Silbat
Long duration electricity storage in melting silicon
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The start-up
Silbat is a deep tech startup founded in 2019 for the development, production, and marketing of a disruptive electricity storage solution based on the latent heat of metal-grade silicon and its back-conversion to electricity using thermophotovoltaics.
The need
Cost-effective long duration stationary electricity storage is required to enable the predicted and necessary ramp-up of renewables to mitigate climate change. This currently relies on location constrained pumped hydro. Ultra-cheap, portable, fast to deploy technologies are urgently required.
The solution
Silbat has developed a silicon battery that is set to transform the landscape of long duration stationary storage. The solution is based on the latent heat of metal-grade silicon and its back-conversion to electricity using thermophotovoltaics. According to MIT research, cost-effectively turning renewables into dispatchable electricity sources requires long-duration storage with capital expenses of less than $20/kWh. Silbat’s battery can do it for less than $10/kWh.
The value proposition
- The potential to be extremely cheap <$10/kWh and enables a 100% RE supply paradigm.
- Highest energy density, only comparable to power-to-gas and superior to the best Li-ion batteries.
- 30 yr lifetime with low O&M (vs. Li-ion ~5yrs. lifetime).
- Highly abundant, widely found raw materials – 1000X than Li-Co-Ni-Mn in Li-ion batteries or Pt-Pd in electrolyser stacks.
- Silent operation and quick start – solid-state conversion, no moving parts.