Organic Mega Flow Battery Transcends Lifetime, Voltage Thresholds
July 24, 2018 | Harvard UniversityEstimated reading time: 3 minutes
To sustain human civilization in the future, clean energy sources must be harnessed to replace the fossil fuels that are now polluting our atmosphere. Solar and wind energy can supply all the necessary energy. However, storage will be needed when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.
Organic flow batteries are a potentially safer, less expensive alternative to lithium ion batteries and vanadium flow batteries for large-scale renewable energy storage.
Now, Harvard researchers have demonstrated a new organic molecule that outlives and outperforms its predecessors, offering the longest-lasting high-performance organic flow battery to date. Nicknamed the Methuselah quinone — after the longest-lived Biblical figure — this molecule could usefully store and release energy many tens of thousands of times over multi-year periods.
The research team in their lab. Bottom row, left to right: Daniel Pollack, Emily Kerr, Diana DePorcellinis, Daniel Tabor. Top row, left to right: Marc-Antoni Goulet, Michael Aziz, Roy Gordon, David Kwabi, Yunlong Ji. (Photo courtesy of Eliza Grinnell/SEAS Communications)
“We designed and built a new organic compound that can store electrical energy and also has a very long life before it decomposes,” said Gordon. “We discovered degradation processes of the molecules that we previously used in flow batteries. Then we created new, more stable molecules that avoid these problems.”
“In previous work, we had demonstrated a chemistry with a long lifespan but low voltage, which leads to low energy storage per molecule, which leads to high cost for a given amount of energy stored,” said Aziz. “Now, we have the first chemistry that has both long-term stability and comes in at more than one volt, which is commonly considered the threshold for commercial deployment. I believe it is the first organic-based flow battery that meets all of the technical criteria for practical implementation.”
The new chemistry builds off previous research led by Aziz and Gordon. The Methuselah molecule is a modified quinone, an abundant, naturally occurring molecule integral to biological processes like photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Collaborating with theoretical chemistry Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, their research team characterized the degradation process of previous quinone molecules in flow batteries and made modifications to increase the calendar life.
In experiments in their laboratories, the Methuselah molecule had a fade rate of less than 0.01 percent per day and less than 0.001 percent per charge/discharge cycle — which extrapolates to less than 3 percent degradation over the course of a year — and useful operation for tens of thousands of cycles.
Methuselah also proved highly soluble, meaning it can store more energy in a smaller space. It operates in a weak alkaline electrolyte, reducing the cost of the battery by allowing the use of inexpensive containment materials and an inexpensive polymer membrane to separate the positive and negative terminals.
We designed and built a new organic compound that can store electrical energy and also has a very long life before it decomposes.
All of these advances drive down the cost of storage and may make organic storage chemistries cost-effective for long-duration discharge.
“This research demonstrates the potential of organics,” said David Kwabi, a postdoctoral fellow at SEAS and co-first author of the paper. “We show that organic molecules are a viable, long-lasting, cost-effective alternative to expensive vanadium batteries.”
The research was supported by the U.S. DOE Office of Electricity energy storage program, by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, by Innovation Fund Denmark, by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Technology Center, and by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
“This important work represents a significant advance towards low cost, long duration flow batteries,” said Imre Gyuk, Director of DOE’s Office of Electricity storage program. “Such devices are needed to allow the electric grid to absorb increasing amounts of green but variable renewable generation.”
Suggested Items
Ark Electronics Expands Global Manufacturing Factory Network in North America and Europe
04/17/2024 | PRNewswireElectronic Manufacturing Company Ark Electronics recently announced the expansion of its Global Factory Network with the addition of Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) capabilities in Mexico and Europe.
Microchip Technology Acquires Neuronix AI Labs
04/16/2024 | Microchip Technology Inc.Innovative technology enhances AI-enabled intelligent edge solutions and increases neural networking capabilities.
Fluor Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract Augmentation Program V Task Order for Tinian
04/11/2024 | BUSINESS WIREFluor Corporation announced that the U.S. Air Force Installation Contracting Agency awarded the company a task order contract for Pavement and Transportation Support North Field, Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
ENNOVI Introduces a New Flexible Circuit Production Process for Low Voltage Connectivity in EV Battery Cell Contacting Systems
04/03/2024 | PRNewswireENNOVI, a mobility electrification solutions partner, introduces a more advanced and sustainable way of producing flexible circuits for low voltage signals in electric vehicle (EV) battery cell contacting systems.
Intel Outlines Financial Framework for Foundry Business, Sets Path to Margin Expansion
04/03/2024 | BUSINESS WIREIntel Corporation outlined a new financial reporting structure that is aligned with the company’s previously announced foundry operating model for 2024 and beyond.