Tiny battery traps solar power to run a house for 24 hrs.

Tiny battery traps solar power to run a house for 24 hrs
Times of India Bangalore, August 4, 2009

A small disc could be the solution for the efficient and cheap storage of the suns energy.
A Utah-based company has found a new way to store solar energy in a small ceramic disk which can store more power for less. Researchers at Ceramatec have created the disk, which can hold up to 20-kilowatt hours, enough to power an entire house for a large portion of the day.
The new battery runs on sodium-sulfur a composition that typically operates at greater than 600F. Sodiumsulfur is more energetic than lead-acid , so if you can somehow get it to a lower temperature , it would be valuable for residential use , Ralph Brodd, an independent energy conversion consultant, says.

Ceramatecs new battery runs at less than 200F. The secret is a thin ceramic membrane that is sandwiched between the sodium and sulfur . Only positive sodium ions can pass through, leaving electrons to create a useful electrical current. Ceramatec says that batteries will be ready for market testing in 2011, and will sell for about $2000. The disk has not yet been manufactured for residential use, but the creators have spoken optimistically about the possibility.

The convergence of two key technologies solar power and deep-storage batteries has profound implications for oil-strapped the US. These batteries switch the whole dialogue to renewables, said Daniel Nocera, professor of energy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who sits on Ceramatecs advisory board. AGENCIES