To create them, we need rare materials that can only be found in specific geographic regions. This means that not all countries have access to them, which creates the foundation for geopolitical issues. They are made of materials like heavy metals and rare minerals. Sourcing these can have a severe impact on our environment.
The same goes for their disposal: when not properly recycled, batteries are a rich source of contamination. Landfills face the risk of being overrun with spent Li-ion batteries. Analysts predict that by 2030, the worldwide amount of lithium-ion battery waste will reach 2 million metric tons per year.
Time to change the batteries
On top of that, rechargeable Li-ion batteries degrade over time. After a few hundred charges you will notice that it starts to wear more quickly, until it can no longer hold any charge at all. All these issues can be resolved by creating a better version of a battery type which’ concept was first demonstrated by chemist Walther Kangro in 1950 and further developed by NASA in the 1970’s: the Redox Flow Battery.
This type of battery consists of components, which makes it more scalable. There are more advantages, such as longer cycle life, less wear and therefore a longer battery life, and lower costs of ownership.
Water and iron
The advantages are interesting enough to warrant further research and development, but Antoni Forner-Cuenca, assistant professor in the Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry and his team, want to take it even further.
He is researching ways to improve the Redox Flow battery and eliminate the current issues, like the undesired transition of the electrolytes through the membrane, or cross-over. One of his ambitions is to eliminate the need for rare materials and heavy metals and to create a version that only needs water and iron, elements most countries in the world have access to.
Speeding up the energy transition
Optimized versions of the Redox Flow battery create a range of new possibilities to manage and distribute energy. Their scalability makes them ideal for storing large amounts of energy locally. A few examples: energy from solar panels that is not needed during the day could be stored and redistributed after dark. And combined with electrolyzers they can convert excess amounts of energy from windmills to hydrogen.
Antoni’s and his teams work will speed up the energy transition, since these batteries can be used to store larger amounts of energy.
More about Antoni’s and his research can be found here.
This project caught the attention of a well-known Dutch popular science podcast. Have a listen and find out why we’re proud of this TU/e project.