Linking Energy Innovation to Affordable Housing
- Marc Gaw
- Sep 5
- 4 min read
When we talk about homelessness, as we have touched upon in previous posts, most people picture individuals who live on the street or are in temporary shelters. Additionally, homelessness is also not just about the absence of a roof over one's head. It is also about the lack of access to security, stability, and opportunity. The big key things that we often end up leaving out are the core drivers, the root causes of homelessness: a lack of affordable and sustainable housing, or, in other words, the housing shortage.
So, what if we can better the future of housing with advances in energy and materials science?
This may seem ludicrous. Batteries and homelessness may appear like things that have absolutely nothing in common. But there is one important thing that connects them together. Modern housing and energy are closely tied.
When people struggle to keep a roof over their head, rising energy costs often make the situation worse. In the U.S., on average, low-income households devote about 17.8% of their income to home energy and transportation fuel costs, which is more than three times the national average. According to a study made by Yale Climate Connections, when families spend more than 15% of their income on energy, they often have to sacrifice essentials like food or medicine in order to pay these utility bills, pushing them closer to eviction.
Factors such as the cost of powering homes, the materials used to build homes, and the environmental impact of keeping them sustainable are all things that we often take into account.
The role of aqueous batteries
This is where new battery technology like aqueous batteries comes into play. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which rely on scarce and sometimes toxic materials such as cobalt, aqueous batteries use water-based electrolytes and more common metals such as zinc, manganese, or iron. That makes them easier to produce and less costly. In other words, aqueous batteries are designed to be safe, practical, and accessible, as water-based chemistry is non-flammable.
Researchers around the world are especially excited about aqueous zinc-ion batteries as zinc is at least 20 times more abundant than lithium and six times more plentiful than nickel. In theory, zinc anodes can store 820 milliamp-hours per gram, which is a capacity similar to lithium-ion batteries. If scientists can figure out a way to utilize that full potential, we may well be seeing a future dominated by these aqueous zinc batteries.
This emerging idea, like all other developments, faces challenges too. Water inside the battery tends to break down, which releases hydrogen gas and corrodes the zinc, shortening battery life. Scientists are working on fixes by regulating how the water molecules interact with zinc to suppress unwanted side reactions, designing new electrolytes, and creating coatings that prevent zinc dendrites (you can think of them as tiny tree-like spikes that form on the electrodes) from piercing the battery and causing it to fail.
How does this connect with housing?
Let’s bring this back to homelessness and housing.
Picture that single mother simply trying to make ends meet, which she is finding difficult with high rents and a high electricity bill. All of this despite working long hours. But if we can take those aqueous zinc batteries paired with solar panels, they could let new homes store their own clean energy instead of relying on expensive and centralized power grids. This results in lower monthly bills and more reliable electricity.
This, combined with advances in materials science and building materials, such as recycled and bio-based insulation to keep energy bills low, and 3D printed houses that cut labor costs, means self-sufficient and more affordable homes.
This could make all the difference for those living on the margin, who can never find a way back due to the constantly rising cost of living.
Stay tuned for the next blog!
Bibliography
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Energy Burden in Low-Income Households. 2022.https://www.aceee.org/energy-burden
Yale Climate Connections. Many U.S. households spend more than 15% of their income on energy, research finds. 2024. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/12/many-u-s-households-spend-more-than-15-of-their-income-on-energy-research-finds
Chao, D., et al. Roadmap for advanced aqueous batteries: From design of materials to applications. Science Advances, 6 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay8898
Li, C., Jin, S., Archer, L. A., & Nazar, L. F. Toward practical aqueous zinc-ion batteries for electrochemical energy storage. Joule, 6 (2022), 1727–1742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2022.06.013
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