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Energy Transition Green Innovation

Polyjoule: Can Plastic Produce

Cheaper, Safer and Better Batteries
for Renewable Power?

Traditional
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issues, not
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Boston startup is looking
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newNo, materials
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 AuthorMark Newton, 07.18.22
DE / EN
Translation Sarah-Indra Jungblut: DE Version

Many facets need to be in place for a renewable energy transition to truly take
place. One of the most pressing is the developments and refinement of energy
storage solutions. With many renewable energy sources providing intermittent
power supply, it’s important to be able to store this energy for later use.
Until now, lithium ion batteries have largely been used for energy storage and
transportation. However, these come with some significant downsides, most
notably their expense and volatile nature. Startups like the Boston-based
Polyjoule are now looking to new materials to match and even exceed the
ability of lithium-ion batteries.
Unlike lithium ion batteries, Polyjoule uses electrodes made of conductive
polymers. These are plastic-like non-metal, organic compounds which function
as metals for the purposes of charging and discharging energy in a battery.
Polyjoule outlined their approach:
“Our conductive polymer-based technology uses a standard, two electrode
electrochemical cell that contains conductive polymers, a carbon-graphene
hybrid, and a non-flammable liquid electrolyte. At the electrode level,  positive
ions (cations) and negative ions (anions) travel back and forth between the
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you agree toand During charging, the ionsseeare
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stored in thePolicyelectrode bulk through a Faradaic process called oxidation. During
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discharging, the ions are expelled from the electrodes through a Faradaic
DE / EN
process called reduction.”

The 1.5 degree target is unattainable without a real transformation of our

energy system. But how can it succeed? What are the energy sources of the
future? What digital solutions are ready and where are innovations needed?
And how can the transformation be driven forward?

The RESET Greenbook “Energy Transition – The Future is

Networked” presents digital, innovative solutions and sheds light on the
background.

In this sense, the Polyjoule battery functions much like a traditional battery,
although its materials
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enhance Firstly, the Polyjoule is see
your user experience.
cookies. For further information, please
described
our Privacy as ‘ultra-safe’ and unlike lithium-ion batteries will not become warped
Policy
or disfigured
No, thanks withAgreeoveruse. They can also be used at wider temperatures and
require no special transportation or manufacturing requirements. Polyjoule CEO
Eli Paster suggests they wanted to develop a flexibleDEand
/ EN
convenient battery for
users:
“We want to make a really robust, low-cost battery that just goes everywhere.
You can slap it anywhere and you don’t have to worry about it.”
Polyjoule also claims their polymer battery outperforms lithium-ion across the
spectrum. Whereas an average lithium-ion battery might manage around 5,000
charge cycles in its lifetime, a Polyjoule battery can perform around 12,000. It is
also able to discharge around 1MW of power in 10 seconds, compared to the 60
seconds an average lithium-ion battery needs. The team also suggests a
Polyjoule can be charged in under 5 minutes, whereas some lithium-ion
batteries take up to two hours.

STORING RENEWABLE ENERGY

The intermittent nature of renewable energy means in certain conditions a
surplus of power may be generated. To prevent this going to waste, this power
must be stored for later use. The simplest method is using the generated
electricity to charge batteries, but this comes with environmental and financial
issues.

Another method is to convert that energy into a different form using less
traditional ‘batteries’. For example, this could involve heating stones, lifting
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weights, pumping water or producing hydrogen.
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But another important area is expense. One of the critical complaints with
lithium-ion batteries is their cost. Although they haveDEreduced
/ EN
drastically in
price in the last decade, they still average around 132 USD per kilowatt hour.
Experts suggest for batteries to be useful in renewable energy storage, this
needs to be reduced to around 20 USD. Polyjoule is not quite at that point yet,
but the team claims their batteries function at around 65 USD per kilowatt hour.
Additionally, since they are constructed entirely of polymer, Polyjoule batteries
do not contain minerals such as lithium or cobalt which must be extracted and
refined before use. Their water-based manufacturing chemistry can be
produced using already commercially available equipment, and do not require
‘clean room’ conditions. To prove ease of production, the startup has already
produced over 10,000 Polyjoule batteries using simple roll-to-roll processing.
There is, however, one downside to the Polyjoule – their energy density.
Compared to lithium-ion batteries of a similar capacity, the Polyjoule battery
packs are two to five times larger. As a result, Polyjoule has suggested their
batteries will not be ideal for electric vehicles and other applications where size
is an important consideration. Therefore, Polyjoule is directing their batteries
largely towards static applications, such as industrial energy storage, data
centres. In particular, they suggest their batteries will be particularly useful in
situations where a lot of energy is needed quickly, such as in critical
infrastructure and renewable energy management.
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 renewable energy Special Feature Energy
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