AIC | Plurion Case Study


	06.23.08 Successful Testing of Prototype Battery

	06.18.08 AIC, RedOx & Mitsubishi Corporation to Convert Waste to Ethanol

	06.18.08 Successful field trials of the commercial-grade (“2-G”) electrolyser

Plurion, a Scottish company in which AIC has an approximate 80 percent stake, is designing cleaner, reliable solutions for energy on demand. With Plurion's Redox technology (developed by AIC), renewable energy sources finally get practical. AIC's advanced battery technology makes the possibility of storing and transporting large reserves of electricity a reality.

The sun doesn’t shine at night, tides turn, and winds fluctuate. Aligning energy collection with energy consumption isn’t easy. In fact, technologies such as photovoltaics and windmills lack utility-scale batteries that can adequately store and generate power when it’s needed. At least 3 percent of all renewable energy produced in the US is wasted because it cannot be immediately consumed, according to the United States Department of Energy. But with the Plurion battery, renewable energy technology starts to become truly viable, delivering peak power on demand.

Based on patented breakthroughs in the science of Reduction/Oxidation (Redox), Plurion’s high-capacity electrical storage batteries work by housing electricity generated by both conventional and renewable energy sources and then delivering it directly to the power grid during peak usage periods or emergency outages. Designed to store anywhere from 100W to 5MW of power in modular configurations, Plurion batteries can deliver a high per-cell voltage (2.6v) through environmentally friendly materials and fault-tolerant chemistry.

“The Plurion battery offers an economical, low-maintenance solution for storing and distributing electricity,” explains Robert Clarke, chief technology officer at AIC. “Because it’s a flow battery with reusable electrolytes, the system has an exceptionally long life span.”

With the United States Department of Energy projecting a 50 percent surge in power demand by 2030, technologies like the Plurion battery stand to play a pivotal role in transforming the world’s energy infrastructure. Even in the absence of major power failures, advanced battery technologies could save tens of billions of dollars annually, according to a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

“Plurion makes storing and transporting large reserves of electricity a reality,” says Clarke. •••

Click here to visit Plurionsystems.com

Sources
Understanding the Cost of Power Interruptions to U.S. Electricity Consumers.
Energy Information Administration Annual Energy Outlook 2007, Report # DOE-EIC-0383.

Recovering minerals and profits from tapped-out mines. AIC’s patented electrochemical processes can
help extend the world’s high-value metal supply.

Powering high-performance
race cars and hybrid electric vehicles. AIC’s BLAB addresses three of the major design issues
with the industry’s current generation of HEV batteries: expense, safety, and weight.

Making biofuels more efficient through flexible feedstocks (think dead wood, corn stalks, yard clippings, even biowaste). AIC has developed technologies for creating biofuels such as ethanol with increased energy yields – and more feedstock options than corn.

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