Battling climate change with batteries — an eco-friendly alternative
By: Kenes, Kenges
Tags: Environment, Electric Vehicle, Batteries

It is heart-breaking to see the devastating consequences that climate change is having on our world: it is quickly becoming clear how serious the adverse effects can be in both developed and developing countries. My thoughts go out to the people in Australia during this summer season, who are battling with terrible fires, and the brave firefighters protecting lives and precious wildlife.

Among the various factors causing such destruction, is the amount of carbon emissions released from industrial power plants which generate electricity to supply power for society. It’s one of the safest and most efficient ways of storing a lot of power at the same time, but if we want to really start taking more care of our planet, we need to develop alternatives to this harmful process.

One of these alternatives which we are all familiar with is the battery. But the whole operation of creating a battery can be toxic and lengthy. We need to look at ways to produce eco-friendly batteries, and, make sure we can dispose of them safely at the same time.

Battery storage is becoming more popular due to technological trends and developments such as the Electric Vehicle: countries around the world have guaranteed bans on diesel cars over the next 20 to 30 years, progress has been made in the electrification of public transport, and the electric charging station network is growing by the day.

These are fantastic steps forward, but it means that the capacity for global power storage is predicted to increase 100-fold by 2040. Therefore, we need to rethink the way we produce battery technology, and how we store such enormous supplies of power in the most environmentally conscious way. And in fact, we are on the verge of this.

One start-up has begun to solve this problem. Store Dot, a company developed from a nanotechnology department at Tel Aviv University, has created a battery that applies organic, non-flammable compounds called peptides — the building blocks of proteins. The batteries made from these compounds are considerably more favourable to the environment than any of Store Dot’s competitors.

Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of Store Dot’s batteries, is that they can charge any portable device in just 5 minutes. What’s more, Store Dot is constructing a battery that can also fully charge an Electric Vehicle — also in just 5 minutes. Lengthy charging times are one of the top concerns about buying an EV: currently, EVs take between 4–12 hours to fully charge. If we want the eco-friendlier EV to go mainstream sooner, adopting Store Dot’s tech could be imperative.

This disruptive technology could prove its significance within a variety of industries. For example, Store Dot’s batteries could be placed within the healthcare industry for medical devices; the entertainment industry for wearable gadgets, or the construction industry for power tools. The list is endless, and I look into the future with hope to see Store Dot’s eco-friendly fast-charging batteries applied throughout society, and become a key player in the path towards a cleaner world.

Investment from private funds, companies and governments into transformative batter technology is now crucial. By supporting Store Dot, my VC fund Singulariteam is keen to progress research in the battery sector, which is without question fundamental for protecting our environment.