From McKinsey
LDES encompasses a group of conventional and novel technologies, including mechanical, thermal, electrochemical, and chemical storage, that can be deployed competitively to store energy for prolonged periods and scaled up economically to sustain electricity provision, for days or even weeks. What they can provide is system flexibility—the ability to absorb and manage fluctuations in demand and supply by storing energy at times of surplus and releasing it when needed. It offers a way of integrating and providing flexibility to the entire energy system, comprising power, heat, hydrogen, and other forms of energy
From the WSJ
Long-duration batteries, often massive in scale, capture the intermittent power generated by windmills and solar. They can distribute energy over extended periods of time, such as several days, as customers need it. Lithium-ion batteries, by contrast, can only discharge for four or five hours. Much of the technology remains expensive and unproven on a large scale, but an electric grid powered by renewable energy is impossible without it.
A secret weapon for researchers at Argonne is the Advanced Photon Source, a massive high-energy X-ray device that gives scientists the ability to peer inside batteries as they operate. The device can help discover new chemical combinations to maximize battery performance. An upgrade currently under way that will be completed in the next few years will make it 500 times brighter, Argonne scientists said.
More of a discussion in the panel video below
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