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.
Struja koja napaja svetla u ovom pozorištu proizvedena je pre par trenutaka. Kako danas stoje stvari, potražnja za električnom energijom mora da bude ujednačena sa njenim zalihama. Da je, za vreme koje mi je trebalo da izađem na ovu pozornicu, desetine megavata energije vetra prestalo da dotiče u mrežu, razliku bi istog trenutka nadoknadili iz nekih drugih generatora. Međutim, termoelektrane, nuklearne elektrane ne mogu tako brzo reagovati. Ogromna baterija bi mogla. Sa nekom gigantskom baterijom mogli bismo da rešimo problem u prekidu koji sprečava dotok vetra i solarne energije u mrežu na način kako je to sa ugljem, gasom i nuklearnom energijom danas.
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 uređaj ovde. Pomoću nje bismo mogli crpiti struju od sunca čak i kada ono ne sija. To menja sve, jer su onda obnovljivu energiju koja potiče od vetra ili sunca na ovu scenu dopremila krila. Danas želim da govorim o jednom takvom uređaju. To je baterija od tečnog metala. To je novi oblik skladištenja energije koju sam otkrio na MIT-u zajedno sa timom studenata i doktoranata.
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 konferencije je "Pun spektar". Oksfordski rečnik definiše spektar kao "ceo niz talasnih dužina elektromagnetnog zračenja, od najdužih radio talasa do najkraćih gama zraka, od kojih je opseg vidljive svetlosti samo jedan mali deo." Nisam ovde samo da bih govorio o tome kako je moj tim sa MIT-a izvukao iz prirode rešenje za jedan od najvećih svetskih problema. Želim obuhvatiti puni spektar i želim da vam ispričam da smo, u procesu razvoja ove nove tehnologije, otkrili iznenađujuće zablude koje mogu postati nauk za inovacije, ideje vredne širenja. Znate, ako želimo spasiti ovu zemlju iz trenutne energetske situacije, to ne možemo uraditi samo očuvanjem, samo probijanjem, ili samo bombardovanjem. Uradićemo to na staromodni američki način, sami ćemo pronaći svoj put inovacijama, radeći zajedno.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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.
Hajde da počnemo. Bateriju je izumeo pre otprilike 200 godina profesor Alesandro Volta na Univerzitetu u Padovi, Italija. Iz ovog izuma se rodila nova grana nauke, elektrohemija, takođe i nove tehnologije, kao što je galvanizacija. I da ne previdimo, Voltin izum baterije prvi put je pokazao korisnost profesora. (Smeh) Do Volte, niko nije mogao zamisliti da bi profesori mogli biti korisni.
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. Gomila novčića, cink i srebro, odvojeni kartonom natopljenim u slanu vodu. Ovo je početak osmišljavanja baterije - dve elektrode, u ovom slučaju metali različitog sastava, i elektrolit, u ovom slučaju so rastvorena u vodi. Ta nauka je dotle jednostavna. Doduše, izostavio sam neke detalje.
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.
Pokazao sam vam da je nauka o baterijama jednostavna i postoji hitna potreba za skladištenje na mrežnom nivou, ali činjenica je da danas ne postoji tehnologija izrade baterija koja može da udovolji zahtevnim specifikacijama mreže, a to su neobično velika snaga, dug rok trajanja i izuzetno niske cene. O problemu moramo razmisliti na drugačiji način. Ono što osmislimo mora biti nešto veliko, a 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.
Hajde da zaboravimo ideju o potrazi za super hemikalijom i nadamo se da ćemo onda spustiti cene povećavanjem proizvodnje. Umesto toga, otkrijmo nešto što će cenom parirati struji. To znači da su određeni delovi periodnog sistema nesumnjivo isključeni. Ova baterija mora da se napravi od elemenata kojih ima u izobilju. Ako želite napraviti nešto što će imati prizemnu cenu, napravite to od zemlje - (Smeh) poželjno je od nečistoće iz lokalne sredine. Za izradu ove stvari moramo koristiti jednostavne proizvodne tehnike i fabrike koje ne koštaju 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.
Pre otprilike šest godina počeo sam da razmišljam o ovom problemu. Da bih usvojio novu perspektivu, tražio sam inspiraciju izvan polja skladištenja električne energije. U stvari, tražio sam tehnologiju koja niti skladišti, niti proizvodi električnu energiju, već je troši u ogromnim količinama. Govorim o proizvodnji aluminijuma. Postupak su otkrili 1886. godine dva 22-godišnjaka, Hol iz SAD i Irol iz Francuske. Samo nekoliko godina nakon njihovog otkrića, aluminijum se promenio; od dragocenog metala kao što je srebro, postao je običan 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.
Upravo gledate osnovnu jedinicu moderne topionice aluminijuma. Široka je oko 15 metara i prostire se na oko 800 m - sve su to nizovi ćelija koje iznutra podsećaju na Voltinu bateriju, ali uz tri bitne razlike. Voltina baterija radi na sobnoj temperaturi. Snabdevena je sa dve krute elektrode i elektrolitom, rastvorom soli i vode. Ćelija Hol-Irol radi na visokoj temperaturi, dovoljno visokoj da aluminijum pretvori u tečnost. Elektrolit nije rastvor soli i vode, već istopljena so. Ovo je kombinacija tečnog metala, otopljene soli i visoke temperature, i ono omogućava protok jake struje. Danas se može proizvesti primarni metal iz ruda po ceni manjoj od 50 centi za otprilike pola kilograma. To je ekonomsko čudo savremene 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.
Ovo je privuklo i držalo moju pažnju do te mere da sam postao opsednut izumom baterije koja bi mogla da zgrne ovakav giganstski ekonomski rast. I uspeo sam. Napravio sam tečnu bateriju - obe elektrode od tečnog metala i rastopljena so kao elektrolit. Sad ću da vam pokažem. Tako sam stavio tečni metal niske gustine na vrh, tečni metal visoke gustine na dno, a između je otopljena so.
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 sada, kako izabrati metale? Za mene, stvaranje uvek počinje ovde, sa periodnim sistemom, koji je objavio još jedan profesor, Dmitrij Mendeljejev. Sve što poznajemo je neka kombinacija onoga što je ovde prikazano. To uključuje i naša tela. Sećam se jednog trenutka kada sam tražio par metala kojih ima u izobilju na zemlji, koji su različiti, suprotne gustine i u međusobnoj su reakciji. Bio sam uzbuđen kad sam shvatio da sam blizu odgovora. Magnezijum za gornji sloj. Antimon za donji sloj. Moram da vam kažem šta je najveća korist od toga što ste profesor - krede u boji.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Da bi proizveo struju, magnezijum gubi dva elektrona da bi postao jon, koji se zatim kreće kroz elektrolit, prihvata dva elektrona od antimona, a zatim se meša s njim i stvara leguru. Elektroni funkcionišu u stvarnom svetu, napajajući naše uređaje. Da bismo napunili bateriju, povezujemo je na struju. Može da potiče od vetrenjača. Zatim pretvaramo struju. Ovo primorava magnezijum da se odvoji iz legure i vrati na gornju elektrodu i ponovo se uspostavlja početno stanje baterije. Struja koja prolazi između elektroda proizvodi dovoljno toplote da održava temperaturu.
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.
To je sjajno, makar teoretski. Međutim, da li zaista radi? Šta dalje? Idemo u laboratoriju. Da li angažujem iskusne profesionalce? Ne, angažujem studenta, nadgledam, podučavam ga kako da razmišlja o problemu, da ga vidi iz moje perspektive, a onda ga pustim. Ovo je taj student, Dejvid Bradvel, koji na ovoj slici izgleda kao da se pita da li će ovo ikad proraditi. Tada nisam rekao Dejvidu da ni sam nisam ubeđen u to.
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.
Međutim, Dejvid je mlad, pametan, želi doktorat i počinje da radi - (Smeh) Počinje da pravi prvu bateriju od tečnog metala ovakvog hemijskog sastava. Na osnovu Dejvidovih početnih rezultata, koji su obećavali, i bili plaćeni sredstvima MIT-a, uspeo sam da nađem sponzore iz privatnog sektora i od vlade. Tako sam mogao da proširim tim na 20 ljudi, koji su bili diplomci, naučnici ili čak pred diplomom.
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."
Privukao sam stvarno dobre ljude, one koji su delili moju strast za naukom i za služenjem društvu, a ne za izgradnju karijere. Ako pitate ove ljude zašto rade na baterijama od tečnog metala, njihov odgovor podseća na opasku predsednika Kenedija na Rajs Univerzitetu 1962. godine, kada je rekao, a sada parafraziram: "Radimo na mrežnom skladištenju ne zato što je to lako, nego zato što je to teško."
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
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 baterije sa tečnim metalom. Počinjemo sa radnom mašinom od jedan vat po satu. Nazvao sam je čašicom. Uradili smo više od 400 komada, usavršavali izvedbu mnoštvom hemikalija, ne samo magnezijumom i antimonom. Dostigli smo 20 vat-sati po ćeliji. Zovem je "hokejski pak". Postigli smo značajne rezultate. To je već bio "tanjirić". To je dvesta vat-sati. Pokazalo se da je ta tehnologija snažna i prilagodljiva, ali nismo napredovali dovoljno brzo. Pre godinu i po Dejvid i ja sa ostalim članovima tima, osnovali smo kompaniju da bismo ubrzali napredak i trku u proizvodnji.
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.
Danas u LMBC-u proizvodimo ćelije prečnika 40 cm sa kapacitetom od jedan kilovat-sati, što je hiljadu puta više od početne čašice. Sad je već nazivamo "pica". Sad već imamo u izgledu ćeliju od četiri kilovat-sati. Biće 90 cm u prečniku. To nazivamo "kafanski sto", ali još nismo spremni da prikažemo. Jedna od varijanti je da sastavimo ove tzv. kafanske stolove u module, da ih spojimo u jednu ogromnu bateriju koja bi stala u prostor dužine 12 m, a koji bi mogao da stoji na otvorenom. Ovo ima kapacitet dva megavat-sati, dva miliona vat-sati. To je energija koja je dovoljna da zadovolji dnevne potrebe za strujom za 200 domaćinstava u Americi. To je, dakle, mrežno skladištenje - bešumno, bez štetne emisije, bez pokretnih delova, sa daljinskim upravljanjem, proizvedeno po tržišnoj ceni, bez subvencije.
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.
Šta smo naučili iz ovoga? (Aplauz) Šta smo naučili? Reći ću vam nešto o iznenađenjima, zabludama. One se ne vide. Temperatura - po opštem saznanju treba da je niska, približna sobnoj temperaturi, i potrebno je instalirati sistem koji će to održavati. treba izbeći gubitak temperature. Baterija od tečnog metala treba da radi na visokoj temperaturi uz mimimalnu regulaciju. Naša baterija podnosi visoke temperaturne promene koje potiču od prenapona struje. Skaliranje - opšte je prihvaćeno da cenu treba smanjiti povećanjem proizvodnje. Tečna baterija se proizvodi uz umanjene troškove, kroz proizvodnju manjeg broja, ali će biti veće. Konačno, ljudski resursi - opšte je poznato da treba zaposliti stručnjake, iskusne profesionalce, koji se oslanjaju na svoje ogromno iskustvo i znanje. Da bismo razvili bateriju od tečnog metala zaposlio sam post-doktorante i usmeravao sam ih. Što se tiče baterije, nastojim da električni potencijal dovedem do najviše tačke; kada sam mentor, do najviše tačke dovodim ljudski potencijal. Eto, vidite, priča o bateriji sa tečnim metalom je više od izveštaja o pronalasku nove tehnologije. To je plan za otkrivanje inovatora, u punom spektru.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)