The Graphite Factor

The energy sector may soon have its iPod moment.

Just as the revolutionary music player transformed how we capture, store and release digital content, a newly launched energy storage device has the potential to do the same for how we use renewable energy at home.

On Monday, June 6th 2012, Japanese electronics giant Panasonic announced plans to mass-produce a new-concept home energy storage device for the European market with a target focus on Germany.

Panasonic aims to supply the EU’s greenest economy with an elegant DIY solution for consumers to manage their own renewable energy flow at home. The technology captures, stores and redistributes power from any renewable source: solar, wind or geothermal. Simply plug and play and kiss the utility companies and the grid goodbye.

Keep in mind that Germany has the largest home consumer market for solar energy in Europe. Up until now, there’s been no easy way for private homeowners to reliably capture, store and release this form of green energy.

The Panasonic home energy storage system is a marvel of simplicity, comprised of a 1.35 kWh capacity Lithium-ion battery pack with an internal battery management unit to store and discharge power as needed.

The lithium-ion battery is key. It’s the same kind of Li-Ion battery used to power everything in our modern world from iPods and iPhones to laptops and Electronic Vehicles (EV).

But the primary element in a Li-Ion battery is not lithium at all; it’s graphite – of humble pencil lead fame. In fact, there’s 11 times more graphite than lithium in a Li-Ion battery.

So the same stuff in pencils is poised to rewrite the future for the home renewable energy market?

That’s just the tip of it.

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