climate change and energy 

气候变化与能源

A bid for better batteries   

努力做更好的电池

Clean energy grids will not thrive unless the world gets better at storing power

如果全球储能系统无法改善，清洁能源网络将无法蓬勃发展

注：储能是智能电网实现能量双向互动的重要设备。没有储能，完整的智能电网无从谈起。如下图所示一个小型家庭智能电网。

Solar and wind power are the glamorous twins of the clean-electricity revolution. It is thrilling to see a field of glistening panels absorbing the sun’s energy or a vast turbine twirling above the ocean. Stationary power storage does not have quite the same allure—think of a large metal shed stuffed with piles of big batteries. Nonetheless, the ability to stockpile energy on a massive scale will be of supreme importance if the world is to wean itself off filthy fossil-fuel power plants. The technology is gradually getting cheaper and attracting investment . But more needs to be done to ensure that it sparks.

太阳能与风能是在清洁电力革命浪潮下诞生的双宠儿。每当看见一片闪闪发光的太阳能板吸收着能量；或是巨大的风机在海面上快速转动，人们都格外激动。而他们对固定式的能源储存装备却不那么感兴趣，那些看起来就像是一座堆满了大型电池的金属大棚。如果世界要摆脱对污染严重的化石燃料发电厂的依赖，大规模储存能源的能力将是至关重要的。这一技术成本日渐低廉，并吸引了越来越多的投资。但还需要做更多的工作来确保它能产生火花。

To see why storage is important, work backwards from the most common strategy to limit climate change. Plans typically reduce emissions from electricity generation by switching it away from fossil fuels, then electrify other carbon-belching activities, such as driving cars and heating buildings. Abundant, reliable, clean electricity is the foundation on which many green investments and policies rest. And to work well, clean electricity in turn depends on storage.

要了解储能为何如此重要，这需要追根溯源，从遏制气候变化最常规的策略来认识。计划通常通过减少化石燃料的使用来减少发电过程的气体排放，然后将其他排放二氧化碳的活动电气化，比如开车和为建筑物供暖。充足、可靠、清洁的电力是许多绿色投资和政策的基础。为了更好地开展计划，清洁电力反过来则非常依赖于储能技术。

Nuclear plants could supply steady clean power, but they attract fierce opposition and are beset by cost overruns. Solar and wind are the fastest-growing alternatives. Today they account for 7% of global generation, twice the share in 2013. But the sun does not always shine and the wind may not blow. As the share of intermittent sources rises, so will demand for energy to offset swings in supply. In the short run, dirty coal and gas will have to provide flexibility. Eventually, however, storage must play that role, and the sooner the better. The aim is to capture solar and wind power when it is plentiful and release it as needed.

核电站可以提供稳定的清洁能源，但是遭到人们强烈的反对，而且也受到成本超支的困扰。太阳能和风能是发展最快的替代能源。现在，风能和太阳能占全球能源产量的7%，这一占比是2013的两倍。但并不是每天都会晴空万里，也不是每天都有风。随着间歇性能源所占比例的上升，传统能源需求也将上升，以抵消供应的波动。短期内，污染严重的煤炭和天然气将不得不随时后补发电。然而最终，储能装置必须扮演这个角色，并且越快越好。这样做的目的是在太阳能和风能充足时进行储备，在需要的时候供电。

Today pumped hydropower is the most common way to store energy. When it is sunny or windy any excess electricity from solar and wind farms can be used to pump water uphill into reservoirs, to be released later to generate hydropower. But lots of places lack mountains, rain and room. Batteries are an alternative. They can smooth jumps and drops in supply and store renewable energy when it is abundant, as in California on a sunny afternoon, and then release it in the evening, when demand rises. They could transform big emerging markets that still plan to expand their use of fossil fuels. The International Energy Agency reckons that, excluding coal projects already planned, batteries have the potential to cut the number of coal plants built in India after 2030 by three-quarters.

抽水蓄能是目前最常用的储能方式。当天气晴朗或者有风的时候，太阳能和风力发电厂中多余电能可以用来将水抽至水库，方便日后水力发电。但是，在很多没有山、没有雨、也没有足够空间的地方，电池就是另一可选方案了。电池可以保障电力供应平稳，并在可再生能源供应充足时(比如加利福尼亚一个阳光明媚的下午)储存电量，在夜晚人们需要时释放电量。电池供能可以改变那些仍计划扩大化石燃料使用的大型新兴市场。国际能源署(iea)估计，如果不包括已经规划的煤炭项目，电池有可能使印度在2030年后新建的燃煤电厂数量减少四分之三。

注：Pumped-storage hydropower： (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage. It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power (discharge) as water moves down through a turbine; this draws power as it pumps water (recharge) to the upper reservoir.

If batteries are to realise their potential, they need to become cheaper and better. Progress is being made. Lithium-ion batteries have become 85% less expensive since 2010, as firms have poured capital into factories to mass-produce batteries for electric vehicles. Investment in storage capacity will hit about $9bn next year, predicts Bloombergnef, a data firm, four times the level in 2017. But technical problems persist. For example, lithium-ion batteries are bad at storing energy for long periods, which is important in countries with rainy seasons. Happily, firms are experimenting. Tycoons, including Jack Ma of Alibaba and Jeff Bezos of Amazon, have invested in startups that are pursuing energy storage using everything from novel battery designs to molten salt to pressurised water pumped underground.

如果电池要发挥其潜力，就必须变得更便宜、更好。这方面已经取得进展，自2010年以来，企业不断向工厂倾注大量资金批量生产电动汽车电池，锂电池成本已经下降85%。据数据咨询供应商彭博新能源财经（BloombergNEF）预估，明年储能能力方面的投资将达到90亿美元，这将是2017年投资额的四倍。但技术问题依然存在，锂电池不适合长时间储存能量，这在雨季的国家很重要。幸运的是，相关公司正在进行相关试验。包括马云（阿里巴巴创始人）和杰夫·贝佐斯（亚马逊创始人）这些巨头们已经在投资初创公司寻求可广泛应用的储能技术，如新型电池设计，熔盐和对泵取地下水施压等新技术。

注释：

BloombergNEF：彭博是全球商业、金融信息和财经资讯的领先提供商，通过其强大的信息、专家和咨询网络为全球重要的决策制定者带来关键优势。彭博的优势在于通过创新的技术来快速、精准地传递数据、资讯和分析工具，核心产品是彭博专业服务(BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL)。彭博专业服务为全球逾310,000用户提供实时金融信息。彭博的企业级解决方案建于公司的核心优势之上，利用技术来帮助客户更高效地访问、整合、发送并管理整个组织的数据和信息。通过彭博法律(Bloomberg Law)、彭博政府(Bloomberg Government)、美国国家事务出版(BNA)和彭博新能源财经(Bloomberg New Energy Finance)，公司为金融业以外其他行业的决策制定者提供数据、资讯和分析工具。彭博新闻社通过彭博专业服务、电视、电台、手机、互联网和两本杂志——《彭博商业周刊》和《彭博市场》传播资讯，在全球72个国家设立了146个记者站，拥有2,300多名新闻和多媒体专业人员。彭博总部位于纽约，在全球各地拥有192个分支，19,000余名员工。

molten salt：熔盐，盐类熔化后形成的熔融体，例如碱金属、碱土金属的卤化物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐的熔融体。熔盐是金属阳离子和非金属阴离子所组成的熔融体。（来自于百度百科）pressurised water pumped underground ：其技术通过使用多余的电力将水注入地下页岩中或深井中，这样，水会填满岩石中细小的裂缝, 进而产生更多的压力, 就像泉水压缩页岩一样。而当需要电力时，通过释放压力，水便会涌出并被用来转动涡轮机发电。（来自http://www.sohu.com/a/236024823_100096866）

For firms and capital markets to work their magic, a policy is needed—if only because, more than in other industries, the state sets the rules in power. Vested interests and out-of-date thinking lead to a bias against batteries. Last year America’s energy department granted $28m in research awards for long-term storage—a pittance compared with, say, the $150m the country spent on a tax break for coal royalties. Many places offer subsidies or mandates for wind and solar power, but not for the storage it will depend on to work at its best.

如果仅仅因为国家比其他行业更有权力制定规则的话，那就需要一项政策，以便让公司和资本市场发挥他们的魔力。既得利益和过时的思想导致了对电池的偏见。去年，美国能源部为长期储存提供了2800万美元的研究经费，这与国家为煤炭特许权使用费提供的1.5亿美元税收减免相比，简直是九牛一毛。许多地方为风能和太阳能提供补贴或授权，但忽视了储能装置（其实这才是最基础的）。

All too often storage technologies do not enjoy the same access to power grids and customers as dirtier sources of power do. Last year America’s federal electricity regulator ordered the country’s regional power markets to be opened up to storage, but implementation has been sluggish. The shift to clean energy will not happen unless it can be more easily stored. It is time for a high-voltage jolt to help an essential technology thrive.

通常情况下，存储技术无法像污染更严重的能源那样接入电网和客户。去年，美国联邦电力监管机构下令开放全国的区域电力市场以供储存，但执行一直迟缓。除非清洁能源更容易储存，否则这种向清洁能源的转变就不会发生。是时候来一次高压震荡，帮助一项重要技术蓬勃发展了。

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