Flow Battery

Researchers at Cornell University have been working on batteries that can 'flow' through the internal structures of robots, kind of like blood in humans' veins. They showcased this fascinating approach in soft-bodied worm and jellyfish bots.

PNNL researchers have discovered that dissolving a simple sugar into the electrolyte in a flow battery boosts peak power output by a remarkable 60%. What's more, after being constantly cycled for a year, the battery lost almost none of its capacity.

The Chinese city of Dalian has just switched on a world-leading new energy storage system, expected to supply enough power for up to 200,000 residents each day, with an initial capacity of 400 MWh and output of 100 MW.

Illinois Tech spinoff Influit Energy says it's coming out of stealth mode to commercialize a rechargeable electrofuel – a non-flammable, fast-refuelling liquid flow battery that already carries 23% more energy than lithium batteries, at half the cost.

There is still some work to do in bringing current redox flow battery designs up to speed in terms of both performance and sustainability, but a new approach tackles the problem on both these fronts, by drawing on a compound commonly found in candles.

As a storage solution for renewable energy, scientists see great potential in what are known as redox flow batteries. A new design from Linköping University is a decidedly green version of this, being the first made from all-natural materials.

An international team of scientists has created a new type of solar flow battery that’s efficient and long-lasting. The device is made up of a silicon/perovskite tandem solar cell, paired with a redox flow battery, with organic chemical electrolytes.

Researchers claim to have developed a new battery that mixes the best of both liquid and solid batteries. The new design is the first all-liquid-metal battery that can operate at room temperature, and it apparently outperforms lithium-ion batteries.

Researchers have developed a new electrode component for vanadium redox flow batteries that is said to outperform current solutions, thanks to the inclusion of an ingredient found in shrimp shells called chitin.

Researchers at the University of Southern California looking to crack the renewable energy storage problem have developed a new version of a redox flow battery from inexpensive and readily-available materials.

A team of engineers at Cornell has built a robotic fish powered by electric blood, which not only serves as an energy source, but acts hydraulically to create propulsion as well. This bio-inspired approach addresses one of the great challenges for small, untethered robots – mass vs. power.

A team of Harvard engineers has been making strides over the past few years with organic flow batteries, and has now tested a new molecule that makes for the longest-lasting, high-performance organic flow battery so far.