A common tactic for those opposed to renewable energy is to remind everyone that solar panels don’t produce energy when the sun is down, and wind turbines don’t produce energy when the wind isn’t blowing. Certainly, this is true – meaning there will need to be backup plans to generate energy when renewables are not available. Previous tactics have included maintaining traditional fossil-fuel burning power plants that can be “switched on” when needed. Power storage techniques have also been considered, including the use of pumped-storage ponds where water is essentially pumped up to a pond at a higher elevation, then when needed, water is allowed to flow through a tube to lower elevation while driving turbines to generate energy. Batteries, of course, are also considered for maintaining stored energy.
Researchers at the University of Calgary have found a way to efficiently store renewable energy by developing new electrocatalysts that can be used in electrolyzers, which can generate stored energy in the form of hydrogen. This hydrogen can store energy generated from solar panels or wind turbines and then feed that energy back when the sun is down or the wind isn’t blowing.
These newly developed catalysts have been shown to perform as well or better than other catalysts currently on the market that are 1,000 times more expensive. With the much cheaper and more efficient generation of hydrogen, homeowners and companies will have the option to store excess energy generated during peak power supply periods. Currently, some homeowners have the option to sell excess energy generation back to utility companies when, for example, solar energy generation is greater than the home needs at any one time. This is referred to as Net Metering, and not all utilities provide this service. Sell-back rates are often less than what a homeowner pays the utility company to buy electricity. With the option to store excess generation, homeowners may opt to keep their excess generation for use later in the day when the sun isn’t providing real-time electricity supply.
The Calgary Researchers have already formed a company, named FireWater Fuel, to commercialize the new catalysts. They hope to have a prototype as early as next year.
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