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DukeOfGeek OP t1_j2y4ktb wrote

New power supply/back up being installed at military bases. If it works there it could have civilian applications.

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JoeBoredom t1_j2y6w9m wrote

"no acute toxicity"

Ok, but what about long term exposure? These batteries have toxic and corrosive components. The military doesn't have a stellar performance history of protecting it's personnel or the environment.

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manikin13 t1_j2yf1s4 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,280,942)

All power generation requires energy input, that's what the diesel is. Here you combine this with Solar panels or wind turbines, or other electric sources, and its the same,

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manikin13 t1_j2ykgvq wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,281,511)

Did you read the article? "Operational in 2024, .... grid scale energy storage, " yes there are other players in the market, but this is new technology, nothing is guaranteed, but without innovation there is no progress.

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cluckatronix t1_j2z25gn wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,280,942)

The military has already started using solar in some field applications because they were tired of their diesel supply convoys getting blown up. If I find the podcast I learned about this on I’ll link it.

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croninsiglos t1_j2zoj3a wrote

This is not a new or novel solution and these have been used in industry for some time now.

Entire utility scale solutions exist such as a facility in China which has a 100 MW model. Compared to Lithium based batteries, flow batteries suffer from low energy density and low charge/discharge rates.

Here's their argument for flow batteries:

> With lithium-ion, the power and energy are fused together in a single package. If you want to have longer duration lithium above four hours [discharge duration] you’re basically buying power capacity you don’t need, that’s redundant

> -Lockheed Martin business development director Roger Jenkins

Which, if you know anything about batteries, is the dumbest excuse imaginable. This is likely simply to not rely on foreign suppliers of necessary metals and that makes more sense than purposely using an inferior technology because the current stuff is too capable.

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BirdiePolenta t1_j30ej83 wrote

I mean, if they want this to be known (and of course they do, because we are reading about it), it´s two things:

  • psyops
  • they have a way more advanced tech behing the curtains
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RUIN_NATION_ t1_j30zaxe wrote

we are only hearing about it now almost bet they had it 10 years or so.

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80percentlegs t1_j3114t2 wrote

Replying to croninsiglos (#1,283,567)

He is right about long duration, but doesn’t quite get into the details. There are duration limits to Li+ mostly because short circuit current ratings of the DC inputs on the inverter limit how many batteries you can put behind a single inverter. This means to get longer durations, you need to derate the power output of the inverter, but if you’re trying to hit a certain plant power capacity that means buying more inverters. That means your plant has a lot of potential power capacity in the inverters that is not being used.

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zg3409 t1_j312qok wrote

Flow batteries have been around for 10+ years. They are basically a lead acid battery (or similar) where the liquid in the battery is moved in and out of battery into a big liquid storage so the battery itself is small but the amount of liquid is massive. Nothing really special and tend to be relatively expensive. Maybe handy for reducing costs of running generators at night. Lots of previous research on them. It's more an engineering solution than magic. Here from 2005 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/dundalk-college-gets-wind-turbine-to-supply-its-electricity-1.483649

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No_Bet_1687 t1_j31re5y wrote

So could this besides to power some handheld energy weapons? This is the future where the hell are all the lasers and stuff?

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S0nG0ku88 t1_j31zqos wrote

Replying to No_Bet_1687 (#1,286,923)

"Lasers and stuff" would be a cool grocery store name in the future. Hey you need anything? I'm going down to the 'lasers and stuff' at Toshi station to get some power couplers and maybe a laser gun or two.

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johnsonder t1_j325oey wrote

What happens when one of these inevitably blows up?

−2

T0MSUN t1_j32bi99 wrote

Replying to JoeBoredom (#1,281,008)

No the great thing about flow batteries is the ability to completely avoid toxic components because you just need an electrolyte solution. You can use toxic electrolyte solutions but don’t need to.

The real issue is their size. Power density is real low and you need a ton of space to get any real capacity.

6

Carl_The_Sagan t1_j32fq4t wrote

The US military is the world's number one polluter as a single organization and has more pollution than several first world countries. Not sure this will help. Oh well

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prickles_and_goo t1_j32g0fb wrote

DARPA at it again. Military tech becomes civilian tech after X number of years.. always good to get the sneak peek on what's coming!

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Jim-Slady t1_j339xs0 wrote

What happens if we run out of "military power"? Then do we lose our military power?

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bogglingsnog t1_j33bmz4 wrote

Replying to 2020willyb2020 (#1,285,803)

Even civilian e-motorcycles can hit some crazy distances these days, I have seen a few with 100-150 miles of range. If the military wanted to they could make their own with double or triple the amount of batteries, it will just behave more like a full size motorcycle than a dirt bike.

I imagine it will be awhile before they switch to fully electric trucks. I could see a hybrid being used though it could possibly increase maintenance challenges.

Non-flammable batteries would be a HUGE leap forward for the military, they could have fully electric drivetrains with no risk of fire, would be amazing for tanks. The batteries could even form a part of the internal armor, wrap it around the ammo rack etc.

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WowzerzzWow t1_j33fmyk wrote

I guarantee that one private will either eat these or shove them up their butt.

0

imlaggingsobad t1_j344n9a wrote

This isn't the good stuff. The military has been working on fusion energy since the cold war. They've got amazing tech locked away in bunkers somewhere.

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king-of-yodhya t1_j34okel wrote

So you are saying that American military will finally be able to win a war ?

1

gypsynose t1_j35tucd wrote

Replying to RUIN_NATION_ (#1,285,841)

I worked as an intern on this project 5 years ago. It was public knowledge then, you just have to know what you're looking for or be highly invested in news in this space. I'm constantly reading about the cutting edge in energy storage and material science.

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Ownza t1_j39rb04 wrote

Replying to Jim-Slady (#1,289,676)

>What happens if we run out of "military power"? Then do we lose our military power?

If we lose millitary power we probably produce an immense amount of power instantly.

1

Orc_ t1_j3borz0 wrote

Replying to BirdiePolenta (#1,284,936)

> they have a way more advanced tech behing the curtains

not in batteries, thats for sure, that whole area of tech if bottlenecked by the laws of physics. Even nano-batteries that I read about made by nano-structures had the capacity to be charged quite rapdily BUT the energy density continues to be ABYSMAL.

Meaning we never really gonna get something like a T-800 ever, you'd have to run that bish with a tether like something out of Evangelion.

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