Albert Migliori, a Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist, and other scientists around the world are looking for new ways to store energy, which will enable alternative energy to play a dominant role in energy production.

The issue of energy storage has been a hot topic among politicians this campaign season as they grapple to find a way to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and lower energy costs for consumers.

Migliori says renewable energy storage will require many different ideas, but he hopes a Los Alamos lab technology aimed at storing electricity and converting it into ammonia or methane will play a helpful part in that mix.

"At some point, we will reach a point where renewables make up the largest portion of our energy sources, but we have to solve this storage problem first," Migliori said. "We have a chance to get in on the ground floor now, though, before we create a big mess."

The problem with renewable sources, he said, is that you can't use them all the time.
Advertisement

While small storage batteries exist, you can't use wind power to meet large energy demands when the wind isn't blowing and you can't use solar power to meet large energy demands at night, he said.

But if you can find an efficient way to store that energy, you can transform those sources into a constant stream of power.

There are several technologies evolving that could help with that, including pumping water up in a dam and then letting it flow down to create power later or shooting compressed air into the ground so you can gather energy from it when it comes back out, Migliori said.

"You'll need those technologies and more to solve this problem though," Migliori said. "Every single viable solution is going to get used."

Los Alamos scientists are working on how to transform hydrogen fuel cells into energy storage devices.

In a process scientists think they can improve through the use of nanotechnology, it's possible to build a device that can store a certain amount of electricity and transform any overflow into ammonia or methane, which can later be converted back into power, he said.

The way he envisions it, those cooler-sized devices could be placed next to homes all over New Mexico.

They would be managed by a power company to store alternative power, then shift it around when that power is needed. Because the power would be stored at people's houses, they would be cushioned from power outages because he home would have its own power storage station, he said.

"Eventually, as it gets more efficient, it could possibly eliminate outages," Migliori said.

Los Alamos lab is working with other labs and universities around the country on the idea, although it's probably 10 years away from becoming a reality, assuming the United States starts investing more money into this and other technologies, he said.

"This is the sort of thing where the basic science approaches are very clear to us, but the answers aren't quite there yet as to how to make it work," Migliori said. "We think it's possible to have production in 10 years or so, but we need to start funding this and other technologies now, not just at Los Alamos, but everywhere."