>Making 3.6cc of Al takes 3.6 /1000 * 12kWh = 0.04 kWh.  (Electricity
>is apparently 1/3 of the cost.)
>
>We get 0.03kWh back.
>
>Those numbers are by weight of course, by volume is far more exciting.
>Possibly produces too much waste to be a decent battery.

I remember doing a trip through the Tiwai Point smelter (anglicised 
pronunciation Tea-why)and having to remove our watches before going through 
the smelting plant. The smelting cells run at low voltage and very high 
current (recall something like 3v and thousands of amps) so the magnetic 
fields are very high. The ore melts due to the effectively short circuit 
current, leaving molten aluminium in the bottom, and the slag from the ore 
floating to the top. Was impressive stuff. 

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