The electricity powering the lights in this theater was generated just moments ago. Because the way things stand today, electricity demand must be in constant balance with electricity supply. If in the time that it took me to walk out here on this stage, some tens of megawatts of wind power stopped pouring into the grid, the difference would have to be made up from other generators immediately. But coal plants, nuclear plants can't respond fast enough. A giant battery could. With a giant battery, we'd be able to address the problem of intermittency that prevents wind and solar from contributing to the grid in the same way that coal, gas and nuclear do today.
Električna struja koja osvjetljava ovu dvoranu proizvedena je prije par trenutaka. Zbog današnje situacije, potražnja za električnom energijom mora biti u stalnoj ravnoteži s dostupnom električnom energijom. Da je za vrijeme dok sam se penjao na ovu pozornicu nekih desetaka megavata struje proizvedene u vjetroelektranama prestalo doticati u mrežu, razliku bi odmah nadoknadili drugi generatori. Termoelektrane, nuklearne elektrane ne mogu reagirati dovoljno brzo. Ali divovska baterija može. Pomoću divovske baterije mogli bismo riješiti problem intermitentnosti koji onemogućava da vjetar i sunce doprinose mreži na isti način na koji danas doprinose ugljen, plin i nuklearke.
You see, the battery is the key enabling device here. With it, we could draw electricity from the sun even when the sun doesn't shine. And that changes everything. Because then renewables such as wind and solar come out from the wings, here to center stage. Today I want to tell you about such a device. It's called the liquid metal battery. It's a new form of energy storage that I invented at MIT along with a team of my students and post-docs.
Vidite, baterija je ključni faktor ovdje. Pomoću nje, možemo iskoristiti el. energiju sunca čak i kad sunce ne sija. A to mijenja sve. Jer tada obnovljivi izvori energije, poput vjetra i sunca prestaju biti periferni i postaju jako bitni. Danas vam želim pričati o takvom uređaju. Zove se tekuća baterija. To je novi način pohranjivanja energije razvijen na MIT-u od strane tima sačinjenog od mojih studenata i postdoktoranata.
Now the theme of this year's TED Conference is Full Spectrum. The OED defines spectrum as "The entire range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, from the longest radio waves to the shortest gamma rays of which the range of visible light is only a small part." So I'm not here today only to tell you how my team at MIT has drawn out of nature a solution to one of the world's great problems. I want to go full spectrum and tell you how, in the process of developing this new technology, we've uncovered some surprising heterodoxies that can serve as lessons for innovation, ideas worth spreading. And you know, if we're going to get this country out of its current energy situation, we can't just conserve our way out; we can't just drill our way out; we can't bomb our way out. We're going to do it the old-fashioned American way, we're going to invent our way out, working together.
Tema ovogodišnje TED-ove konferencije je puni spektar. OED definira spektar kao: "Cijeli raspon valnih duljina elektromagnetske radijacije, od najdužih radio valova do najkraćih gama zraka, gdje je raspon vidljivog svijetla samo mali dio." Zato vam danas neću govoriti samo o tome kako je moj tim na MIT-u od prirode izvukao rješenje za jedan od najvećih svjetskih problema. Želim prijeći cijeli proces i reći vam kako smo, u postupku razvoja ove nove tehnologije, otkrili nekoliko zanimljivih heterodoksija, koje mogu dobro doći u procesu invacija, ideja koje vrijedi podijeliti. I znate, ako želimo ovu zemlju izvuči iz trenutnog energetskog problema, ne možemo zamrnznuti izlaz; ne možemo ga pronaći ni bušenjem; ne možemo ga ni bobmardirati. To čemo uraditi na dobri, stari američki način, sami ćemo izmisliti riješenje, zajedničkim radom.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
Now let's get started. The battery was invented about 200 years ago by a professor, Alessandro Volta, at the University of Padua in Italy. His invention gave birth to a new field of science, electrochemistry, and new technologies such as electroplating. Perhaps overlooked, Volta's invention of the battery for the first time also demonstrated the utility of a professor. (Laughter) Until Volta, nobody could imagine a professor could be of any use.
Počnimo. Bateriju je izumio prije gotovo 200 godina profesor Alessandro Volta, na Sveučilištu Padova, u Italiji. Njegov izum doveo je do razvoja nove znanstvene grane, elektrokemije, i novih tehnologija, poput galvaniziranja. Možda pomalo zanemaren, Voltin izum baterije po prvi pute je uz to ukazao na korisnost profesora. (Smijeh) Do Volte, nitko nije mogao pojmiti kako profesor može biti od koristi.
Here's the first battery -- a stack of coins, zinc and silver, separated by cardboard soaked in brine. This is the starting point for designing a battery -- two electrodes, in this case metals of different composition, and an electrolyte, in this case salt dissolved in water. The science is that simple. Admittedly, I've left out a few details.
Evo prve baterije... hrpa novčića, cink i srebro, odvojeni kartonom natobljenim u slanoj vodi. Ovo je početna točka u stvaranju baterije... dvije elektrode, u ovom slučaju metali različitog sastava, i elektrolit, u ovom slučaju sol otopljena u vodi. Znanost je tako jednostavna. Priznajem, izostavio sam par detalja.
Now I've taught you that battery science is straightforward and the need for grid-level storage is compelling, but the fact is that today there is simply no battery technology capable of meeting the demanding performance requirements of the grid -- namely uncommonly high power, long service lifetime and super-low cost. We need to think about the problem differently. We need to think big, we need to think cheap.
Sad sam vas podučio kako je znanost o bateriji jednostavna, a potreba za pohranom na razini mreže nužnost, ali činjenica je kako danas jednostavo ne postoji tehnologija izrade baterija koja može zadovoljiti zahtjevne potreba mreže... uglavnom neuobičajeno jake struje, dugog vijeka trajanja i super niskih troškova. Problemu moramo pristupiti drukčije. Moramo razmišljati na veliko, moramo razmišljati jeftino.
So let's abandon the paradigm of let's search for the coolest chemistry and then hopefully we'll chase down the cost curve by just making lots and lots of product. Instead, let's invent to the price point of the electricity market. So that means that certain parts of the periodic table are axiomatically off-limits. This battery needs to be made out of earth-abundant elements. I say, if you want to make something dirt cheap, make it out of dirt -- (Laughter) preferably dirt that's locally sourced. And we need to be able to build this thing using simple manufacturing techniques and factories that don't cost us a fortune.
Napustimo paradigmu o pronalasku super kemijskog spoja i tako ćemo, nadam se, izazvati pad krivulje troškova proizvodnjom velike količine proizvoda. Umjesto toga, hajdemo izumiti nešto po cijeni pogodnoj za tržište el. energije. To znači kako su određeni dijelovi periodičnog sustava aksiomatski zabranjeni. Bateriju treba izraditi od elemenata kojih ima u dovoljnim količinama. Ja znam reći, ako nešto želite da bude prljavo jeftino, izradite to od prljavštine... (Smijeh) po mogućnosti od prljavštine koja je lokalno dostupna. To moramo biti u stanju to izraditi pomoću jednostavnih proizvodnih tehnika i tvornica koje nas neće koštati bogatstvo.
So about six years ago, I started thinking about this problem. And in order to adopt a fresh perspective, I sought inspiration from beyond the field of electricity storage. In fact, I looked to a technology that neither stores nor generates electricity, but instead consumes electricity, huge amounts of it. I'm talking about the production of aluminum. The process was invented in 1886 by a couple of 22-year-olds -- Hall in the United States and Heroult in France. And just a few short years following their discovery, aluminum changed from a precious metal costing as much as silver to a common structural material.
Prije jedno šest godina, počeo sam razmišljati o ovom problemu. A kako bih dobio svježu perspektivu, tražio sam inspiraciju izvan područja pohrane el. energije. U biti, okrenuo sam se tehnologiji koja niti čuva niti stvara el. energiju, već je troši, u ogromnim količinama. Govorim o proizvodnji aluminija. Postupak je izmišljen 1886. godine od dvojce 22-godišnjaka... Halla iz Sjedinjenih Država i Heroulta iz Francuske. U samo par godina nakon njihova otrkića, aluminijum je od skupocijenog metala koji je koštao poput srebra postao uobičajeni strukturni materijal.
You're looking at the cell house of a modern aluminum smelter. It's about 50 feet wide and recedes about half a mile -- row after row of cells that, inside, resemble Volta's battery, with three important differences. Volta's battery works at room temperature. It's fitted with solid electrodes and an electrolyte that's a solution of salt and water. The Hall-Heroult cell operates at high temperature, a temperature high enough that the aluminum metal product is liquid. The electrolyte is not a solution of salt and water, but rather salt that's melted. It's this combination of liquid metal, molten salt and high temperature that allows us to send high current through this thing. Today, we can produce virgin metal from ore at a cost of less than 50 cents a pound. That's the economic miracle of modern electrometallurgy.
Gledate u skup ćelija moderne tvornice aluminija. Široka je oko 15 metara i proteže se na gotovo jedan kilometar... red za redom ćelija koje, unutra, sliče Voltinoj bateriji, ali s tri ključne razlike. Voltina baterija radi na sobnoj temperaturi. Sastoji se od čvrstih elektroda i elektrolita, tj. soli otopljene u vodi. Hall-Heroult ćelija radi na visokoj temperaturi, temperaturi toliko visokoj da metal, aluminij, postaje tekući. Elektrolit nije sol otopljena u vodi, već rastopljena sol. Ova kombinacija tekućeg metala, rastopljene soli i visoke temperature omogućava protok jake struje kroz ovu napravu. Danas, možemo proizvesti primarni metal iz ruda po cijeni manjoj od 50 centi za pola kilograma. To je ekonomsko čudo moderne elektrometalurgije.
It is this that caught and held my attention to the point that I became obsessed with inventing a battery that could capture this gigantic economy of scale. And I did. I made the battery all liquid -- liquid metals for both electrodes and a molten salt for the electrolyte. I'll show you how. So I put low-density liquid metal at the top, put a high-density liquid metal at the bottom, and molten salt in between.
To je zaokupilo moju pažnju, toliko sa sam postao opsjednut izumom baterije koja može sadržavati ovu divovsku ekonomiju razmjera. I to sam učinio. Izradio sam potpuno tekuću bateriju... tekući metali za obje elektrode te rastopljena sol kao elektrolit. Pokazat ću vam kako. Na vrh sam stavio tekući metal niske gustoće, na dno tekući metal visoke gustoće, a između rastopljenu sol.
So now, how to choose the metals? For me, the design exercise always begins here with the periodic table, enunciated by another professor, Dimitri Mendeleyev. Everything we know is made of some combination of what you see depicted here. And that includes our own bodies. I recall the very moment one day when I was searching for a pair of metals that would meet the constraints of earth abundance, different, opposite density and high mutual reactivity. I felt the thrill of realization when I knew I'd come upon the answer. Magnesium for the top layer. And antimony for the bottom layer. You know, I've got to tell you, one of the greatest benefits of being a professor: colored chalk.
E sad, kako odabrati metale? Ze mene, vježba stvaranja počinje ovjde s periodini sustavom, koji je predstavio još jedan profesor, Dmitri Mendeljejev. Sve što znamo sastoji se od neke kombinacije ovdje navedenog. Uključujući i naša tijela. Sjećam se trenutka kad sam tražio par metala koji će odgovarati uvjetima da ih ima u dovoljnim količinama, da su različite, nasuportne gutoće i visoke obostrane reaktivnosti. Bio sam oduševljen spoznavši kako sam našao odgovor. Mangezij za gornji sloj. I antimon za donji sloj. Znate, moram vam reći, jedna od najboljih stavri kad ste profesor je: kreda u boji.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
So to produce current, magnesium loses two electrons to become magnesium ion, which then migrates across the electrolyte, accepts two electrons from the antimony, and then mixes with it to form an alloy. The electrons go to work in the real world out here, powering our devices. Now to charge the battery, we connect a source of electricity. It could be something like a wind farm. And then we reverse the current. And this forces magnesium to de-alloy and return to the upper electrode, restoring the initial constitution of the battery. And the current passing between the electrodes generates enough heat to keep it at temperature.
Kako bi se proizvela sruja, magnezij gubi dva elektrona, i postaje magnezij ion, i onda migrira po elektrolitu, uzima dva elektrona od antimona, te ih mješa u obliku legure. Elektroni kreću raditi u stavrni svijet, napajajući naše uređaje. Za punjenje baterije, priključimo se na izvor el. energije. To može biti nešto poput vjetroparka. I onda okrećemo struju. A to prisiljava magnezij da rastvori leguru i vrati se gornjoj elektrodi, vraćajući početni sastav baterije. Struja koja prolazi izmešu elektroda stvara dovoljno topline da je drži na odgovarajućoj temperaturi.
It's pretty cool, at least in theory. But does it really work? So what to do next? We go to the laboratory. Now do I hire seasoned professionals? No, I hire a student and mentor him, teach him how to think about the problem, to see it from my perspective and then turn him loose. This is that student, David Bradwell, who, in this image, appears to be wondering if this thing will ever work. What I didn't tell David at the time was I myself wasn't convinced it would work.
Super, barem u teoriji. Ali djeluje li to zapravo? Što uraditi sljedeće? Idemo u laboratorij. Zapošljavam li iskusne profesionalce? Ne, već studenta kojeg podučavam, učim ga kako razmišljati o problemu, da ga sagleda iz moje perspektive i onda ga puštam. Ovo je taj student, David Bradwell, koji se, na ovoj slici, pita hoće li ova stvar ikad raditi. Tad to nisam rekao Davidu, ali ni ja nisam bio uvjeren da hoće.
But David's young and he's smart and he wants a Ph.D., and he proceeds to build -- (Laughter) He proceeds to build the first ever liquid metal battery of this chemistry. And based on David's initial promising results, which were paid with seed funds at MIT, I was able to attract major research funding from the private sector and the federal government. And that allowed me to expand my group to 20 people, a mix of graduate students, post-docs and even some undergraduates.
Ali, David je mlad i pametan, želi doktorirati i nastavio je s izradom... (Smijeh) Nastavio je s izradom prve tekuće baterije ovog kemijskog sastava. A temeljem početnih Davidovih obečavajućih rezultata, koji su plaćeni sredstvima MIT-a, uspio sam privuči glavne ulagače u istraživanja iz privatnog sektora i savezne vlasti. A to mi je omogućilo proširivanje tima na 20 ljudi, kombinacija diplomaca, postdoktoranata pa čak i nekih dodiplomaca.
And I was able to attract really, really good people, people who share my passion for science and service to society, not science and service for career building. And if you ask these people why they work on liquid metal battery, their answer would hearken back to President Kennedy's remarks at Rice University in 1962 when he said -- and I'm taking liberties here -- "We choose to work on grid-level storage, not because it is easy, but because it is hard."
Uspio sam privuči neke zaista dobre ljude, ljude koji dijele moju strast za znanošću i služenju društvu, a ne znanosti i stjecanju karijere. I ako upitate ove ljude zašto rade na tekućoj bateriji, njihov odgovor parafrazirat će govor predsjenika Kennedyja na Sveučilištu Rice 1962. godine kad je rekao...u slobodnoj interpretaciji... "Odabiremo raditi na pohrani na mrežnoj razini, ne zato što je to lako, već zato što je to teško."
(Applause)
(Pljesak)
So this is the evolution of the liquid metal battery. We start here with our workhorse one watt-hour cell. I called it the shotglass. We've operated over 400 of these, perfecting their performance with a plurality of chemistries -- not just magnesium and antimony. Along the way we scaled up to the 20 watt-hour cell. I call it the hockey puck. And we got the same remarkable results. And then it was onto the saucer. That's 200 watt-hours. The technology was proving itself to be robust and scalable. But the pace wasn't fast enough for us. So a year and a half ago, David and I, along with another research staff-member, formed a company to accelerate the rate of progress and the race to manufacture product.
Ovo je evolucija tekuće baterije. Započeli smo s temeljnom ćelijom od jednog watt-sata. Ja je zovem bićerin. Radili smo na preko 400 takvih, usavršavali njihove performanse s brojnim kemijskim spojevima... ne samo magenzijem i antimonom. S vremenom smo došli do ćelije od 20 watt-sata. Zovem je hokejski pak. I dobili smo jednako zadivljujuće rezultate. A potom je došao tanjur. To je 200 watt-sati. Tehnlogija se pokazala robusnom i skalabilnom. Ali ritam nije bio dovoljno brz za nas. Pa smo prije godinu i pol, David i ja, zajendo s ostalim članovima istraživačkog tima, osnovali tvrtku kako bismo ubrzali postupak napretka i utrku za izradu proizvoda.
So today at LMBC, we're building cells 16 inches in diameter with a capacity of one kilowatt-hour -- 1,000 times the capacity of that initial shotglass cell. We call that the pizza. And then we've got a four kilowatt-hour cell on the horizon. It's going to be 36 inches in diameter. We call that the bistro table, but it's not ready yet for prime-time viewing. And one variant of the technology has us stacking these bistro tabletops into modules, aggregating the modules into a giant battery that fits in a 40-foot shipping container for placement in the field. And this has a nameplate capacity of two megawatt-hours -- two million watt-hours. That's enough energy to meet the daily electrical needs of 200 American households. So here you have it, grid-level storage: silent, emissions-free, no moving parts, remotely controlled, designed to the market price point without subsidy.
Tako danas u LMBC, izrađujemo ćelije od 40 cm u promjeru kapaciteta jednog kilowatt-sata... 1000 puta kapaciteta one početne, "bićerin" ćelije. Zovemo je pizza. A onda je u planu bila ćelija od četiri kilowatt-sata. Imat će promjer od 90 cm. Zovemo je restoranski stol, ali još nije spremna za gledanje u udarnom terminu. A jedna varijanta tehnologije omogućila nam je slaganje ovih restoranskih stolova u module, agregirajući module u divovsku bateriju koja stane u kontejner za prijevoz od 36 m, koji se može postaviti u polje. A ima nominalni kapacitet od dva megawatt-sata... dva milijuna watt-sati. To je dovoljno energije za zadovoljavanje dnevnih potreba za el. energijom 200 američkih kućanstava. I evo je, pohrana na mrežnoj razini: tiha, bez otpadnih plinova, bez pokretnih dijelova, daljinski upravljana, dizajnirana prema tržišnoj cijeni bez subvencija.
So what have we learned from all this? (Applause) So what have we learned from all this? Let me share with you some of the surprises, the heterodoxies. They lie beyond the visible. Temperature: Conventional wisdom says set it low, at or near room temperature, and then install a control system to keep it there. Avoid thermal runaway. Liquid metal battery is designed to operate at elevated temperature with minimum regulation. Our battery can handle the very high temperature rises that come from current surges. Scaling: Conventional wisdom says reduce cost by producing many. Liquid metal battery is designed to reduce cost by producing fewer, but they'll be larger. And finally, human resources: Conventional wisdom says hire battery experts, seasoned professionals, who can draw upon their vast experience and knowledge. To develop liquid metal battery, I hired students and post-docs and mentored them. In a battery, I strive to maximize electrical potential; when mentoring, I strive to maximize human potential. So you see, the liquid metal battery story is more than an account of inventing technology, it's a blueprint for inventing inventors, full-spectrum.
Što smo iz ovog naučiti? (Pljesak) Što smo iz ovog naučili? Podijelit ću s vama neka od iznenađenja, heterodoksije. Sve se to nalazi onkraj vidljivog. Temperatura: Uvriježeni stav smatra da je treba podesiti na niske vrijednosti ili oko sobne temperature, a potom treba instalirati kontrolni sustav koji će je održavati. Treba izbjegavati velike termalne oscilacije. Tekuća baterija napravljane je za rad na povišenim temperaturama uz minimalnu regulaciju. Naša baterija može podnjeti naglo povećanje temperature koje proizlazi iz strujnih skokova. Skaliranje: Opće prihvaćeni stav je smanjiti troškove proizvodeći velike količine. Tekuća baterija izađena je tako da se troškovi smanje proizvodnjom manje količine, većih proizvoda. I na kraju, kadrovi: Uvriježeni stav je zaposli stručnjake za baterije, iskusne profesionalce, koji se mogu osloniti na svoje veliko iskustvo i znanje. Za razvoj tekuće baterije, angažirao sam studente i postdoktorante i podučavao sam ih. Kad je riječ o bateriji, nastojim maksimizirati električni potencijal; kad podučavam, nastojim maksimizirati ljudski potencijal. Vidite, priča o tekućoj bateriji više je od prikaza tehnoloških inovacije, to je svojevrsni nacrt kako stvoriti izumitelje, punog spektra.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)