New battery could solve intermittency issues
Scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) have developed a water-based organic battery that is claimed to be long lasting, built from cheap, eco-friendly components.
The new battery, which uses no metals or toxic materials, is intended for use in power plants, where it can make the energy grid more resilient and efficient by creating a large-scale means to store energy for use as needed.
‘The batteries last for about 5,000 recharge cycles, giving them an estimated 15-year lifespan,’ said Sri Narayan, professor of chemistry at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and corresponding author of a paper describing the new batteries in Journal of the Electrochemical Society. ‘Lithium ion batteries degrade after around 1,000 cycles, and cost 10 times more to manufacture.’
Narayan collaborated with Surya Prakash, Prakash, professor of chemistry and director of the USC Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, as well as USC’s Bo Yang, Lena Hoober-Burkhardt, and Fang Wang.
‘Such organic flow batteries will be game-changers for grid electrical energy storage in terms of simplicity, cost, reliability and sustainability,’ Prakash said in a statement.
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