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Grant

Carbocation Based Electrolytes for Robust Symmetrical Organic Redox Flow Batteries

Sponsored by National Science Foundation

Active
$50K Funding
1 People
External

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Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a battery that allows long duration energy storage. The integration of renewable energy is transitioning to achieve zero-carbon emission in the decades to come. Due to solar and wind energy?s transitory nature, the successful deployment of renewable energy on a large scale depends on the development of efficient energy storage systems. While lithium-ion batteries are the most developed electrochemical storage technology at utility scale, they are best suited for four to six hours (4?6 h) storage and high demand peak shaving. To achieve longer-term emission goals, longer duration energy storage of 8?12 h or more is required. Long duration storage technologies, such as the proposed battery technology, have potential for utility, industry, and residential scale applications. This I-Corps project is based on the development of energetically dense and inexpensive electrolytes for robust symmetrical organic Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs). In RFBs, power is controlled by the electrode size and the number of stacked electrodes, while energy capacity is controlled by the size of the tank that stores the electrolyte, resulting in the decoupling of power and energy capacity. For long-term storage, the ability to decouple power and energy is beneficial since the size of RFB stacks and tanks may be changed to meet application requirements. Unlike metal-based RFBs, organic RFBs overcome limitations of conventional RFBs, such as high cost and high toxicity, while providing the long duration energy storage that lithium-ion batteries cannot. The proposed technology employs carbocation, such as methoxyquinolinoacridinium salt, which is a stable electrolyte with an open circuit potential of 2.12 V. These salts may be used as both the anolyte and catholyte, resulting in a fully symmetric system that has high cyclability and high efficiency retention. This I-Corps team will determine the suitability of this technology to the marketplace through customer discovery. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

People