. The rapid addition of battery storage systems is one reason why the two big states are better able to weather this year’s heat waves.
“The way I think about it is that our body has fast twitch and slow twitch muscles, with some muscles for sprinting and some for endurance. Lithium-ion is sort of the fast twitch muscles; it's great for rapid response, but at some point you run out of juice and then have to switch to the marathon runner’s muscles, which will be something different,” he said.
But that also depends on how long Form’s batteries last. The company thinks they’ll be usable for 10 years and Jaramillo believes they could have a two-decade lifespan. The way the battery works is that a porous iron plate is submerged in a water-based electrolyte solution. It generates an electrochemical cycle the company describes as “reversible” rusting. As it discharges electricity, the battery absorbs oxygen from the air and converts iron metal to rust. When charging, the electrical current flowing in converts the rust back to iron and the battery releases oxygen. But the iron itself is never consumed, making the batteries very durable.
But doing that at a low cost looks challenging to Berkeley Lab’s Kostecki, given that the real-world usable life hasn’t been verified.