Remember that scene in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes where Malcolm tries to convince Caesar

(ape colony leader) for access to the hydroelectric dam in the ape territory? If you havent seen
the movie, Figure 1 can portray the gravity of the confrontation between the apes and humans.
Malcolm risks his life to convince the apes for access to the dam; the only source that can
provide long term energy for the human colony.

Figure 1 - Malcolm tries to convince the apes in a highly tense situation. Image source:
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/369601/lifestyle/movie -review-dawn-of-the-planet-apes-blockbusterfilmmaking-at-its-finest

This reference was a mere tool to draw the readers attention to the crucial significance of energy
in the existence and survival of humanity. And most other world problems like access to clean
drinking water, food production, and connectivity by land, air, sea, and space can be tackled once
there is a clean, stable and cheap source of energy to power their solutions. As the world
continues to develop, its energy requirements will only see a rising trend.

Figure 2 World Energy consumption. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

As seen in Figure 2, The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts the energy usage to
increase by 56% in 2040 from the levels in 2013 [1]. According to energy consulting firm
Enerdata, U.S. and China were the highest consumers of energy in 2014, with the other BRICS
economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are catching up [2]. While the demand
is increasing, the supply of fossil fuels is definitely not. That is why Europe is working to
increase the share of wind and solar energy in its electricity grid.

Figure 3 - Energy consumtion by major economies in 2014. Source: Global Energy Statistical Yearbook 2015, Enerdata

According to a recent report by the European Commissions Directorate-General for Energy [3],
efficient and dynamic energy storage systems have gained more importance as Europe increases
the share of renewable energy in its total energy generation. Most renewable energy sources have
highly fluctuating output and the energy generated during its peak should be stored efficiently for
times when the generation reaches its low levels or pauses. For example, during the European
cold period in January 2012, there was zero wind energy generation, and stored gas energy was

used as a backup. Other storage systems like pumped hydro storage are also heavily used in
Europe for energy storage (especially in Norway). Such storage systems also offer the benefit
with load levelling during peak hours [4].
Fossils fuels are popular energy sources because they are cheap and can provide energy on
demand. They have been storing the suns energy for a long time; in fact, they are some of the
most efficient energy storage systems. Petroleum has a high calorific value (48,000 kJ/kg) and so
far is the one of the best energy storage systems. When harnessed under constant pressure and
temperature, a drop of petroleum has enough energy stored in it to propel a potato 500 feet in the
air [5].
Almost 95% of U.S. energy comes from fossil fuels, and as said by Gregg Maryniak, energy
storage is the one thing standing between dependency on fossil fuels and the dramatic shift to
renewable energy sources [6]. Energy needs to be made available whenever and wherever the
need is, and in an inexpensive manner. Tesla has already moved in this direction with the
unveiling of the Powerwall, which comes in variants of $3,000 and $3,500. Though it can be
connected to a solar panel array for charging, it can also be charged from the grid during nonpeak hours and supply energy when the demand is high [7]. In terms of costs of storage devices,
Donald Sodaway made a revolutionary statement at TED 2012, which quotes If you want to
make something dirt cheap, make it out of dirt. The link to this highly inspiring talk can be
found here
:(http://www.ted.com/talks/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy?language=
en#t-750333). And thats what his company Ambri has been doing with their liquid metal
battery, operating at 69% DC efficiency [8]. The foundation for the kind of research that will
fuel innovation in this area of energy storage has already been setup, what is to be seen now is
how the current crop of researchers builds upon it.

[1]

O. of I. and I. E. A. U.S. Energy Information Admnistration, International Energy

Outlook 2014, Washington, D.C., 2014.

[2]

Enerdata, Electricity domestic consumption, 2014. [Online]. Available:

https://yearbook.enerdata.net/#electricity-domestic-consumption-data-by-region.html.
[Accessed: 09-Feb-2015].

[3]

J. Vinois, DG ENER Working Paper: The future role and challenges of Energy Storage,
Eur. Comm. Dir. Energy, 2012.

[4]

P. Denholm, E. Ela, B. Kirby, and M. Milligan, The role of energy storage with
renewable electricity generation, 2010.

[5]

M. Brain, How car engines work, www.howstuffworks.com, 2000. [Online]. Available:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine1.htm. [Accessed: 09-Feb-2015].

[6]

G. Maryniak, Storage, Not Generation, is the Challenge to Renewable Energy, Forbes,

2012. [Online]. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/singularity/2012/07/20/storagenot-generation-is-the-challenge-to-renewable-energy/. [Accessed: 09-Feb-2015].

[7]

J. Jameson and O. April, Tesla and the Shift in Power: Part 1 What Powerwall batteries
could mean for energy consumers, ZE Datawatch Magazine, 2015.

[8]

D. J. Bradwell, H. Kim, A. H. C. Sirk, and D. R. Sadoway, Magnesium-antimony liquid

metal battery for stationary energy storage, J. Am. Chem. Soc., vol. 134, no. 4, pp. 1895
1897, 2012.