World’s First Home Hydrogen Battery Can Power Your House For 2 Days, Has WiFi Connectivity

Tesla’s Powerwall now has a worthy adversary.

An Australian energy company’s “hydrogen battery” which is known as the Green Energy Storage System, is an electrolysis system, fuel cell power system, and hydrogen storage array all tucked into a cabinet, with enough to power a home for two days straight.

The LAVO hydrogen battery – Image by ifworlddesignguide.com

As extremely cold temperatures knocked out Texas’ energy facilities causing a blackout across the state, one company could be ensuring that problem doesn’t happen again in the future.

According to Intelligent Living, the LAVO battery also absorbs excess wind or solar energy like the Powerwall, but it stores the energy as hydrogen fuel instead of other chemicals like in a lithium battery.

Its electrolysis unit uses excess renewable power to generate hydrogen from water, then holds it in the red hydride containers you see on the box’s left side.

LAVO wants to change the way people live with energy, CEO Alan Yu said.

“We are an enabler for positive change, empowering consumers to do good, supporting the community and contributing towards improving the environment” he said adding the company meant to spark meaningful changes in attitudes and behaviours around sustainability, the environment and responsible consumerism

CEO Alan Yu says LAVO wants to change the way people live with energy – Image by
LAVO

Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The hydrogen reacts with oxygen across an electrochemical cell similar to that of a battery to produce electricity, water, and small amounts of heat.

LAVO’s massive 324 kg (714 lb) system stores 40 kilowatt-hours worth of energy – enough to power a home for two days straight. It also has Wi-Fi connectivity so you can monitor and control everything through a phone app.

The Green Energy Storage System lasts twice as long as a lithium battery system (30 years vs. 15) and is more eco-friendly since it doesn’t use all those rare earth metals and toxic chemicals.

It however has some inefficiencies involved in storing hydrogen gas and then turning it into electricity. LAVO says its “round-trip efficiency is above 50 percent”.

LAVO will develop a fuel cell and LAVO unit manufacturing facility in the city of Springfield, 28km from Brisbane in Queensland.

It will be Australia’s first fuel cell production line to be established to offer the local produced fuel cell to the broader industry in Australia.

Springfield aims to become a net exporter of energy by 2038, a vision that LAVO is well-positioned to support.

As Texas is currently battling a “Deep Freeze” due to electricy outages, it is inevitable that LAVO could play a big part in the energy sector, especially with cities that are not prepared for drastic weather changes.

The Texas Deep Freeze has also cause electricity prices to soar, 10,000%, as the state was deemed “unprepared” with the consequences of climate change.