AI Summary
5 min readThe case for aluminum as a fuel
Diesel generators are everywhere—170 gigawatts of them in the United States alone, with more than 10,000 in Northern Virginia. They power data centers, mines, construction sites, and military bases. But ask anyone who owns one, and you'll hear a long list of complaints: they're dirty, noisy, maintenance-heavy, hard to permit, and the fuel itself can grow algae if stored too long. Yet no alternative has been able to replace them because diesel generators offer a unique combination of low cost, high energy density, and fully off-grid capability. Richard Wang, co-founder and CEO of Voya Energy, is building a generator that runs on aluminum instead. His company's approach is to use electrochemistry to extract electricity from aluminum pellets, producing power without combustion, NOx emissions, or flammable fuel.
Why diesel has been impossible to displace
A diesel generator is essentially a cheap, self-contained microgrid in a box. The hardware costs $500 to $1,000 per kilowatt, far less than gas turbines or fuel cells. The fuel itself is a liquid with ultra-high energy density, stable enough to store in a simple plastic tank for 48 or 96 hours of continuous operation. That combination—low upfront cost, compact footprint, and long-duration fuel storage on site—has made diesel the default solution for backup and off-grid power for decades.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:07) **Introduction: The Promise of Metal Fuels** - Shayle Kann introduces the concept of using metals like aluminum as a high-energy-density, shelf-stable replacement for diesel generators, framing it as a solution with "no green premium, just better."
- 2 (03:57) **The Diesel Generator Market & Its Strengths** - Richard Wang, CEO of Voya Energy, explains the massive, often invisible market for diesel generators and why they are so difficult to displace.
- 3 (07:09) **The Problems with Diesel Generators** - The conversation pivots to the significant downsides of diesel generators, especially in high-profile applications like data centers.
- 4 (10:12) **Why Natural Gas and Batteries Aren't the Answer** - Wang explains why the most obvious alternatives to diesel have failed to replace it in backup power applications.
- 5 (15:45) **The Fundamentals: Why Aluminum Can Be a Fuel** - Wang explains the chemistry behind metal fuels, describing aluminum as a "battery" that stores energy from the smelting process.
- 6 (19:22) **Inside a Voya Generator: The Electrochemical Process** - Wang provides a technical walkthrough of how their generator converts aluminum pellets into electricity.
- 7 (21:31) **The Energy Density Advantage** - A key comparison point: aluminum's energy density versus diesel.
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Show Notes
Diesel generators remain ubiquitous because they offer an unusually powerful combination of low cost, high energy density, long-duration storage, and reliable off-grid power. But their pollution, noise, maintenance requirements, permitting challenges, and growing footprint are becoming increasingly problematic as data centers drive demand for backup generation.
In this episode of Catalyst, Shayle Kann talks with Richard Wang, co-founder and CEO of Voya Energy, about the company's effort to replace diesel generators with generators powered by aluminum.
Richard explains why diesel has been so difficult to displace, why natural gas and batteries fall short for some backup applications, and how Voya's electrochemical generator uses aluminum pellets and air to produce electricity. Unlike combustion-based generators, the system is designed to operate without air emissions, while offering high energy density, quiet operation, rapid startup, and long-duration capabilities.
The conversation also explores aluminum's potential as a globally transportable energy carrier and why low-grade scrap aluminum could provide Voya's initial fuel supply.
Richard and Shayle discuss:
The global diesel generator market and why diesel remains dominant
Why natural gas generators and batteries haven't displaced diesel
Aluminum as a high-energy-density fuel
How Voya Energy's electrochemical aluminum generator works
Voya vs. diesel on cost, footprint, power quality, and runtime
Using Voya generators as grid assets and battery alternatives
- Why metal fuels are becoming viable now
- Using low-grade scrap aluminum as fuel and the long-term vision for recyclable aluminum energy storage
Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by John Sheehan. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.
This episode of Catalyst is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at engieresources.com.
Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. Peak season puts every grid to the test — and the utilities that pass are the ones that built flexible capacity before they needed it. EnergyHub works with more than 170 utilities to coordinate 2.5 million devices and 3.4 gigawatts of dispatchable flexibility through a single platform designed to perform when it counts most. See what that looks like at EnergyHub.com.
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