AFFORDABLE GRID BATTERIES FROM IRON AND SALT
Inlyte Energy seeks to develop a battery based on two extremely low-cost abundant materials: iron and table salt. The chemistry has the potential to meet all the technical requirements for affordable and secure grid storage, which is crucial for continuing the swift growth of clean wind and solar power globally.
FELLOW
Antonio Baclig
Antonio Baclig studied batteries as a Ph.D. and then postdoc in Stanford’s materials science and engineering department, where he spearheaded the research of novel high-energy density electrolytes for flow batteries. Prior to that, he was one of the first employees at a venture-backed clean energy start-up (C12 Energy), working on a wide range of technical and business tasks. Baclig received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in chemistry and physics and grew up in Oahu, HI.
TECHNOLOGY
Critical Need
As the price of solar and wind energy falls, so must the expense of batteries used for grid storage. Keeping renewables economical will require a battery that matches the power, efficiency, and lifetime of today’s dominant lithium-ion technology. Large-scale grid batteries also need to be safe, inexpensive, and not rely on materials with limited and risky supply chains.
Batteries based on sodium chloride and nickel check all those boxes except for cost. Replacing nickel with iron could be the solution, allowing the batteries to hit the grid-storage target of $35 per kilowatt-hour. Bringing a new sodium–iron chloride battery to market requires materials research and a focused effort on design and engineering to lower manufacturing costs.
Technology Vision
Battery researchers first developed sodium–iron chloride chemistry during the 1970s oil crisis, but technical challenges led them to switch to nickel chloride. Inlyte Energy has found solutions to those issues, paving the way for competitive sodium–iron batteries. With key partnerships with research laboratories and companies, Inlyte Energy will increase the cycle life of the iron chloride and lower the manufacturing cost of the β-alumina ceramic electrolyte needed in the battery. By employing new designs—planar cells instead of cylindrical ones based on β-alumina tubes—Inlyte plans to drive down manufacturing cost. The result? A battery with materials costs just a third that of lithium-ion.
Potential for Impact
Access to affordable clean energy is crucial for slowing down climate change and reducing air pollution. Made with iron and table salt, Inlyte Energy’s battery could enable the low-cost grid storage needed to support the growth of intermittent wind and solar power. It is also easier to optimize to the grid, because adding energy-storage capacity means simply increasing the thickness of the low-cost electrode. Finally, the battery offers energy security. While materials in Li-ion batteries have risky global supply chains, Inlyte’s battery relies on abundant raw materials that would provide every country with secure grid storage for a clean world.