I-Corps: Assessment of Commercial Viability of Electrochemical Flow Capacitors for Grid Scale Energy Storage

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This Innovation Corps (I-Corps) project aims to assess the commercial viability and technological impact of a new energy storage concept called "electrochemical flow capacitor" (EFC). This new storage concept takes the advantages of both supercapacitors and flow batteries, and enables rapid charging/discharging (i.e., fast system response with high power density), while decoupling energy storage from the power output (i.e., scalable energy storage). At the core of this technology is the utilization of a flowable carbon slurry as an active material for capacitive storage. At the technical level, the team's goal in this project will be to continue its ongoing efforts in establishing the enabling science and technology necessary to address the critical scientific gaps related to the capacitive charge storage in a flowable media. At the commercialization level, the team's efforts will be placed on developing a portable bench-top prototype to demonstrate the fundamental operation of the proposed concept and benchmark performance and cost targets. The team's main goal will be to establish a streamlined technology development process and formulate a strong business case that will enable the team to secure third-party funding and establish strategic alliances with interested parties for commercialization of this new technology. Rapid energy recovery and delivery is essential to enable better utilization of fluctuating renewable sources, as well as to increase the efficiency of the grid. To date, there is a great need for a large-scale energy storage system that can effectively buffer large and rapid fluctuations in energy supply and demand. The proposed technology has significant potential to overcome the major challenges in grid-scale energy storage associated with conventional technologies, enabling greater utilization of renewable energy sources, while making the electrical grid more robust. Therefore, the new knowledge gained from this work is expected to have a substantial impact on the crucial societal challenge of renewable energy and will help transform the current practices employed to address the rapidly growing global energy issues. Additionally, the successful development of this technology can potentially result in the formation of a start-up company, stimulation of private investments and contribute to strengthening the U.S. position in new energy storage technologies.