[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6258\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EScience delivers vault for clean energy\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EUnless energy can be squirrelled away at times of plenty to be unearthed at times of scarcity, clean technologies like solar and wind power will always need significant amounts of backup from conventional sources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EThat\u2019s a big issue, not least because the EU\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/energy\/en\/topics\/renewable-energy\/renewable-energy-directive\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ERenewable Energy Directive\u003C\/a\u003E requires Member States to fulfil at least 20 % of their renewable energy needs by 2020, and it\u0027s one of the main challenges in making renewable energy viable for the mass market.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Efficient energy storage is of great importance.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr George Karagiannakis, Associate Researcher, Aerosol and Particle Technology Laboratory \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003ENorway revealed a plan earlier this year to become \u2018Europe\u2019s battery\u2019, suggesting that surplus renewable energy could be used to pump water uphill, driving its vast hydroelectric network when needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EAnd in May, Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and CEO of electric car company Tesla, unveiled plans for a home battery that is charged by solar panels and cheap electricity from the grid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EEuropean researchers are also on the case, and are already in the process of refining several technologies to tackle the problem.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EFor example, Swedish company Ferroamp is developing a device called the EnergyHub, a wall-mounted box that is able to make use of different sources of energy to provide power and charge batteries within the home.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EThe EnergyHub is not a storage solution in itself, but a clever way of routing electricity to balance the provisions of renewable energy sources with the realities of today\u2019s power grids and battery technologies, thereby decreasing reliance on the grid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003E\u2018Solar energy is by definition intermittent and provides energy only when the sun shines,\u2019 said Mats Karlstr\u00f6m of Ferroamp. \u2018You (need to) charge batteries from solar panels during the daytime, and use this energy during the night at an even rate.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESwitch\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EOne main problem in this area is the fact that most power grids and electrical appliances use alternating current (AC), while solar panels and batteries work with direct current (DC). To solve this problem, the EnergyHub contains a directional inverter \u2013 a device which can efficiently switch between the two electricity types.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EWhen the sun is shining brightly,\u0026nbsp;or the wind is blowing strongly,\u0026nbsp;the EnergyHub directs incoming clean energy directly into any batteries it is hooked up to. Conversely, if the winter nights are long, or if there isn\u2019t even the faintest rustle of leaves on the trees, the EnergyHub turns to the grid to recharge the batteries, by converting some of its AC into DC.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EAt any time, of course, the hub can supply normal AC power to a customer \u2013 drawing either on the grid or on batteries \u2013 to power lights, computers, kettles, and so on.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EHubs by other manufacturers also contain inverters, says Karlstr\u00f6m, but Ferroamp\u2019s is unique in being scalable and future-proof. That means it is designed to work with as few or as many renewable energy sources as a customer likes, and will work with any type of battery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EIn a field where technologies\u0026nbsp;are advancing rapidly, this is a key selling point.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003E\u2018One important design factor for EnergyHub was that the customer should be able to modify and add more battery resources any time during the (hub\u2019s) lifetime, as technology and battery costs open up new doors,\u2019 said Karlstr\u00f6m, whose company has received EUR 50 000 in funding from the EU. \u2018We use the same approach for (solar) panel technologies.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EReducing our reliance on the grid even further means going beyond the management of energy storage into energy storage itself, and here researchers are coming up with some novel solutions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EThe SOLENCO project, for instance, is developing a way to use hydrogen gas to store energy. The storage happens when electricity splits water into its constituents, hydrogen and oxygen, via a process known as electrolysis. To get the electricity back, the hydrogen can be used to drive an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EAnother project, RESTRUCTURE, is looking at a more direct method of stockpiling solar energy, this time from concentrated solar power plants. In such plants, a field of mirrors reflects sunlight onto a central tower, which heats up a gas to drive turbines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMidday sun\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EIn the midday sun, concentrated solar power plants can reach temperatures of 600 degrees Celsius or more. Come evening, however, the facilities cool down and can no longer generate useful amounts of electricity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EThe RESTRUCTURE researchers aim to get around this by coating metal oxides onto sponge-like honeycomb materials in the tower. When the metal oxides get hot, they lose their oxygen constituent. Later on, the reverse chemical reaction, oxidation, releases the heat from the material for renewed energy generation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022DefaultStyle\u0022\u003EDr George Karagiannakis, an associate researcher at the Aerosol and Particle Technology Laboratory\u0026nbsp;who is coordinating RESTRUCTURE, said he and his colleagues have already proved the concept in the lab and are now trying to scale it up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-t35fmkjok7sw7iru1iao8ascbjy8njzd9vinfdcfswo\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-t35FMkJok7sw7IrU1iao8ascBJY8Njzd9viNfDCFsWo\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]