Tesla's Powerwall may be the future but it's not a battery breakthrough

Elon Musk’s Powerwall home battery and “plan to fundamentally change the way the world uses energy” is many things, but it’s not a battery technology breakthrough.

Don’t get me wrong. Powerwall is a big deal: a $3,500 rechargeable battery that can store electricity, power an entire home and be installed in virtually any garage or outside any home in under an hour sounds like real innovation. And for alternative energy source users, like solar panel or windmill owners, it is.

Up until now, they've had few affordable options for storing the excess electricity they generate and usually just sell it back to the utility provider. While the amount of electricity a Powerwall can store will be limited by its kWh rating (7 or 10), the length of time it will last on a full charge will be totally dependent on what you do with it Read more...