# Four ways to store sunlight

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2023-05-25
- Length: 57m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight

## Summary

Andy Lubershane, partner and head of research at Energy Impact Partners, joins Shayle Kann to discuss four primary methods for storing solar energy: lithium-ion batteries, heat storage, iron-air batteries, and hydrogen. Lubershane argues that while lithium-ion dominates short-duration grid balancing, its cost floor limits its viability for long-duration needs, creating opportunities for cheaper alternatives like thermal storage and Form Energy’s iron-air batteries. He also explains how hydrogen can serve as ultra-long-duration storage, particularly through blending into existing gas turbine infrastructure, and notes that carbon capture and storage (CCS) remains a significant competitive alternative for maintaining fossil-fuel-based resilience.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight#t=0) Introduction and the Fossil Fuel Storage Baseline
- [15:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight#t=909) The Lithium-Ion Cost Floor and Short-Duration Role
- [29:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight#t=1774) Heat Storage: Power-to-Heat and Molten Salt Challenges
- [40:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight#t=2419) Form Energy and Iron-Air Batteries for Multi-Day Storage
- [47:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight#t=2863) Hydrogen as Ultra-Long-Duration Storage and Gas Turbine Blending
- [56:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight#t=3384) Carbon Capture and Storage as a Competitor

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Energy Impact Partners (company)
- Form Energy (company)
- Rondo Energy (company)
- GE (company)
- Siemens (company)
- Mitsubishi (company)
- Lithium-ion batteries (product)
- Iron-air batteries (product)
- Molten salt (material)
- Hydrogen (material)
- Carbon capture and storage (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [The Role of Energy Storage Systems in Combating Climate Change with Mike Wietecki of Powin and John Thomas of ESS](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2024-05-09-the-role-of-energy-storage-systems-in-combating-climate-change-with-mike-wieteck) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Powering the AI Era Sustainably: Breakthrough Climate Hardware Tech from 8 Innovators](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-12-04-powering-the-ai-era-sustainably-breakthrough-climate-hardware-tech-from-8-innova) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Storing Clean Energy with Air & Water: Hydrostor’s Game-Changing Tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-02-27-storing-clean-energy-with-air-water-hydrostors-game-changing-tech) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Why Long-Duration Energy Storage Breaks Batteries – and How Hydrogen Fixes It with Mia Rath](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2026-01-22-why-long-duration-energy-storage-breaks-batteries-and-how-hydrogen-fixes-it-with) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [Unlocking the renewable energy revolution with Ramya Swaminathan of Malta Inc.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-12-unlocking-the-renewable-energy-revolution-with-ramya-swaminathan-of-malta-inc) (How I Built This)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2023-05-25-four-ways-to-store-sunlight. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.