A Battery Made of Iron Could Improve the Economics of Solar and Wind Power

At a small solar power plant near Modesto, in California’s Central Valley, a startup called Enervault recently unveiled battery technology that could increase the amount of renewable energy utilities can use. The technology is based on inexpensive materials that researchers had largely given up on because batteries made from them didn’t last long enough to be practical. But the company says it has figured out how to make the batteries last for decades.