Insider Q&A: Lithium batteries have a 4-hour limit. Mateo Jaramillo hopes to solve that

Lithium ion batteries are in everything from computers to electric vehicles, to installations that bolster the electrical grid. But they are only one kind of battery, and they come with limitations. Lithium ion batteries can put out energy at max power for no more than 4 hours — that’s just their chemistry and physics. Climate tech experts are working on alternatives. Ground was recently broken and a factory will soon open in West Virginia to manufacture a totally different type of battery made from iron interacting with air. The man behind the process and the company, Mateo Jaramillo and Form Energy, are striving for batteries that can put out energy for 100 hours.