Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy

Prevodilac: Tereza Ivanovic Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

The electricity powering the lights in this theater

Struja koja napaja svetla u ovom pozorištu

was generated just moments ago.

proizvedena je pre par trenutaka.

Because the way things stand today,

Kako danas stoje stvari,

electricity demand must be in constant balance

potražnja za električnom energijom

mora da bude ujednačena sa njenim zalihama.

with electricity supply.

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

Da je, za vreme koje mi je trebalo da izađem na ovu pozornicu,

some tens of megawatts of wind power

desetine megavata energije vetra

stopped pouring into the grid,

prestalo da dotiče u mrežu,

the difference would have to be made up

razliku bi istog trenutka nadoknadili

from other generators immediately.

iz nekih drugih generatora.

But coal plants, nuclear plants

Međutim, termoelektrane, nuklearne elektrane

can't respond fast enough.

ne mogu tako brzo reagovati.

A giant battery could.

Ogromna baterija bi mogla.

With a giant battery,

Sa nekom gigantskom baterijom

we'd be able to address the problem of intermittency

mogli bismo da rešimo problem u prekidu

that prevents wind and solar

koji sprečava dotok vetra i solarne energije u mrežu

from contributing to the grid

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

na način kako je to sa ugljem, gasom i nuklearnom energijom danas.

You see, the battery

Vidite, baterija je ključni uređaj ovde.

is the key enabling device here.

With it, we could draw electricity from the sun

Pomoću nje bismo mogli crpiti struju od sunca

even when the sun doesn't shine.

čak i kada ono ne sija.

And that changes everything.

To menja sve,

Because then renewables

jer su onda obnovljivu energiju

such as wind and solar

koja potiče od vetra ili sunca

come out from the wings,

na ovu scenu dopremila krila.

here to center stage.

Today I want to tell you about such a device.

Danas želim da govorim o jednom takvom uređaju.

It's called the liquid metal battery.

To je baterija od tečnog metala.

It's a new form of energy storage

To je novi oblik skladištenja energije

that I invented at MIT

koju sam otkrio na MIT-u

along with a team of my students

zajedno sa timom studenata

and post-docs.

i doktoranata.

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

Tema ovogodišnje TED konferencije je "Pun spektar".

The OED defines spectrum

Oksfordski rečnik definiše spektar

as "The entire range of wavelengths

kao "ceo niz talasnih dužina

of electromagnetic radiation,

elektromagnetnog zračenja,

from the longest radio waves to the shortest gamma rays

od najdužih radio talasa do najkraćih gama zraka,

of which the range of visible light

od kojih je opseg vidljive svetlosti

is only a small part."

samo jedan mali deo."

So I'm not here today only to tell you

Nisam ovde samo da bih govorio o tome

how my team at MIT has drawn out of nature

kako je moj tim sa MIT-a izvukao iz prirode

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

rešenje za jedan od najvećih svetskih problema.

I want to go full spectrum and tell you how,

Želim obuhvatiti puni spektar

in the process of developing

i želim da vam ispričam da smo,

this new technology,

u procesu razvoja ove nove tehnologije,

we've uncovered some surprising heterodoxies

otkrili iznenađujuće zablude

that can serve as lessons for innovation,

koje mogu postati nauk za inovacije,

ideas worth spreading.

ideje vredne širenja.

And you know,

Znate, ako želimo spasiti ovu zemlju

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

iz trenutne energetske situacije,

we can't just conserve our way out;

to ne možemo uraditi samo očuvanjem,

we can't just drill our way out;

samo probijanjem,

we can't bomb our way out.

ili samo bombardovanjem.

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

Uradićemo to na staromodni američki način,

we're going to invent our way out,

sami ćemo pronaći svoj put inovacijama, radeći zajedno.

working together.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Now let's get started.

Hajde da počnemo.

The battery was invented about 200 years ago

Bateriju je izumeo pre otprilike 200 godina

by a professor, Alessandro Volta,

profesor Alesandro Volta

at the University of Padua in Italy.

na Univerzitetu u Padovi, Italija.

His invention gave birth to a new field of science,

Iz ovog izuma se rodila nova grana nauke, elektrohemija,

electrochemistry,

and new technologies

takođe i nove tehnologije,

such as electroplating.

kao što je galvanizacija.

Perhaps overlooked,

I da ne previdimo,

Volta's invention of the battery

Voltin izum baterije

for the first time also

prvi put je pokazao

demonstrated the utility of a professor.

korisnost profesora.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Until Volta, nobody could imagine

Do Volte, niko nije mogao zamisliti

a professor could be of any use.

da bi profesori mogli biti korisni.

Here's the first battery --

Evo prve baterije.

a stack of coins, zinc and silver,

Gomila novčića, cink i srebro,

separated by cardboard soaked in brine.

odvojeni kartonom natopljenim u slanu vodu.

This is the starting point

Ovo je početak osmišljavanja baterije -

for designing a battery --

two electrodes,

dve elektrode,

u ovom slučaju metali različitog sastava,

in this case metals of different composition,

and an electrolyte,

i elektrolit,

in this case salt dissolved in water.

u ovom slučaju so rastvorena u vodi.

The science is that simple.

Ta nauka je dotle jednostavna.

Admittedly, I've left out a few details.

Doduše, izostavio sam neke detalje.

Now I've taught you

Pokazao sam vam

that battery science is straightforward

da je nauka o baterijama jednostavna

and the need for grid-level storage

i postoji hitna potreba za skladištenje na mrežnom nivou,

is compelling,

but the fact is

ali činjenica je

that today there is simply no battery technology

da danas ne postoji tehnologija izrade baterija

capable of meeting

koja može da udovolji

the demanding performance requirements of the grid --

zahtevnim specifikacijama mreže,

namely uncommonly high power,

a to su neobično velika snaga,

long service lifetime

dug rok trajanja

and super-low cost.

i izuzetno niske cene.

We need to think about the problem differently.

O problemu moramo razmisliti na drugačiji način.

We need to think big,

Ono što osmislimo

we need to think cheap.

mora biti nešto veliko, a jeftino.

So let's abandon the paradigm

Hajde da zaboravimo ideju

of let's search for the coolest chemistry

o potrazi za super hemikalijom

and then hopefully we'll chase down the cost curve

i nadamo se da ćemo onda spustiti cene

by just making lots and lots of product.

povećavanjem proizvodnje.

Instead, let's invent

Umesto toga, otkrijmo nešto što će cenom parirati struji.

to the price point of the electricity market.

So that means

To znači

da su određeni delovi periodnog sistema

that certain parts of the periodic table

are axiomatically off-limits.

nesumnjivo isključeni.

This battery needs to be made

Ova baterija mora da se napravi

out of earth-abundant elements.

od elemenata kojih ima u izobilju.

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

Ako želite napraviti nešto što će imati prizemnu cenu,

make it out of dirt --

napravite to od zemlje -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

preferably dirt

poželjno je od nečistoće

that's locally sourced.

iz lokalne sredine.

And we need to be able to build this thing

Za izradu ove stvari moramo koristiti

using simple manufacturing techniques and factories

jednostavne proizvodne tehnike

that don't cost us a fortune.

i fabrike koje ne koštaju bogatstvo.

So about six years ago,

Pre otprilike šest godina

I started thinking about this problem.

počeo sam da razmišljam o ovom problemu.

And in order to adopt a fresh perspective,

Da bih usvojio novu perspektivu,

I sought inspiration from beyond the field of electricity storage.

tražio sam inspiraciju izvan polja skladištenja električne energije.

In fact, I looked to a technology

U stvari, tražio sam tehnologiju

that neither stores nor generates electricity,

koja niti skladišti, niti proizvodi električnu energiju,

but instead consumes electricity,

već je troši u ogromnim količinama.

huge amounts of it.

I'm talking about the production of aluminum.

Govorim o proizvodnji aluminijuma.

The process was invented in 1886

Postupak su otkrili 1886. godine dva 22-godišnjaka,

by a couple of 22-year-olds --

Hall in the United States and Heroult in France.

Hol iz SAD i Irol iz Francuske.

And just a few short years following their discovery,

Samo nekoliko godina nakon njihovog otkrića,

aluminum changed

aluminijum se promenio;

from a precious metal costing as much as silver

od dragocenog metala kao što je srebro,

to a common structural material.

postao je običan strukturni materijal.

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

Upravo gledate osnovnu jedinicu moderne topionice aluminijuma.

It's about 50 feet wide

Široka je oko 15 metara

and recedes about half a mile --

i prostire se na oko 800 m -

row after row of cells

sve su to nizovi ćelija

that, inside, resemble Volta's battery,

koje iznutra podsećaju na Voltinu bateriju,

with three important differences.

ali uz tri bitne razlike.

Volta's battery works at room temperature.

Voltina baterija radi na sobnoj temperaturi.

It's fitted with solid electrodes

Snabdevena je sa dve krute elektrode

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

i elektrolitom, rastvorom soli i vode.

The Hall-Heroult cell

Ćelija Hol-Irol

operates at high temperature,

radi na visokoj temperaturi,

a temperature high enough

dovoljno visokoj

that the aluminum metal product is liquid.

da aluminijum pretvori u tečnost.

The electrolyte

Elektrolit nije rastvor soli i vode,

is not a solution of salt and water,

but rather salt that's melted.

već istopljena so.

It's this combination of liquid metal,

Ovo je kombinacija tečnog metala,

molten salt and high temperature

otopljene soli i visoke temperature,

that allows us to send high current through this thing.

i ono omogućava protok jake struje.

Today, we can produce virgin metal from ore

Danas se može proizvesti primarni metal iz ruda

at a cost of less than 50 cents a pound.

po ceni manjoj od 50 centi za otprilike pola kilograma.

That's the economic miracle

To je ekonomsko čudo

of modern electrometallurgy.

savremene elektrometalurgije.

It is this that caught and held my attention

Ovo je privuklo i držalo moju pažnju do te mere

to the point that I became obsessed with inventing a battery

da sam postao opsednut izumom baterije

that could capture this gigantic economy of scale.

koja bi mogla da zgrne ovakav giganstski ekonomski rast.

And I did.

I uspeo sam.

I made the battery all liquid --

Napravio sam tečnu bateriju -

liquid metals for both electrodes

obe elektrode od tečnog metala

and a molten salt for the electrolyte.

i rastopljena so kao elektrolit.

I'll show you how.

Sad ću da vam pokažem.

So I put low-density

Tako sam stavio

tečni metal niske gustine na vrh,

liquid metal at the top,

put a high-density liquid metal at the bottom,

tečni metal visoke gustine na dno,

and molten salt in between.

a između je otopljena so.

So now,

E sada,

how to choose the metals?

kako izabrati metale?

For me, the design exercise

Za mene,

stvaranje uvek počinje ovde,

always begins here

with the periodic table,

sa periodnim sistemom,

enunciated by another professor,

koji je objavio još jedan profesor,

Dimitri Mendeleyev.

Dmitrij Mendeljejev.

Everything we know

Sve što poznajemo

is made of some combination

je neka kombinacija

of what you see depicted here.

onoga što je ovde prikazano.

And that includes our own bodies.

To uključuje i naša tela.

I recall the very moment one day

Sećam se jednog trenutka

when I was searching for a pair of metals

kada sam tražio par metala

that would meet the constraints

kojih ima u izobilju

of earth abundance,

na zemlji,

different, opposite density

koji su različiti, suprotne gustine

and high mutual reactivity.

i u međusobnoj su reakciji.

I felt the thrill of realization

Bio sam uzbuđen kad sam shvatio

when I knew I'd come upon the answer.

da sam blizu odgovora.

Magnesium for the top layer.

Magnezijum za gornji sloj.

And antimony

Antimon za donji sloj.

for the bottom layer.

You know, I've got to tell you,

Moram da vam kažem

one of the greatest benefits of being a professor:

šta je najveća korist od toga što ste profesor -

colored chalk.

krede u boji.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So to produce current,

Da bi proizveo struju,

magnesium loses two electrons

magnezijum gubi dva elektrona

to become magnesium ion,

da bi postao jon,

which then migrates across the electrolyte,

koji se zatim kreće kroz elektrolit,

accepts two electrons from the antimony,

prihvata dva elektrona od antimona,

and then mixes with it to form an alloy.

a zatim se meša s njim i stvara leguru.

The electrons go to work

Elektroni funkcionišu

in the real world out here,

u stvarnom svetu,

powering our devices.

napajajući naše uređaje.

Now to charge the battery,

Da bismo napunili bateriju,

we connect a source of electricity.

povezujemo je na struju.

It could be something like a wind farm.

Može da potiče od vetrenjača.

And then we reverse the current.

Zatim pretvaramo struju.

And this forces magnesium to de-alloy

Ovo primorava magnezijum da se odvoji iz legure

and return to the upper electrode,

i vrati na gornju elektrodu

restoring the initial constitution of the battery.

i ponovo se uspostavlja početno stanje baterije.

And the current passing between the electrodes

Struja koja prolazi između elektroda

generates enough heat to keep it at temperature.

proizvodi dovoljno toplote da održava temperaturu.

It's pretty cool,

To je sjajno,

at least in theory.

makar teoretski.

But does it really work?

Međutim, da li zaista radi?

So what to do next?

Šta dalje?

We go to the laboratory.

Idemo u laboratoriju.

Now do I hire seasoned professionals?

Da li angažujem iskusne profesionalce?

No, I hire a student

Ne, angažujem studenta,

and mentor him,

nadgledam,

teach him how to think about the problem,

podučavam ga kako da razmišlja o problemu,

to see it from my perspective

da ga vidi iz moje perspektive,

and then turn him loose.

a onda ga pustim.

This is that student, David Bradwell,

Ovo je taj student, Dejvid Bradvel,

who, in this image,

koji na ovoj slici

appears to be wondering if this thing will ever work.

izgleda kao da se pita da li će ovo ikad proraditi.

What I didn't tell David at the time

Tada nisam rekao Dejvidu

was I myself wasn't convinced it would work.

da ni sam nisam ubeđen u to.

But David's young and he's smart

Međutim, Dejvid je mlad, pametan, želi doktorat

and he wants a Ph.D.,

and he proceeds to build --

i počinje da radi -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

He proceeds to build

Počinje da pravi

the first ever liquid metal battery

prvu bateriju od tečnog metala ovakvog hemijskog sastava.

of this chemistry.

And based on David's initial promising results,

Na osnovu Dejvidovih početnih rezultata, koji su obećavali,

which were paid

i bili plaćeni sredstvima MIT-a,

with seed funds at MIT,

I was able to attract major research funding

uspeo sam da nađem sponzore

from the private sector

iz privatnog sektora i od vlade.

and the federal government.

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

Tako sam mogao da proširim tim na 20 ljudi,

a mix of graduate students, post-docs

koji su bili diplomci, naučnici

and even some undergraduates.

ili čak pred diplomom.

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

Privukao sam stvarno dobre ljude,

people who share my passion

one koji su delili moju strast za naukom

for science and service to society,

i za služenjem društvu,

not science and service for career building.

a ne za izgradnju karijere.

And if you ask these people

Ako pitate ove ljude

why they work on liquid metal battery,

zašto rade na baterijama od tečnog metala,

their answer would hearken back

njihov odgovor podseća

to President Kennedy's remarks

na opasku predsednika Kenedija

at Rice University in 1962

na Rajs Univerzitetu 1962. godine,

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

kada je rekao, a sada parafraziram:

"We choose to work on grid-level storage,

"Radimo na mrežnom skladištenju

not because it is easy,

ne zato što je to lako,

but because it is hard."

nego zato što je to teško."

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So this is the evolution of the liquid metal battery.

Ovo je evolucija baterije sa tečnim metalom.

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

Počinjemo sa radnom mašinom od jedan vat po satu.

I called it the shotglass.

Nazvao sam je čašicom.

We've operated over 400 of these,

Uradili smo više od 400 komada,

perfecting their performance with a plurality of chemistries --

usavršavali izvedbu mnoštvom hemikalija,

not just magnesium and antimony.

ne samo magnezijumom i antimonom.

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

Dostigli smo 20 vat-sati po ćeliji.

I call it the hockey puck.

Zovem je "hokejski pak".

And we got the same remarkable results.

Postigli smo značajne rezultate.

And then it was onto the saucer.

To je već bio "tanjirić".

That's 200 watt-hours.

To je dvesta vat-sati.

The technology was proving itself

Pokazalo se da je ta tehnologija

to be robust and scalable.

snažna i prilagodljiva,

But the pace wasn't fast enough for us.

ali nismo napredovali dovoljno brzo.

So a year and a half ago,

Pre godinu i po

David and I,

Dejvid i ja sa ostalim članovima tima,

along with another research staff-member,

formed a company

osnovali smo kompaniju

da bismo ubrzali napredak

to accelerate the rate of progress

and the race to manufacture product.

i trku u proizvodnji.

So today at LMBC,

Danas u LMBC-u

we're building cells 16 inches in diameter

proizvodimo ćelije prečnika 40 cm

with a capacity of one kilowatt-hour --

sa kapacitetom od jedan kilovat-sati,

1,000 times the capacity

što je hiljadu puta više od početne čašice.

of that initial shotglass cell.

We call that the pizza.

Sad je već nazivamo "pica".

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

Sad već imamo u izgledu ćeliju od četiri kilovat-sati.

It's going to be 36 inches in diameter.

Biće 90 cm u prečniku.

We call that the bistro table,

To nazivamo "kafanski sto",

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

ali još nismo spremni da prikažemo.

And one variant of the technology

Jedna od varijanti je

has us stacking these bistro tabletops into modules,

da sastavimo ove tzv. kafanske stolove u module,

aggregating the modules into a giant battery

da ih spojimo u jednu ogromnu bateriju

that fits in a 40-foot shipping container

koja bi stala u prostor dužine 12 m,

for placement in the field.

a koji bi mogao da stoji na otvorenom.

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

Ovo ima kapacitet dva megavat-sati,

two million watt-hours.

dva miliona vat-sati.

That's enough energy

To je energija koja je dovoljna

to meet the daily electrical needs

da zadovolji dnevne potrebe za strujom

of 200 American households.

za 200 domaćinstava u Americi.

So here you have it, grid-level storage:

To je, dakle, mrežno skladištenje -

silent, emissions-free,

bešumno, bez štetne emisije,

no moving parts,

bez pokretnih delova,

remotely controlled,

sa daljinskim upravljanjem,

designed to the market price point

proizvedeno po tržišnoj ceni,

without subsidy.

bez subvencije.

So what have we learned from all this?

Šta smo naučili iz ovoga?

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So what have we learned from all this?

Šta smo naučili?

Let me share with you

Reći ću vam nešto

some of the surprises, the heterodoxies.

o iznenađenjima, zabludama.

They lie beyond the visible.

One se ne vide.

Temperature:

Temperatura -

Conventional wisdom says set it low,

po opštem saznanju treba da je niska,

at or near room temperature,

približna sobnoj temperaturi,

and then install a control system to keep it there.

i potrebno je instalirati sistem koji će to održavati.

Avoid thermal runaway.

treba izbeći gubitak temperature.

Liquid metal battery is designed to operate at elevated temperature

Baterija od tečnog metala treba da radi na visokoj temperaturi

with minimum regulation.

uz mimimalnu regulaciju.

Our battery can handle the very high temperature rises

Naša baterija podnosi visoke temperaturne promene

that come from current surges.

koje potiču od prenapona struje.

Scaling: Conventional wisdom says

Skaliranje - opšte je prihvaćeno

reduce cost by producing many.

da cenu treba smanjiti povećanjem proizvodnje.

Liquid metal battery is designed to reduce cost

Tečna baterija se proizvodi uz umanjene troškove,

by producing fewer, but they'll be larger.

kroz proizvodnju manjeg broja, ali će biti veće.

And finally, human resources:

Konačno, ljudski resursi -

Conventional wisdom says

opšte je poznato da treba zaposliti stručnjake,

hire battery experts,

seasoned professionals,

iskusne profesionalce,

who can draw upon their vast experience and knowledge.

koji se oslanjaju na svoje ogromno iskustvo i znanje.

To develop liquid metal battery,

Da bismo razvili bateriju od tečnog metala

I hired students and post-docs and mentored them.

zaposlio sam post-doktorante i usmeravao sam ih.

In a battery,

Što se tiče baterije,

I strive to maximize electrical potential;

nastojim da električni potencijal dovedem do najviše tačke;

when mentoring,

kada sam mentor, do najviše tačke dovodim ljudski potencijal.

I strive to maximize human potential.

So you see,

Eto, vidite,

the liquid metal battery story

priča o bateriji sa tečnim metalom

is more than an account

je više od izveštaja o pronalasku nove tehnologije.

of inventing technology,

it's a blueprint

To je plan za otkrivanje inovatora, u punom spektru.

for inventing inventors, full-spectrum.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)