Where will lithium batteries be made in Buenos Aires?

State company Y-TEC, the tech arm of YPF, will open the first lithium battery cell factory in September, in La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires province. Another plant, five times bigger, will kick off in Santiago del Estero in 2024.

Are liquid batteries a good storage option?

One promising storage option is a new kind of battery made with all-liquid active materials. Prototypes suggest that these liquid batteries will cost less than a third as much as today’s best batteries and could last significantly longer. The battery is unlike any other.

How many people can a lithium battery power Buenos Aires?

The plant will generate 15 megawatts per year, which means it will produce lithium batteries capable of powering 2500 households. The batteries are envisaged for use in rural areas. For example, there is already a Buenos Aires province-backed project to supply the Paulino-Berisso island, home to 70 families who are currently off the power grid.

What is a 'liquid battery'?

Called the “liquid battery,” this innovative solution offers a promising answer to the intermittent nature of renewable sources like solar and wind power. It paves the way for more sustainable and reliable energy grids, which are currently overwhelmingly reliant on lithium-ion technologies.

Does y-TEC sell lithium in Argentina?

In the case of lithium, Y-TEC signed a contract with American company Livent, which extracts the mineral in Catamarca and, for the first time, sold part of its production in Argentina. According to Salvarezza, for industrialization to grow in scale, part of the production ought to be sold on the local market.

Can a battery store electricity without generating gaseous hydrogen?

“We also discovered a novel, selective catalytic system for storing electrical energy in a liquid fuel without generating gaseous hydrogen.” Batteries used to store electricity for the grid – plus smartphone and electric vehicle batteries – use lithium-ion technologies.