Form Energy Inc. recently announced that it has built a battery using iron instead of traditional battery materials, a promising breakthrough for battery technology. 

The Wall Street Journal reports

Form Energy Inc.’s batteries are far too heavy for electric cars. But it says they will be capable of solving one of the most elusive problems facing renewable energy: cheaply storing large amounts of electricity to power grids when the sun isn’t shining and wind isn’t blowing…if all goes according to plan, [Form’s] iron-air batteries will be capable of affordable, long-duration power storage by 2025. 

How does it work?

Form Energy’s iron-air battery breathes in oxygen and converts iron to rust, then turns the rust back into iron and breathes out oxygen, discharging and charging the battery in the process.

If successful, these batteries will give renewable energy a huge boost. Current battery technology is insufficient to meet renewable energy storage needs, and components of these batteries, including cobalt and lithium, are both expensive and difficult to obtain, not to mention the human rights issues often involved with their mining. 

Innovation in the clean energy world is vital to reducing our emissions and combating climate change. Companies such as Form Energy Inc. will help make a cleaner future possible by providing new technologies to make clean energy reliable and affordable. 

We’ll be looking eagerly in the next few years to see how Form’s new batteries work and if they will provide the answer to energy storage that many have been searching for. In the meantime, lawmakers should encourage American innovators to continue to develop new technologies while recognizing our current clean energy capabilities and utilizing the best tools to provide clean energy to the American people without draining their bank accounts.