News — Solar

Will Safer Batteries Finally Take Over the Home Storage Market?

Solar

Will Safer Batteries Finally Take Over the Home Storage Market?

If the U.S. converts to a carbon-free grid, millions of homeowners may want to generate and store their own solar power. Companies are already jockeying over that potentially massive market — and the commercial contest revolves around safety. Tesla and LG Chem currently dominate the U.S. home battery market. Both use the lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) chemistry favored by the electric vehicle industry. In cars, the goal is to pack as much energy into as little space as possible. That comes with a tradeoff: the potential for cells to heat up and kick off a chain reaction that can end with fire and, in enclosed spaces, explosion. Such calamities are extremely...

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