I-Corps: Carbocation-based electrolytes for robust symmetrical organic redox flow batteries

该 I-Corps 项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种可长时间存储能量的电池。可再生能源的整合正在转变，以在未来几十年实现零碳排放。由于太阳能和风能的短暂性，可再生能源的大规模成功部署取决于高效储能系统的开发。虽然锂离子电池是公用事业规模上最成熟的电化学存储技术，但它们最适合四到六小时（4-6 小时）的存储和高需求调峰。为了实现长期排放目标，需要8-12小时或更长时间的较长储能时间。长时间存储技术，例如所提出的电池技术，具有公用事业、工业和住宅规模应用的潜力。该 I-Corps 项目基于开发高能量密度且廉价的电解质，用于坚固的对称有机氧化还原液流电池 (RFB)。在RFB中，功率由电极尺寸和堆叠电极的数量控制，而能量容量由存储电解质的槽的尺寸控制，从而导致功率和能量容量的解耦。对于长期存储，功率和能量解耦的能力是有益的，因为 RFB 堆栈和储罐的尺寸可以改变以满足应用要求。与金属基 RFB 不同，有机 RFB 克服了传统 RFB 的局限性，例如高成本和高毒性，同时提供锂离子电池无法提供的长时间储能。所提出的技术采用碳阳离子，例如甲氧基喹啉吖啶盐，它是一种稳定的电解质，开路电位为 2.12 V。这些盐可用作阳极电解液和阴极电解液，从而形成具有高循环性和高效率保留率的完全对称系统。 该 I-Corps 团队将通过客户发现来确定该技术对市场的适用性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a battery that allows long duration energy storage. The integration of renewable energy is transitioning to achieve zero-carbon emission in the decades to come. Due to solar and wind energy’s transitory nature, the successful deployment of renewable energy on a large scale depends on the development of efficient energy storage systems. While lithium-ion batteries are the most developed electrochemical storage technology at utility scale, they are best suited for four to six hours (4–6 h) storage and high demand peak shaving. To achieve longer-term emission goals, longer duration energy storage of 8–12 h or more is required. Long duration storage technologies, such as the proposed battery technology, have potential for utility, industry, and residential scale applications. This I-Corps project is based on the development of energetically dense and inexpensive electrolytes for robust symmetrical organic Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs). In RFBs, power is controlled by the electrode size and the number of stacked electrodes, while energy capacity is controlled by the size of the tank that stores the electrolyte, resulting in the decoupling of power and energy capacity. For long-term storage, the ability to decouple power and energy is beneficial since the size of RFB stacks and tanks may be changed to meet application requirements. Unlike metal-based RFBs, organic RFBs overcome limitations of conventional RFBs, such as high cost and high toxicity, while providing the long duration energy storage that lithium-ion batteries cannot. The proposed technology employs carbocation, such as methoxyquinolinoacridinium salt, which is a stable electrolyte with an open circuit potential of 2.12 V. These salts may be used as both the anolyte and catholyte, resulting in a fully symmetric system that has high cyclability and high efficiency retention. This I-Corps team will determine the suitability of this technology to the marketplace through customer discovery.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.