The purpose of this new edition is to present an expanded and updated description of the methods of energy storage including emerging and future trends. There is no doubt that energy storage will remain a critical component of our society’s sustainability efforts for the foreseeable future. Thus, an expanded and modern version of this book is deemed necessary. To resolve and manage the unique energy challenges of the 21st century, much effort has been focused on identifying the most efficient, effective and durable energy storage solutions that can adequately meet our multifaceted life requirements. In this book, we address a wide range of energy storage methods including electrochemical, electrical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical. In this new edition, the emphasis is on basic mechanisms and we explore, in more depth, various energy storage techniques. A special focus is given to alternative electrochemical storage, including concentration cells.

This book intentionally presents a broad review of energy technology so that contemporary developments may be viewed in context and a comparison may be drawn between the various available means of energy storage. This new edition is the result of the second author’s doctoral education at the University of Maryland, College Park, three years of experience as a scientist at the General Electric Co., Research and Development, in Schenectady, NY, postdoctoral experience at Rice University, and an academic career of more than fifteen years at the University of Houston.

In this new edition, an expanded discussion of energy fundamentals has been added. More examples and details have been provided on energy storage methods. A new chapter about electrolytes and membranes has been added that discusses battery, supercapacitor and fuel cell electrolytes with more emphasis on the fundamentals of ion transport phenomena. Several new sections highlighting the future trends in energy storage have also been added to the final chapter of this book. The sections include new trends in flexible and stretchable energy storage devices, self-charging energy storage, recovering wasted energy, methods of recycling energy storage devices, new chemistry for electrochemical cells, and trends in non-electrochemical energy storage.

This book is intended for upper level engineering and science students with some background in material science, physics and chemistry. This book is also suitable for engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs with technical background who have an interest and curiosity about energy storage.