Redox Flow Batteries Could Come of Age

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Redox flow batteries are mechanically simple devices. Two adjacent tanks contain chemical components added to liquids. These pump past each other in two channels on either side of a membrane. This membrane allows ion exchange to occur, accompanied by a flow of electricity through an external resistor. Although, the chemicals in the liquids are the secret sauce that makes or breaks the idea.

New Secret Sauce for Redox Flow Batteries

redox flow batteries
Redox Flow Technology: Colintheone: CC 4.0

Two scientists as the Universities of Buffalo and Rochester have been beavering away with different recipes. Because they want to develop the perfect solar hybrid. Then all you will need to power your house is a battery the size of a refrigerator, says Buffalo News.

“These things are not far off,” remarks the lead team member. “Although we’re really focusing on grid-scale energy resources, not cell phones, and cars.” Capacities of redox flow batteries depend on storage tank size. The liquids could even store in reservoirs making the possibilities immense.

What Exactly Are the Scientists Cooking Up?

redox flow batteries
Vanadium Flow Battery: Radiotrefoil: CC 4.0

The researchers at aptly-named Cook’s Lab at University of Buffalo do not seem to be giving their innermost secrets away. However, we do know they have found that “modifying a special metal-oxide chemical cluster drastically improved energy storage performance in batteries of its kind.”

Moreover, they say their redox flow batteries work with higher voltages, are stable, and do not appear to degrade over time. They are currently working on a scaled-down prototype, although they are already confident the chemicals are “generally inexpensive, plentiful, and safe”.

What Does this Hold for the Battery Industry?

Not much else has emerged in significant numbers since lithium batteries captured the market. However, these are inherently unstable as lithium is flammable. This time, we sense the refined redox flow batteries have potential to take the baton over. And then lead the race towards a greener future.

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About Author

I tripped over a shrinking bank balance and fell into the writing gig unintentionally. This was after I escaped the corporate world and searched in vain for ways to become rich on the internet by doing nothing. Despite the fact that writing is no recipe for wealth, I rather enjoy it. I will not deny I am obsessed with it when I have the time. I live in Margate on the Kwazulu-Natal south coast of South Africa. I work from home where I ponder on the future of the planet, and what lies beyond in the great hereafter. Sometimes I step out of my computer into the silent riverine forests, and empty golden beaches for which the area is renowned. Richard

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