Updated Battery Technology Will Revolutionize Energy Industry

Batteries are a technology that is essential to the way we function today. With so many devices like our laptop computers, cell phones, tablets, etc. running off of batteries, they are a vital technology we cannot live without. Some experts believe that advances in battery technology are poised to seriously shake up the energy industry in the U.S.

According to a tech article from Forbes, cheap battery storage technology will prove as disruptive to the energy industry as the cellphone has been in telecommunications.

“I would bet that there’s not a single person in this entire audience who does not have a cellphone in their pocket,” said Susan Kennedy, CEO of Advanced Microgrid Solutions during the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas. ”If you think about it, the entire grid from the ground up was designed around the concept that energy cannot be stored. And so the whole grid is going to change dramatically because of one thing: battery storage.”

This is very important to note. The nation’s power grid is designed to always be connected, a technological philosophy that seems antiquated when compared to the rest of today’s technology. With battery storage in most of our electronic devices, and cloud and Wi-Fi technology to wirelessly connect us, being physically connected by our power grid can’t last forever. In fact, you can go to your local hardware store and find generators that use a battery. The technology is readily available, and experts think we are right on the verge of a big shift.

Think about the advantages: you wouldn’t have to worry nearly as much about power outages because you could have a significant battery backup to wait them out. One case study example of the possibilities is the home of Josh and Susan Fried. The Frieds put $50,000 worth of investment into battery and other energy technology to allow them to stockpile clean energy. The Frieds home can run off the energy grid (using only energy they have produced themselves) for at least three days without too much worry.

The way that the winds are blowing, it appears that the energy industry is going to experience some big changes in the relative near future. With battery technology ripe for disruption and exciting change in the energy industry, some have even speculated that the next home you own might even be battery powered!

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