Flow Battery

A study published in the journal ‘Advanced Energy Materials’ reports that scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a new organic aqueous flow battery that will be about 60% cost effective than the current standard flow of batteries when developed.

The lower cost of the battery is attributed to the active inexpensive organic molecules compared to the commodity metals used in today’s flow batteries. The new battery is expected to cost $180 per kilowatt–hour, which is 60% less than the current standard flow batteries. "The battery's water–based liquid electrolytes are also designed to be a drop–in replacement for the current flow battery systems," said Wei Wang, material scientist at (PNNL).

Flow batteries generate power by pumping liquids from external tanks into a central stack. The tanks contain liquid electrolytes that store energy. In case of energy requirement, pumps move electrolytes from tanks into the stack where electricity is produced by an electromechanical reaction.