SBIR Phase II: ION Gate Membrane For High Performance Redox Flow Batteries

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将为氧化还原液流电池开发一种新型的具有可控孔径的离子栅膜。氧化还原液流电池是最有发展前景的电能存储技术之一。然而，这种电池中使用的最先进的(SOA)膜的成本必须大幅降低，才能达到EES应用的总体系统成本目标。此外，SOA膜的离子选择性也很差，导致离子穿透，降低了电池的能量效率。在建议的方法中，将开发一种超薄复合膜来解决这些问题。由于其厚度薄，孔径控制严格，材料选择严格，有望具有良好的离子选择性、质子导电性和化学稳定性。一旦完全开发，它将能够满足大规模氧化还原液流电池用于EES应用的严格要求。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力包括推动氧化还原液流电池作为低成本的EES系统的广泛采用，以及促进智能电网的快速部署。为了满足日益增长的能源需求，缓解化石燃料的使用对环境的影响，可再生能源在发电中的地位越来越重要。然而，风电等可再生能源存在波动的弊端。为了缓解这一问题，目前正在提出和开发智能电网。EES系统被认为是智能电网的关键组成部分。这类电池的市场预计将迅速增长。根据一项研究，如果10%的风力发电厂采用EES，EES市场可能达到520亿美元。如果这项工作成功，将带来一项突破性的产品：一种低成本、高性能的离子栅膜，作为氧化还原液流电池的关键组件。这样的突破性产品可能会加速氧化还原液流电池在这个市场的渗透。此外，这种创新薄膜的开发将有助于保持我们国家在这一重要领域的领先地位，创造新的商业机会和高科技工作岗位。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a novel ion gate membrane with controlled pore size for redox flow battery. Redox flow battery is one of the most promising electric energy storage (EES) technologies. However, the cost of the state-of-the-art (SOA) membrane used in such battery has to come down dramatically in order to reach the overall system cost target for EES applications. Moreover, the ion selectivity of the SOA membrane is also very poor, leading to ion cross-over and lower energy efficiency for the battery. In the proposed approach, an ultra thin composite membrane will be developed to address the issues. Due to its thin thickness, tight pore size control and material selection, the membrane is expected to have excellent ion selectivity, proton conductivity and chemical stability. Once fully developed, it will be able to meet the stringent requirements of large scale redox flow batteries for EES applications.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project includes promoting the widespread adoption of redox flow battery as the low cost EES systems and facilitating the rapid deployment of smart grids. In order to satisfy the surging energy demand and mitigate the environment impact of fossil fuel usage, renewable energy sources are becoming more and more important in the power generation. However, renewable energy sources, such as wind power, suffer the drawback of fluctuation. To mitigate the problem, smart grids are now being proposed and developed. The EES system is considered as the key components of the smart grids. The market for such batteries is expected to grow rapidly. According to a study, the EES market could reach $52 billion if 10% of wind plants adopt EES. This work if successful will lead to a breakthrough product: a low cost, high performance ion gate membrane as a key component for the redox flow battery. Such a breakthrough product could accelerate the penetration of redox flow battery in this market. In addition, development of this innovative membrane will help maintain our nations leading position in this important field, creating new business opportunities and high tech jobs.