Aquion Energy Revolutionizing Batteries

Going green on a large scale level isn’t easy but Aquion Energy, a business startup making a revolutionary new type of battery, is making the transition to greener technology more efficient and much more cost effective by using sodium.

Changing anything with our outdated power grid isn’t easy. Presently, our power grid does an adequate job of moving produced energy from one place to another but responding to the varying demands placed on it is a challenge. It can move energy but it’s very difficult and not very cost effective to store that energy.

Take solar and wind power as an example. These technologies are not capable of producing the same levels of power all of the time. Solar panels only work during the day and wind turbines only work when there’s wind and as most of us know, wind is generally strongest and most consistent during the day. Unlike traditional coal power plants who can adjust the amount of power production 24 hours a day, greener technologies need a way to store the electricity produced in order to provide it to users during times of low to no production.

Current lithium batteries are efficient and expensive. These batteries cost between $500 and $1,000 per kilowatt hour stored to produce. A new type of battery made by business startup Aquion Energy uses sodium ions and costs only $300 per kilowatt hour stored and what is better, it can operate in temperatures between -10° C and 60° C and will last 5,000 cycles from a complete charge to a complete discharge.

If the green revolution takes place, the power grid is going to become more crowded and have to respond to many more varying demands. Just think of how many electric cars may be plugged in to the grid as they become more popular and if solar and wind energies become more widespread on the grid, more power will have to be stored making cost effective battery technology a must. Aquion Energy is answering that call.

Aquion Energy has raised more than $20 million in funding from sources like Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Foundation Capital and it is it is finishing the legal procedures to sign an agreement on an additional $10 million. Although competing battery technologies like the recently announced lithium-oxygen battery claim to be the next generation of battery technology, Aquion Energy isn’t worried. This business startup claims to have the best battery at the best price for tomorrow’s energy needs.