This Flow battery technology revolutionizes renewable energy backup systems.
The Norwegian renewable energy company Statkraft and the Dutch climate technology startup Aquabattery have teamed up to develop a promising flow battery that will allow large storage parks to be launched to support renewable energy sources.
All experts agree that to achieve the energy transition, it is essential to have backup systems through storage. However, traditional battery formats have limitations in capacity and cost. Something that flow batteries want to improve.
Statkraft says energy storage for six hours or more will be “pivotal” in creating a “sustainable and stable energy system” globally to support the energy transition away from fossil fuels.
Long-duration energy storage can transfer energy from peak to off-peak hours and defer costly investments in grid infrastructure. It can also alleviate grid congestion, a problem in many countries today, making connecting wind and solar plants to the grid difficult.
Aquabattery says it has designed its acid-base flow battery based on the “reversible dissociation of water.” In separate tanks, the battery stores chemical energy in acidic, basic, and saltwater solutions. The pumps circulate these fluids through an energy cell with electrodes separated by membranes. Ion exchange between electrolytes is made possible by membranes, which produce electricity.
The power output depends on the surface area of the electrodes, while the storage duration depends on the volume of the electrolyte. Something that makes them easily scalable or customizable, the objective being to offer a backup of 8 or more hours, with the capacity to store it for days or weeks.
Furthermore, using two abundant and cheap materials, table salt and water, achieves a lower production cost and carbon footprint in its manufacturing or future recycling.
This alternative has already passed the development phase and will now begin a test phase that will take place next year with the installation of the first system in the Dutch city of Delft. A pilot plant that will investigate the technology’s scalability and performance, as well as its commercial viability.
Source – Statkraft
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