{"id":914,"date":"2025-12-02T01:29:03","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T01:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/?p=914"},"modified":"2025-12-02T01:29:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T01:29:03","slug":"the-rust-revolution-can-iron-air-batteries-save-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/2025\/12\/02\/the-rust-revolution-can-iron-air-batteries-save-the-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rust Revolution: Can Iron-Air Batteries Save the Planet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Firms like Form Energy and Ore Energy are deploying iron-air technology to solve the renewable energy storage problem, keeping grids powered for longer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most exciting clean tech innovation of 2025? It might just be rust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the assessment of Mark Loveridge, Commercial Director of Renewable Exchange. But Mark\u2019s enthusiasm doesn\u2019t have anything to do with old bike chains or an oven in need of a deep clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, people like Mark are getting very excited about the role that rust could play in mitigating climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with renewable energy systems as things stand is, unlike fossil fuels, renewable energies like solar and wind are difficult to store in the quantities we need<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that when the sun doesn\u2019t shine and the wind doesn\u2019t blow, energy supplies run low.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
Mark Loveridge, Commercial Director at Renewable Exchange<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The renewable energy storage problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For decades, the energy storage conversation has been ruled by the lithium-ion cell, a technology that powers everything from our mobile phones to electric vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with 2025 drawing to a close, a chemically distinct contender has emerged from the laboratory to the electrical grid<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“After decades of dominance by lithium-ion, 2025 is potentially the turning point for long-duration energy storage (LDES), and iron-air batteries are leading the charge,” Mark says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The premise is elegantly simple, in the way that the world\u2019s best inventions often are. These batteries harness the process of reversible rusting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During discharge, the battery “breathes” in oxygen from the air which converts iron pellets into rust and releases energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To charge, an electrical current turns the rust back into metallic iron and the battery “exhales” oxygen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unique capabilities of iron-air batteries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The primary limitation of lithium-ion technology is its duration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While excellent for short bursts of power lasting two to four hours, lithium-ion becomes prohibitively expensive when trying to bridge multi-day gaps in renewable generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where iron-air technology finds its niche.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They’re capable of storing energy for 100+ hours – enabling wind and solar to keep the lights on<\/a>, even when the sun doesn\u2019t shine or the wind doesn\u2019t blow,” Mark explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By offering a duration that is orders of magnitude longer than conventional batteries, iron-air systems can replace fossil fuel peaker plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ideal for grid-scale decarbonisation, especially during multi-day renewable lulls,” Mark adds.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
A diagram showing how iron-air batteries work | Credit: Form Energy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

From theory to practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The technology has moved rapidly from theoretical models to concrete infrastructure this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This year, Ore Energy in the Netherlands delivered the world\u2019s first grid-connected iron-air battery, and Form Energy in the US raised over US$400m to bring this tech to commercial scale,” Mark says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ore Energy pilot, connected to the grid in Delft in July 2025, represents a crucial proof of concept for the European market.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It demonstrates that these systems can be integrated safely into dense urban environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the Atlantic, Form Energy has operationalised its commercial-scale factory in Weirton, West Virginia, on the site of a former steel mill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company is currently fulfilling orders for major utilities, including Xcel Energy and Georgia Power, with projects expected to come online in late 2025 and 2026.  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
Companies like Form Energy and Ore Energy are breaking new ground with their sophisticated, large-scale designs for iron-air batteries | Credit: Form Energy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The geopolitics of abundance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the technical specifications, the iron-air battery offers a significant geopolitical advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The transition to clean energy has often meant trading a dependency on fossil fuels for a dependency on rare earth minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel \u2013 all of which are growing scarcer and more contested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iron-air batteries<\/a> sidestep this scarcity trap entirely as they are made using only abundant, inexpensive materials \u2013 iron, air and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This abundance translates to stability and security for national energy strategies, reducing conflict and streamlining supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, the environmental profile of these batteries aligns closely with circular economy principles simply because their active materials are non-toxic and easily recyclable at the end of the system’s life.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\/
Rare earth minerals like lithium and cobalt are critical to the manufacturing of many modern technologies, meaning that, with time, their prices will rise and their supplies will fall | Credit: IEEFA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A heavyweight contender<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that these batteries are not designed to be used in EVs or smartphones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are also heavy, bulky and relatively inefficient compared to their lithium counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for a static asset sitting on a concrete pad next to a wind farm, these batteries could be perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost per kilowatt-hour is the deciding factor and iron-air targets a price point less than US$20\/kWh, a fraction of the cost of lithium-ion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This economic efficiency allows utilities to store vast amounts of energy without bankrupting the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, pivoting away from rare earth minerals<\/a> frees those resources up for use in climate technologies where there are no other alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we look to the future, it is possible that the reliable, sustainable power grids we are looking for may well be built using the most common metal on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For those watching the future of energy: keep an eye on iron-air,” Mark says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s not just innovative, it\u2019s potentially transformative for the sector.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Firms like Form Energy and Ore Energy are deploying iron-air technology to solve the renewable…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company","category-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":916,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914\/revisions\/916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.esplaza.com.cn\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}