Can You Store Electricity for Later?

You probably use a lot of electricity every day. You might even be using it to read this article! We use different amounts of electricity throughout the day. At times, we use little. At other times, we use a lot. 
Sometimes, power plants generate more electricity than we need. If we don’t use it, it goes to waste. That’s because we can’t store electrical energy.

How can we avoid wasting it? Well, we can convert it into other forms of energy that can be stored.  For example, batteries can convert electrical energy into chemical potential energy. Other systems can convert electrical energy other types of energy. Examples include mechanical and gravitational potential energy. We can convert them all into electrical energy when we need it.

Let’s look at how some energy storage technologies work.

Did you know?

The energy storage market is growing. Researchers project that it will be 13 times bigger in 2024 than it was in 2019!

What is Chemical Potential Energy Storage? 

Batteries consist of one or more electrochemical cells. These cells can store chemical energy. They can also convert it to electrical energy.

You probably use batteries a lot. Maybe you have a flashlight powered by alkaline batteries. Smartphones and laptop computers runs on lithium-ion batteries. But batteries can be much bigger than the ones in your devices.

Large-scale energy storage uses two main types of batteries: 

• Solid-state batteries store energy in a solid electrolyte. 
• Flow batteries store energy in a liquid electrolyte. 
   

Did you know?

Microbial fuel cells  produce energy from bacteria! 

What is Mechanical Potential Energy Storage? 

A flywheel is a mechanical device. It rotates and stores energy. First, electrical energy is used to make it spin. The spinning creates kinetic energy. Then the electrical energy gets turned off. But because of inertia, the flywheel will keep spinning. Later, you can turn the kinetic energy back into electrical energy. 

Did you know?

Flywheels can rotate at up to 60 000 revolutions per minute! 

What is Gravitational Potential Energy Storage?

There are many ways to store energy on a large scale. But pumped hydroelectric energy is the most popular. It’s used at hydroelectric power plants. A pump and a reservoir control how much water reaches the turbine.

Pumped-hydro energy systems pump water into a holding area called a reservoir.  This reservoir is located above the turbine. The water gets released when more energy is needed. Gravity pulls the water down. This spins the turbine and makes electricity. 

Usually, water gets pumped to the reservoir when energy demand is low. Water gets released when energy demand is high. 

Energy storage technology is improving. And it's making power systems more reliable and efficient. Try to find out more about your local electricity system. Does it use energy storage?