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PorkyPigDid911 OP t1_j6iytur wrote

Reply to comment by Phobos15 in Scientists lower price of lithium's best competition - flow batteries - by 20%. Makes the battery effectively equal to or cheaper than lithium ion when spread over 30 years (flow battery lifetimes are effectively infinite with light repowering efforts). by PorkyPigDid911

I don't think you're grasping this time frame discussion at all.

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Phobos15 t1_j6k7gk0 wrote

I am. The claim that this has a 30 year break even with lithium batteries means it loses money and is a terrible investment. Break even is not a profit. You profit based on how much longer it lasts after 30 years. You also assume efficiency doesn't degrade more than they predict too.

The chance that current technology does not improve over the next 10 years is zero. Your 30 year project likely won't make any sense to even turn on in a few years. You'll never get close to that 30 year time frame because more efficient options will exist over time or these things will drop in cost and the old ones won't get anywhere near the return that they need.

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