"Search for the Super Battery" on PBS NOVA this week

[BluestarE3]

Search for the Super Battery — NOVA | PBS

Program description:

We live in an age when technological innovation seems to be limitlessly soaring. But for all the satisfying speed with which our gadgets have improved, many of them share a frustrating weakness: the batteries. Though they have improved in last century, batteries remain finicky, bulky, expensive, toxic, and maddeningly short-lived. The quest is on for a “super battery,” and the stakes in this hunt are much higher than the phone in your pocket. With climate change looming, electric cars and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power could hold keys to a greener future...if we can engineer the perfect battery. Join host David Pogue as he explores the hidden world of energy storage, from the power—and danger—of the lithium-ion batteries we use today, to the bold innovations that could one day charge our world.

 

[SpiceWare]

A couple days ago David Pogue tweeted a link to this 6+ minute preview of it. Looks interesting, I'd have set my Mac mini DVR to record it if NOVA wasn't already getting recorded

Making a better battery

 

[scaesare]

Excellent... DVR set. Thanks for the heads-up @BluestarE3

 

[TechVP]

Good show that illustrated in a consumer friendly way where we are with battery tech, and where battery technology is taking us.

For those who missed it, NOVA covered an important development at ionic Materials
Ionic Materials | Home
Which replaces current flammable battery electrolyte with a novel solid polymer.

"Current batteries are low energy, unsafe, and expensive. Liquid electrolytes are holding them back.
Ionic Materials’ novel Polymer is the world’s first polymer with all of the necessary properties to replace liquid electrolytes."

The section w/ Mike Zimmerman is at about 34 minutes in.
If this tech holds up, predictions are of a doubling of current capacity and stable durability. Which could be ideal for automotive use.

The entire video will go live soon. Check the link from the OP.

 

[Dutchie]

Great show, especially the development of solid state Li-io batteries was very interesting. Also the cheape alternatives for grid storage using ordinary salts.

 

[TexLaw]

That was a good show. I certainly learned a few things about what may be coming down the road. The design with the plastic electrolyte could be an enormous game-changer.

Pogue is a pretty good presenter, even if he gets in the way of the information from time to time by taking the clown act too far. As long as he's getting folks to pay attention without blowing too much smoke, though, I'll take him.

 

[Solarman004]

Very well done. I also liked the Mike Zimmerman segment mentioned above by @TechVP. If this can be scaled to large volume production, it's a game changer.

 

[BluestarE3]

My main takeaways from the program are that:

• "battery" has a much broader definition than what most people associate with that term,
• energy storage is as important to the grid as energy generation
  
• and there isn't a single type of "super battery" that will optimally address the entire range of energy storage needs

I agree with everyone above that the Zimmerman segment on the solid state battery is exciting stuff. I'm also glad he cautioned that it will require years of additional R&D before it leaves the lab and becomes commercially viable.

 

[nwdiver]

• "battery" has a much broader definition than what most people associate with that term,

Exactly... that's why I kinda do an eye-roll every-time someone tries pull to the 'sufficient grid storage is impossible' card. So...so... so many ways to store energy. It's gonna be interesting to see which ones scale up.

 

[FutureShock]

Good show. Would've liked about 10 more minutes of technical info and 10 fewer minutes of Pogue clowning around, though.
.