Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

Prevoditelj: Svjetlana Nevescanin Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

The electricity powering the lights in this theater

Električna struja koja osvjetljava ovu dvoranu

was generated just moments ago.

proizvedena je prije par trenutaka.

Because the way things stand today,

Zbog današnje situacije,

electricity demand must be in constant balance

potražnja za električnom energijom mora biti u stalnoj ravnoteži

with electricity supply.

s dostupnom električnom energijom.

If in the time that it took me to walk out here on this stage,

Da je za vrijeme dok sam se penjao na ovu pozornicu

some tens of megawatts of wind power

nekih desetaka megavata struje proizvedene u vjetroelektranama

stopped pouring into the grid,

prestalo doticati u mrežu,

the difference would have to be made up

razliku bi odmah nadoknadili

from other generators immediately.

drugi generatori.

But coal plants, nuclear plants

Termoelektrane, nuklearne elektrane

can't respond fast enough.

ne mogu reagirati dovoljno brzo.

A giant battery could.

Ali divovska baterija može.

With a giant battery,

Pomoću divovske baterije

we'd be able to address the problem of intermittency

mogli bismo riješiti problem intermitentnosti

that prevents wind and solar

koji onemogućava da vjetar i sunce

from contributing to the grid

doprinose mreži

in the same way that coal, gas and nuclear do today.

na isti način na koji danas doprinose ugljen, plin i nuklearke.

You see, the battery

Vidite, baterija je

is the key enabling device here.

ključni faktor ovdje.

With it, we could draw electricity from the sun

Pomoću nje, možemo iskoristiti el. energiju sunca

even when the sun doesn't shine.

čak i kad sunce ne sija.

And that changes everything.

A to mijenja sve.

Because then renewables

Jer tada obnovljivi izvori energije,

such as wind and solar

poput vjetra i sunca

come out from the wings,

prestaju biti periferni

here to center stage.

i postaju jako bitni.

Today I want to tell you about such a device.

Danas vam želim pričati o takvom uređaju.

It's called the liquid metal battery.

Zove se tekuća baterija.

It's a new form of energy storage

To je novi način pohranjivanja energije

that I invented at MIT

razvijen na MIT-u

along with a team of my students

od strane tima sačinjenog od mojih studenata

and post-docs.

i postdoktoranata.

Now the theme of this year's TED Conference is Full Spectrum.

Tema ovogodišnje TED-ove konferencije je puni spektar.

The OED defines spectrum

OED definira spektar

as "The entire range of wavelengths

kao: "Cijeli raspon valnih duljina

of electromagnetic radiation,

elektromagnetske radijacije,

from the longest radio waves to the shortest gamma rays

od najdužih radio valova do najkraćih gama zraka,

of which the range of visible light

gdje je raspon vidljivog svijetla

is only a small part."

samo mali dio."

So I'm not here today only to tell you

Zato vam danas neću govoriti samo o tome

how my team at MIT has drawn out of nature

kako je moj tim na MIT-u od prirode izvukao

a solution to one of the world's great problems.

rješenje za jedan od najvećih svjetskih problema.

I want to go full spectrum and tell you how,

Želim prijeći cijeli proces i reći vam kako smo,

in the process of developing

u postupku razvoja

this new technology,

ove nove tehnologije,

we've uncovered some surprising heterodoxies

otkrili nekoliko zanimljivih heterodoksija,

that can serve as lessons for innovation,

koje mogu dobro doći u procesu invacija,

ideas worth spreading.

ideja koje vrijedi podijeliti.

And you know,

I znate,

if we're going to get this country out of its current energy situation,

ako želimo ovu zemlju izvuči iz trenutnog energetskog problema,

we can't just conserve our way out;

ne možemo zamrnznuti izlaz;

we can't just drill our way out;

ne možemo ga pronaći ni bušenjem;

we can't bomb our way out.

ne možemo ga ni bobmardirati.

We're going to do it the old-fashioned American way,

To čemo uraditi na dobri, stari američki način,

we're going to invent our way out,

sami ćemo izmisliti riješenje,

working together.

zajedničkim radom.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Now let's get started.

Počnimo.

The battery was invented about 200 years ago

Bateriju je izumio prije gotovo 200 godina

by a professor, Alessandro Volta,

profesor Alessandro Volta,

at the University of Padua in Italy.

na Sveučilištu Padova, u Italiji.

His invention gave birth to a new field of science,

Njegov izum doveo je do razvoja nove znanstvene grane,

electrochemistry,

elektrokemije,

and new technologies

i novih tehnologija,

such as electroplating.

poput galvaniziranja.

Perhaps overlooked,

Možda pomalo zanemaren,

Volta's invention of the battery

Voltin izum baterije

for the first time also

po prvi pute je uz to

demonstrated the utility of a professor.

ukazao na korisnost profesora.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Until Volta, nobody could imagine

Do Volte, nitko nije mogao pojmiti

a professor could be of any use.

kako profesor može biti od koristi.

Here's the first battery --

Evo prve baterije...

a stack of coins, zinc and silver,

hrpa novčića, cink i srebro,

separated by cardboard soaked in brine.

odvojeni kartonom natobljenim u slanoj vodi.

This is the starting point

Ovo je početna točka

for designing a battery --

u stvaranju baterije...

two electrodes,

dvije elektrode,

in this case metals of different composition,

u ovom slučaju metali različitog sastava,

and an electrolyte,

i elektrolit,

in this case salt dissolved in water.

u ovom slučaju sol otopljena u vodi.

The science is that simple.

Znanost je tako jednostavna.

Admittedly, I've left out a few details.

Priznajem, izostavio sam par detalja.

Now I've taught you

Sad sam vas podučio

that battery science is straightforward

kako je znanost o bateriji jednostavna,

and the need for grid-level storage

a potreba za pohranom na razini mreže

is compelling,

nužnost,

but the fact is

ali činjenica je

that today there is simply no battery technology

kako danas jednostavo ne postoji tehnologija izrade baterija

capable of meeting

koja može zadovoljiti

the demanding performance requirements of the grid --

zahtjevne potreba mreže...

namely uncommonly high power,

uglavnom neuobičajeno jake struje,

long service lifetime

dugog vijeka trajanja

and super-low cost.

i super niskih troškova.

We need to think about the problem differently.

Problemu moramo pristupiti drukčije.

We need to think big,

Moramo razmišljati na veliko,

we need to think cheap.

moramo razmišljati jeftino.

So let's abandon the paradigm

Napustimo paradigmu

of let's search for the coolest chemistry

o pronalasku super kemijskog spoja

and then hopefully we'll chase down the cost curve

i tako ćemo, nadam se, izazvati pad krivulje troškova

by just making lots and lots of product.

proizvodnjom velike količine proizvoda.

Instead, let's invent

Umjesto toga, hajdemo izumiti

to the price point of the electricity market.

nešto po cijeni pogodnoj za tržište el. energije.

So that means

To znači

that certain parts of the periodic table

kako su određeni dijelovi periodičnog sustava

are axiomatically off-limits.

aksiomatski zabranjeni.

This battery needs to be made

Bateriju treba izraditi

out of earth-abundant elements.

od elemenata kojih ima u dovoljnim količinama.

I say, if you want to make something dirt cheap,

Ja znam reći, ako nešto želite da bude prljavo jeftino,

make it out of dirt --

izradite to od prljavštine...

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

preferably dirt

po mogućnosti od prljavštine

that's locally sourced.

koja je lokalno dostupna.

And we need to be able to build this thing

To moramo biti u stanju to izraditi

using simple manufacturing techniques and factories

pomoću jednostavnih proizvodnih tehnika i tvornica

that don't cost us a fortune.

koje nas neće koštati bogatstvo.

So about six years ago,

Prije jedno šest godina,

I started thinking about this problem.

počeo sam razmišljati o ovom problemu.

And in order to adopt a fresh perspective,

A kako bih dobio svježu perspektivu,

I sought inspiration from beyond the field of electricity storage.

tražio sam inspiraciju izvan područja pohrane el. energije.

In fact, I looked to a technology

U biti, okrenuo sam se tehnologiji

that neither stores nor generates electricity,

koja niti čuva niti stvara el. energiju,

but instead consumes electricity,

već je troši,

huge amounts of it.

u ogromnim količinama.

I'm talking about the production of aluminum.

Govorim o proizvodnji aluminija.

The process was invented in 1886

Postupak je izmišljen 1886. godine

by a couple of 22-year-olds --

od dvojce 22-godišnjaka...

Hall in the United States and Heroult in France.

Halla iz Sjedinjenih Država i Heroulta iz Francuske.

And just a few short years following their discovery,

U samo par godina nakon njihova otrkića,

aluminum changed

aluminijum je od

from a precious metal costing as much as silver

skupocijenog metala koji je koštao poput srebra

to a common structural material.

postao uobičajeni strukturni materijal.

You're looking at the cell house of a modern aluminum smelter.

Gledate u skup ćelija moderne tvornice aluminija.

It's about 50 feet wide

Široka je oko 15 metara

and recedes about half a mile --

i proteže se na gotovo jedan kilometar...

row after row of cells

red za redom ćelija

that, inside, resemble Volta's battery,

koje, unutra, sliče Voltinoj bateriji,

with three important differences.

ali s tri ključne razlike.

Volta's battery works at room temperature.

Voltina baterija radi na sobnoj temperaturi.

It's fitted with solid electrodes

Sastoji se od čvrstih elektroda

and an electrolyte that's a solution of salt and water.

i elektrolita, tj. soli otopljene u vodi.

The Hall-Heroult cell

Hall-Heroult ćelija

operates at high temperature,

radi na visokoj temperaturi,

a temperature high enough

temperaturi toliko visokoj

that the aluminum metal product is liquid.

da metal, aluminij, postaje tekući.

The electrolyte

Elektrolit

is not a solution of salt and water,

nije sol otopljena u vodi,

but rather salt that's melted.

već rastopljena sol.

It's this combination of liquid metal,

Ova kombinacija tekućeg metala,

molten salt and high temperature

rastopljene soli i visoke temperature

that allows us to send high current through this thing.

omogućava protok jake struje kroz ovu napravu.

Today, we can produce virgin metal from ore

Danas, možemo proizvesti primarni metal iz ruda

at a cost of less than 50 cents a pound.

po cijeni manjoj od 50 centi za pola kilograma.

That's the economic miracle

To je ekonomsko čudo

of modern electrometallurgy.

moderne elektrometalurgije.

It is this that caught and held my attention

To je zaokupilo moju pažnju,

to the point that I became obsessed with inventing a battery

toliko sa sam postao opsjednut izumom baterije

that could capture this gigantic economy of scale.

koja može sadržavati ovu divovsku ekonomiju razmjera.

And I did.

I to sam učinio.

I made the battery all liquid --

Izradio sam potpuno tekuću bateriju...

liquid metals for both electrodes

tekući metali za obje elektrode

and a molten salt for the electrolyte.

te rastopljena sol kao elektrolit.

I'll show you how.

Pokazat ću vam kako.

So I put low-density

Na vrh sam stavio

liquid metal at the top,

tekući metal niske gustoće,

put a high-density liquid metal at the bottom,

na dno tekući metal visoke gustoće,

and molten salt in between.

a između rastopljenu sol.

So now,

E sad,

how to choose the metals?

kako odabrati metale?

For me, the design exercise

Ze mene, vježba stvaranja

always begins here

počinje ovjde

with the periodic table,

s periodini sustavom,

enunciated by another professor,

koji je predstavio još jedan profesor,

Dimitri Mendeleyev.

Dmitri Mendeljejev.

Everything we know

Sve što znamo

is made of some combination

sastoji se od neke kombinacije

of what you see depicted here.

ovdje navedenog.

And that includes our own bodies.

Uključujući i naša tijela.

I recall the very moment one day

Sjećam se trenutka

when I was searching for a pair of metals

kad sam tražio par metala

that would meet the constraints

koji će odgovarati uvjetima

of earth abundance,

da ih ima u dovoljnim količinama,

different, opposite density

da su različite, nasuportne gutoće

and high mutual reactivity.

i visoke obostrane reaktivnosti.

I felt the thrill of realization

Bio sam oduševljen spoznavši

when I knew I'd come upon the answer.

kako sam našao odgovor.

Magnesium for the top layer.

Mangezij za gornji sloj.

And antimony

I antimon

for the bottom layer.

za donji sloj.

You know, I've got to tell you,

Znate, moram vam reći,

one of the greatest benefits of being a professor:

jedna od najboljih stavri kad ste profesor je:

colored chalk.

kreda u boji.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So to produce current,

Kako bi se proizvela sruja,

magnesium loses two electrons

magnezij gubi dva elektrona,

to become magnesium ion,

i postaje magnezij ion,

which then migrates across the electrolyte,

i onda migrira po elektrolitu,

accepts two electrons from the antimony,

uzima dva elektrona od antimona,

and then mixes with it to form an alloy.

te ih mješa u obliku legure.

The electrons go to work

Elektroni kreću raditi

in the real world out here,

u stavrni svijet,

powering our devices.

napajajući naše uređaje.

Now to charge the battery,

Za punjenje baterije,

we connect a source of electricity.

priključimo se na izvor el. energije.

It could be something like a wind farm.

To može biti nešto poput vjetroparka.

And then we reverse the current.

I onda okrećemo struju.

And this forces magnesium to de-alloy

A to prisiljava magnezij da rastvori leguru

and return to the upper electrode,

i vrati se gornjoj elektrodi,

restoring the initial constitution of the battery.

vraćajući početni sastav baterije.

And the current passing between the electrodes

Struja koja prolazi izmešu elektroda

generates enough heat to keep it at temperature.

stvara dovoljno topline da je drži na odgovarajućoj temperaturi.

It's pretty cool,

Super,

at least in theory.

barem u teoriji.

But does it really work?

Ali djeluje li to zapravo?

So what to do next?

Što uraditi sljedeće?

We go to the laboratory.

Idemo u laboratorij.

Now do I hire seasoned professionals?

Zapošljavam li iskusne profesionalce?

No, I hire a student

Ne, već studenta

and mentor him,

kojeg podučavam,

teach him how to think about the problem,

učim ga kako razmišljati o problemu,

to see it from my perspective

da ga sagleda iz moje perspektive

and then turn him loose.

i onda ga puštam.

This is that student, David Bradwell,

Ovo je taj student, David Bradwell,

who, in this image,

koji se, na ovoj slici,

appears to be wondering if this thing will ever work.

pita hoće li ova stvar ikad raditi.

What I didn't tell David at the time

Tad to nisam rekao Davidu,

was I myself wasn't convinced it would work.

ali ni ja nisam bio uvjeren da hoće.

But David's young and he's smart

Ali, David je mlad i pametan,

and he wants a Ph.D.,

želi doktorirati

and he proceeds to build --

i nastavio je s izradom...

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

He proceeds to build

Nastavio je s izradom

the first ever liquid metal battery

prve tekuće baterije

of this chemistry.

ovog kemijskog sastava.

And based on David's initial promising results,

A temeljem početnih Davidovih obečavajućih rezultata,

which were paid

koji su plaćeni

with seed funds at MIT,

sredstvima MIT-a,

I was able to attract major research funding

uspio sam privuči glavne ulagače u istraživanja

from the private sector

iz privatnog sektora

and the federal government.

i savezne vlasti.

And that allowed me to expand my group to 20 people,

A to mi je omogućilo proširivanje tima na 20 ljudi,

a mix of graduate students, post-docs

kombinacija diplomaca, postdoktoranata

and even some undergraduates.

pa čak i nekih dodiplomaca.

And I was able to attract really, really good people,

Uspio sam privuči neke zaista dobre ljude,

people who share my passion

ljude koji dijele moju strast

for science and service to society,

za znanošću i služenju društvu,

not science and service for career building.

a ne znanosti i stjecanju karijere.

And if you ask these people

I ako upitate ove ljude

why they work on liquid metal battery,

zašto rade na tekućoj bateriji,

their answer would hearken back

njihov odgovor parafrazirat će

to President Kennedy's remarks

govor predsjenika Kennedyja

at Rice University in 1962

na Sveučilištu Rice 1962. godine

when he said -- and I'm taking liberties here --

kad je rekao...u slobodnoj interpretaciji...

"We choose to work on grid-level storage,

"Odabiremo raditi na pohrani na mrežnoj razini,

not because it is easy,

ne zato što je to lako,

but because it is hard."

već zato što je to teško."

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

So this is the evolution of the liquid metal battery.

Ovo je evolucija tekuće baterije.

We start here with our workhorse one watt-hour cell.

Započeli smo s temeljnom ćelijom od jednog watt-sata.

I called it the shotglass.

Ja je zovem bićerin.

We've operated over 400 of these,

Radili smo na preko 400 takvih,

perfecting their performance with a plurality of chemistries --

usavršavali njihove performanse s brojnim kemijskim spojevima...

not just magnesium and antimony.

ne samo magenzijem i antimonom.

Along the way we scaled up to the 20 watt-hour cell.

S vremenom smo došli do ćelije od 20 watt-sata.

I call it the hockey puck.

Zovem je hokejski pak.

And we got the same remarkable results.

I dobili smo jednako zadivljujuće rezultate.

And then it was onto the saucer.

A potom je došao tanjur.

That's 200 watt-hours.

To je 200 watt-sati.

The technology was proving itself

Tehnlogija se pokazala

to be robust and scalable.

robusnom i skalabilnom.

But the pace wasn't fast enough for us.

Ali ritam nije bio dovoljno brz za nas.

So a year and a half ago,

Pa smo prije godinu i pol,

David and I,

David i ja,

along with another research staff-member,

zajendo s ostalim članovima istraživačkog tima,

formed a company

osnovali tvrtku

to accelerate the rate of progress

kako bismo ubrzali postupak napretka

and the race to manufacture product.

i utrku za izradu proizvoda.

So today at LMBC,

Tako danas u LMBC,

we're building cells 16 inches in diameter

izrađujemo ćelije od 40 cm u promjeru

with a capacity of one kilowatt-hour --

kapaciteta jednog kilowatt-sata...

1,000 times the capacity

1000 puta kapaciteta

of that initial shotglass cell.

one početne, "bićerin" ćelije.

We call that the pizza.

Zovemo je pizza.

And then we've got a four kilowatt-hour cell on the horizon.

A onda je u planu bila ćelija od četiri kilowatt-sata.

It's going to be 36 inches in diameter.

Imat će promjer od 90 cm.

We call that the bistro table,

Zovemo je restoranski stol,

but it's not ready yet for prime-time viewing.

ali još nije spremna za gledanje u udarnom terminu.

And one variant of the technology

A jedna varijanta tehnologije

has us stacking these bistro tabletops into modules,

omogućila nam je slaganje ovih restoranskih stolova u module,

aggregating the modules into a giant battery

agregirajući module u divovsku bateriju

that fits in a 40-foot shipping container

koja stane u kontejner za prijevoz od 36 m,

for placement in the field.

koji se može postaviti u polje.

And this has a nameplate capacity of two megawatt-hours --

A ima nominalni kapacitet od dva megawatt-sata...

two million watt-hours.

dva milijuna watt-sati.

That's enough energy

To je dovoljno energije

to meet the daily electrical needs

za zadovoljavanje dnevnih potreba za el. energijom

of 200 American households.

200 američkih kućanstava.

So here you have it, grid-level storage:

I evo je, pohrana na mrežnoj razini:

silent, emissions-free,

tiha, bez otpadnih plinova,

no moving parts,

bez pokretnih dijelova,

remotely controlled,

daljinski upravljana,

designed to the market price point

dizajnirana prema tržišnoj cijeni

without subsidy.

bez subvencija.

So what have we learned from all this?

Što smo iz ovog naučiti?

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

So what have we learned from all this?

Što smo iz ovog naučili?

Let me share with you

Podijelit ću s vama

some of the surprises, the heterodoxies.

neka od iznenađenja, heterodoksije.

They lie beyond the visible.

Sve se to nalazi onkraj vidljivog.

Temperature:

Temperatura:

Conventional wisdom says set it low,

Uvriježeni stav smatra da je treba podesiti na niske vrijednosti

at or near room temperature,

ili oko sobne temperature,

and then install a control system to keep it there.

a potom treba instalirati kontrolni sustav koji će je održavati.

Avoid thermal runaway.

Treba izbjegavati velike termalne oscilacije.

Liquid metal battery is designed to operate at elevated temperature

Tekuća baterija napravljane je za rad na povišenim temperaturama

with minimum regulation.

uz minimalnu regulaciju.

Our battery can handle the very high temperature rises

Naša baterija može podnjeti naglo povećanje temperature

that come from current surges.

koje proizlazi iz strujnih skokova.

Scaling: Conventional wisdom says

Skaliranje: Opće prihvaćeni stav je

reduce cost by producing many.

smanjiti troškove proizvodeći velike količine.

Liquid metal battery is designed to reduce cost

Tekuća baterija izađena je tako da se troškovi smanje

by producing fewer, but they'll be larger.

proizvodnjom manje količine, većih proizvoda.

And finally, human resources:

I na kraju, kadrovi:

Conventional wisdom says

Uvriježeni stav je

hire battery experts,

zaposli stručnjake za baterije,

seasoned professionals,

iskusne profesionalce,

who can draw upon their vast experience and knowledge.

koji se mogu osloniti na svoje veliko iskustvo i znanje.

To develop liquid metal battery,

Za razvoj tekuće baterije,

I hired students and post-docs and mentored them.

angažirao sam studente i postdoktorante i podučavao sam ih.

In a battery,

Kad je riječ o bateriji,

I strive to maximize electrical potential;

nastojim maksimizirati električni potencijal;

when mentoring,

kad podučavam,

I strive to maximize human potential.

nastojim maksimizirati ljudski potencijal.

So you see,

Vidite,

the liquid metal battery story

priča o tekućoj bateriji

is more than an account

više je od prikaza

of inventing technology,

tehnoloških inovacije,

it's a blueprint

to je svojevrsni nacrt

for inventing inventors, full-spectrum.

kako stvoriti izumitelje, punog spektra.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)