Fairfax County awards grant to startup working on long-lasting batteries for solar powered homes

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. ( DC News Now ) — Hundreds of thousands of solar panels have been installed across the nation since 2008, according to the Department of Energy , and the supplies needed can be expensive.

“As a homeowner, if you want to use that energy, either at nighttime or when the grid goes down, you need to have a battery installed,” said Maude Champagne, co-founder of NanoNife .

Those batteries for solar-powered homes can range from $12,000 to $22,000, according to the U.S. Department of Energy .

“The options that are on the market right now are mostly the Tesla Powerwall and other lithium-ion based,” said Champagne. “Most of the current options last about four hours, which if you think of it during a hurricane season…it may not be able to supply enough power to your house.”

NanoNife is working on a product that could give consumers another option.

“NanoNiFe provides a unique Vanadium Redox Flow battery (VRFB) design with proven benefits over lithium-ion batteries. With an outstanding safety profile and the lowest cost over its 20+year battery life,” according to the company’s website .

The company recently received a $50,000 grant from Fairfax County to develop its idea.

“We’re on some of our final stages on our development side,” Champagne said.

Nanolife is also working to bring their batteries to homeowners in Australia and Europe.

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