A Better Home Battery

Lithium-ion home battery systems to store rooftop solar energy have exploded in popularity in recent years. Australian startup Lavo is betting that using hydrogen can help it do the job better. Its residential hydrogen battery converts solar power into hydrogen via an electrolyser and then outputs power via a fuel cell and the company says it can store three to four times more energy than a typical battery system. The first residential system of its kind and roughly the size of a refrigerator, the hydrogen battery requires a water line connection and can power an average sized home for about two days. Lavo has taken in more than $42 million in unit pre-orders, though it has yet to mass produce the technology, which it is also developing for a utility-scale product.

Write to Alejandro de la Garza at alejandro.delagarza@time.com.