Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have identified several technologies that can be used for energy storage for a future “green” electrical grid, an interconnected network for delivering solar and wind-based electricity from suppliers to consumers.

To enable a significant level of penetration and effective use of renewable energy sources amid growing energy demands, electrical grids of the future will need a low-cost, efficient way to integrate and store this electrical energy, the scientists said.

The scientists analyzed the conclusions of more than 300 scientific studies and identified several technologies that can be used for energy storage for the green grid. These include high-tech batteries now in development that can efficiently store electricity in the form of chemicals and release it on demand, and redox flow and sodium-ion batteries.

Ref.: Zhenguo Yang et al., Electrochemical Energy Storage for Green Grid, ACS Publications’ Chemical Reviews, March 4, 2011