Liquid metal batteries for storing renewable energy: Donald Sadoway named as European Inventor Award 2022 finalist
- Canadian-American electrochemist Donald Sadoway shortlisted for European Patent Office (EPO) prize for liquid metal batteries that last longer
- The invention stores energy in molten metal and can help bring more wind and solar power onto the electricity grid
- Ambri, an academic spinoff founded by Sadoway in 2010, has raised EUR 180 million to commercialise the patented technology
Munich, 17 May 2022 - The European Patent Office (EPO) announced today that Donald Sadoway, professor of materials chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been nominated as a finalist for the European Inventor Award 2022 for inventing a liquid metal battery that can bring more renewable energy onto the electricity grid.
Storing solar and wind power at scale would make it possible to use the clean power produced during the day at evening or morning peak load times, increasing the reliability of renewable energy and helping society move away from fossil fuels. Sadoway's rechargeable battery also degrades far less than conventional energy storage solutions and can be manufactured with locally-sourced raw materials.
"By enabling long-term storage of renewable energy, Sadoway's invention could help to solve a problem that many have battled for years to overcome," said EPO President António Campinos, announcing the European Inventor Award 2022 finalists. "His invention could reduce the cost of storing solar and wind power, providing consumers with more affordable and clean energy, with the potential to mitigate climate change in a sustainable manner."
Sadoway is named as one of the three finalists for the European Inventor Award in the "Non-EPO countries" category which recognises inventions developed outside EPO member states. The winners of the 2022 edition of the EPO's European Inventor Award will be announced at a virtual ceremony on 21 June.
Extreme electrochemistry
Born in 1950 into a family of Ukrainian immigrants in Canada, Sadoway studied chemical metallurgy specialising in what he calls "extreme electrochemistry" - chemical reactions in molten salts and liquid metals that have been heated to over 500°C. After completing his PhD, he joined the faculty at MIT in 1978 and began to research new chemical processes for extracting metals from mining ores. He patented an alternative method for producing steel, an invention that he said opened his eyes to the thrilling practical implications of his research.
By the early 2000s, Sadoway was working on improvements to lithium-based batteries, which were becoming cheap and compact enough to use for consumer products. However, their shorter lifespan meant they were not suitable for the long-term storage of renewable energy. Sadoway realised he could combine his earlier knowledge in molten salts and liquid metals with his research on batteries to develop a more durable battery that could store energy at the scale needed by the electricity grid. Helped by a government grant, in 2009 Sadoway began working with a team of young researchers to develop the first rechargeable battery that stored electricity in layers of liquid metal separated by molten salt.
"Our liquid metal batteries work just like conventional batteries, only their components are all liquid," he says. "I use a low-density liquid metal on top, a high-density liquid metal on the bottom, and, in between, a molten salt. So you have two electrodes separated by an electrolyte, just like in a conventional battery."
Liquid metal batteries offer key competitive advantages over conventional batteries. Firstly, they can be built without lithium, cobalt or other metals subject to geopolitical constraints or exploitative practices, and can be made even from locally sourced minerals. They also degrade far more slowly which means long service lifetime and contain nothing combustible which means fire proof.
Galvanising green investment
In parallel to his lab research, Sadoway, a passionate educator, developed a series of introductory chemistry lectures that were released online and brought his work to a wider audience. One notable viewer was Bill Gates, who visited Sadoway and offered to support his work on energy storage technology.
When Sadoway observed that a liquid metal battery cell could work in the laboratory, he immediately asked MIT to apply for a patent and set about commercialising his invention. In 2010, he co-founded Ambri, an academic spinoff, to scale liquid metal batteries from a laboratory prototype into a commercial product, with support from Bill Gates and French oil company Total as early investors. Over the following five years, the company raised a further EUR 45 million (USD 50 million) from venture capital funds and grew the company to a team of 37, a process for which the patent was essential.
"The top question from a prospective investor is whether you have protection for your intellect ual property," says Sadoway. "Without it, the investment is not assured."
In 2015, Ambri built its first room-sized liquid metal battery and the unit generated enough heat from its own operation to self-sustain its high operating temperature of over 500°C. Overall, Ambri has raised EUR 180 million to commercialise its patented technology and will install a unit on a 3,700-acre development for a data centre near Reno/Nevada, in the western desert of the United States. This battery will store energy from a reported 500 megawatts of on-site renewable generation, the same output as a natural gas power plant.
Sadoway remains active in Ambri, notably extending the reach of liquid metal batteries through fundamental research. While the company's first products use calcium, antimony, and calcium chloride (road salt), Sadoway points out that a variety of liquid metals could be combined to store energy in the future. He says his research offers clients the prospect of adapting each battery to raw materials that are available locally. "Batteries in Europe will be built by local workers with local resources," says Sadoway. "The same goes for Africa and America."
Notes to the editor
About the inventor
Donald Sadoway received a PhD in chemical metallurgy from the University of Toronto in 1977 and the next year joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is currently the John F Elliot Professor of Materials Chemistry. A specialist in non-aqueous chemistry, Sadoway patented his first inventions in the mid-1980s in the area of aluminium and steel production, before turning his attention to energy storage technology. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, as well as awards for his teaching at MIT. His TED-talk on liquid metal batteries received 2.4 million views, leading Time magazine to name Sadoway one of the world's 100 most influential people of 2012.
Sadoway is named inventor in European patent EP2973837B1 (granted 2019).
About the European Inventor Award
The European Inventor Award is one of Europe's most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the EPO in 2006, the award honours individuals and teams' solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our times. The finalists and winners are selected by an independent jury comprising former Award finalists. Together, they examine the proposals for their contribution towards technical progress, social and sustainable development and economic prosperity. The EPO will confer the Award in four categories (Industry, Research, SMEs and Non-EPO countries), as well as announcing a Lifetime achievement award at a virtual ceremony on 21 June. In addition, the public selects the Popular Prize winner from the 13 finalists by voting on the EPO website in the run-up to the ceremony. Voting is open until 21 June 2022. Read more on the European Inventor Award eligibility and selection criteria.
This year, for the first time, the EPO will also award bright young minds with the Young Inventors prize. The new prize offers a monetary reward to the three finalists to further encourage them to find creative solutions to pressing sustainable development challenges.
About the EPO
With 6 400 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.
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