Somebody needs to make large lithium-iron phosphate batteries in the US. A123 does, but they are China-owned.
Anyone know if this American Battery Factory company is going to deliver?[1] They have the same street address as Lion Energy, which seems to be an importer of battery packs and inverters. Street View shows a small startup space.
Back in 2022, they announced they would have a new factory on line in two years. Three years later, no factory.
[1] https://americanbatteryfactory.com/
[2] https://www.energy-storage.news/us-gigafactory-startup-abf-c...
I knew someone who worked for ESS Tech[1], which makes giant iron flow batteries in 40 foot shipping containers. Sadly they're on the verge of bankruptcy[2].
[2] https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2025/05/28/wilsoln...
Texas, Arizona, and even Idaho (!!) are putting up fairly good numbers too, according to this map:
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=64586
Pretty much all new grid assets are solar, batteries, and wind, with a bit of natural gas. And that natural gas will likely be a stranded capital asset that won't be able to compete on price within a decade.
We also have some of the highest energy prices in the United States.
I think one of the Tesla execs also started a battery recycling company there as well.
Related:
Californian batteries set new output record - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44119878 - May 2025
BYD does batteries at scale now for about $45/kWh.
The cheapest US made ones are $120/kWh.
The yield and the lack of automation is the holdup.
Source: recent article on Works In Progress.
> has got really good
For whatever reason that turn of phrase seems very amateur/lazy coming from the Economist.
> Because most lithium-ion batteries provide just four hours of power, they cannot yet replace baseload generation
Huh? You just need more and discharge individual ones slower.
What a bizarre claim
Oh wow, now the utilities can go pat themselves on the back and raise raises another $.20kWh. Even the middle management could use porsches!
Tesla marketing plot !!
Just in time for datacenters spiking AI usage to eat all of that peak time excess. Luckily the super scalers are some of the folks driving investment into this stuff.
I used to think big batteries were just for short-term backup. Didn't expect California to reach the point where they can actually support part of the grid. Before, when the wind stopped or the sun went down, you'd need gas to kick in. Now, in many cases, batteries are enough. That said, I do wonder what happens when all these batteries get old. Are we just pushing the next problem down the road?
Who cares? Electricity is literally the flow of electric charge, typically measured in terms of current (amperes). China has substantial baseload capacity. China adds an America of capacity every 18 months. Batteries connected to the grid, imply shortages. A need to balance supply and demand, manage variability in energy sources. They are also very expensive. So we have net on net, less power, that's unreliable, that's more expensive. Nothing to brag about.
Always fun to check out the live CAISO grid chart showing where CA's energy is coming from:
https://www.gridstatus.io/live/caiso
At its peak today (May 29), solar was 75% of CA's power generation. And at the peak yesterday (7 PM, May 28), batteries provided 25%.
Seems like solar often produces more than 100% of CA's demand during the daytime and is curtailed. Maybe to charge batteries?