‘Flow Battery’ can store 10 times more energy

Dec 07, 2015

Flow batteries’, mostly used in large industries could be the future of renewable energy—but this is only possible when such devices can store large amounts of energy cheaply and keep getting energy for the grid when the winds are calm and sun isn't shining. Conventional flow batteries can’t do it.

In conventional batteries chemical reactants and electrodes are packed together, but in flow batteries reactants are kept in separate tanks. Energy can be fed into the reactants by flowing materials into two electrodes separated by a membrane.  Such tanks have no size limit, the flow battery storage capacity can be scaled up as needed and that makes it ideal for storing large amounts of power for the grid.

Researchers have created a new type of novel flow battery that uses lithium ion technology that can store 10 times more energy compared with the most common flow batteries in the market. With a few innovative improvements, the new flow batteries could change the way we store and deliver energy. 

Flow battery has a high energy density, but the power delivery rate is very slow than conventional flow batteries, however, researchers are hopeful to improve the delivery rate by further improving the membrane and the charge ferrying redox mediators. Redox flow batteries are known as one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies.

Source: http://news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2015/11/new-type-flow-battery-can-store-10-times-energy-next-best-device