1414 Degrees IPO

Sounds promising. Silicon much cheaper than lithium.

An Adelaide company has developed a silicon storage device that it claims costs a tenth as much as a lithium ion battery to store the same energy and is eyeing a $10 million public float.

1414 Degrees had its origins in patented CSIRO research and has built a prototype molten silicon storage device which it is testing at its Tonsley Innovation Precinct site south of Adelaide.

Chairman Kevin Moriarty says 1414 Degrees' process can store 500 kilowatt hours of energy in a 70-centimetre cube of molten silicon – about 36 times as much energy as Tesla's 14KWh Powerwall 2 lithium ion home storage battery in about the same space.

Put another way, he says the company can build a 10MWh storage device for about $700,000. The 714 Tesla Powerwall 2s that would be needed to store the same amount of energy would cost $7 million before volume discount.
No comparison
First Graphite Resources is funding the commercialisation of a graphene "supercapacitor" battery – which Tesla founder Elon Musk says could be the next big breakthrough – developed at Swinburne University. Nano-Nouvelle has developed lightweight copper coated porous current collectors that could add 50 per cent more capacity to lithium batteries.

Reposit Power, Greensync and Redback Technologies develop and sell software that helps households, firms and communities get the most from solar panels and wind turbines. Simon Hackett's Redflow is commercialising zinc bromide flow batteries – which claim to be longer lasting and less prone to catching fire than lithium batteries. Mr Hackett paid $730,000 last year to install 660KWh of Reflow's batteries at his business park – similar to the price for which Mr Moriarty says 1414 Degrees can build a 10MWh silicon storage device.

Rather than just sell its storage devices, 1414 Degrees wants to enter into joint ventures with customers – or partners – and share in the benefits. For example, Mr Moriarty said its devices could increase the revenue of a wind farm by 25 per cent, through increased output and exploiting higher wholesale prices when the wind isn't blowing. For a hydroponic farm, it can provide heat as well as electricity.