Are there other types of energy storage besides lithium batteries that are plausibly cheap enough (with near-term technological development) to cover the multiple days of storage case?
(Legitimately curious, I’m not very familiar with the topic.)
Yes, compressed natural gas in underground caverns is cheap enough for seasonal energy storage.
But of course, you meant “storage that can be efficiently filled using electricity”. That’s a difficult question. In theory, thermal energy storage using molten salt or hot sand could work, and maybe a sufficiently cheap flow battery chemistry is possible. In theory, much better water electrolysis and hydrogen fuel cells are possible; there just currently aren’t any plausible candidates for that.
But currently, even affordable 14-hour storage is rather challenging.
Are there other types of energy storage besides lithium batteries that are plausibly cheap enough (with near-term technological development) to cover the multiple days of storage case?
(Legitimately curious, I’m not very familiar with the topic.)
Yes, compressed natural gas in underground caverns is cheap enough for seasonal energy storage.
But of course, you meant “storage that can be efficiently filled using electricity”. That’s a difficult question. In theory, thermal energy storage using molten salt or hot sand could work, and maybe a sufficiently cheap flow battery chemistry is possible. In theory, much better water electrolysis and hydrogen fuel cells are possible; there just currently aren’t any plausible candidates for that.
But currently, even affordable 14-hour storage is rather challenging.