK….
good work
madass888 says:
February 4, 2013 at 11:20 pm (UTC 0)
Any downsides?
RATHAUR1942 says:
February 4, 2013 at 11:58 pm (UTC 0)
Magnesium is a highly combustible material. How do you take care of fire and explosion hazard when all ingredients of such event are present viz. magnesium, possible electrical spark and air?
Changeress says:
February 5, 2013 at 12:19 am (UTC 0)
Now that’s what you call changing the world!! Awesome work and breakthrough for the countless off grid communities. Rock on!
James Davis jr says:
February 5, 2013 at 12:22 am (UTC 0)
BRAVO!!!
PVfeasibilitystudy says:
February 5, 2013 at 12:41 am (UTC 0)
Visit the best Solar Energy Blog
romaniasolarenergy.blogspot.ro
pepo123455 says:
February 5, 2013 at 1:39 am (UTC 0)
for me the best Professor “online”
Bengt Gustafsson says:
February 5, 2013 at 1:49 am (UTC 0)
According to Wikipedia Antimony is a rare metal. Only 120 000 tonnes produced per year. Worse still, reserves at this rate last only 15 years. Dirt cheap material???
usksonic says:
February 5, 2013 at 1:53 am (UTC 0)
The Solution to renewable energy is that special material that in reality, it does nothing. Find it NASA.
Muhammad Ardiansyah says:
February 5, 2013 at 2:22 am (UTC 0)
this is great video
Gonzalo Choque Kuno says:
February 5, 2013 at 2:41 am (UTC 0)
Thank you!!!!
BeeAre says:
February 5, 2013 at 2:46 am (UTC 0)
Anyone making any kind of second law of thermodynamics argument disputing this neat idea working is the sort of person who thinks that you can’t slow down entropy, thus the classic metaphor: a messy room can never be clean. It’s horseshit. *SHRUG* Take resources that you have, and use them to improve the management of said resources. You don’t abandon ANY resource. Ever. Period. You abandon a resource has when it has been USED UP. If not, it’s idiocy to not keep it on-hand, say, for emergencies.
Andrew Gedman says:
February 5, 2013 at 3:07 am (UTC 0)
As a substation electrician apprentice the heat these things generate makes me nervous as it pertains to maintenance. Wont this thing demand a hell of an inverter? if you put one of these in every wind and solar generation yard are you suggesting we produce the power in dc? What is the projected life of this battery?
As a Conceptually this talk is on point but it leaves me with so many questions technically.
starvafo says:
February 5, 2013 at 3:27 am (UTC 0)
Pat MIT Professor Donald Safeway has the answer for renewable energy.