A US government agency says it has attained the holy grail" of energy - the next-generation system of battery storage. Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (Arpa-E) - a branch of the Department of Energy - says it achieved its breakthrough technology in seven years. Ellen Williams, Arpa-E's director, said: "We can create a totally new approach to battery technology, make it work, make it commercially viable, and get it out there." If that's the case, Arpa-E has come out ahead of Gates and Musk in the multi-billion-dollar race to build the next generation battery for power companies and home storage. The battery storage systems developed with Arpa-E's support are on the verge of transforming America's electrical grid ... within the next five to 10 years, Williams said. She said projects funded by Arpa-E had the potential to transform utility-scale storage, and expand the use of micro-grids by the military and for disaster relief. Projects were also developing faster and more efficient super conductors. The companies incubated at Arpa-E have developed new designs for batteries, and new chemistries, which are rapidly bringing down the costs of energy storage, she said.
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