SBIR Phase II: High Energy-Density Hydrogen-Halogen Flow Batteries for Energy Storage

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力与电网中可再生能源的利用直接相关。 由于供应的可变性，可再生能源发电机（例如太阳能和风能）无法满足整个电力需求，因为这些发电机在高需求时期往往生产不足，而在低需求时期则生产过剩。 为了缓解这一问题，需要大规模的储能解决方案来平衡发电和需求。 该项目旨在创造化学电池的必要技术突破，以满足这一需求。 该公司开发了一种使能技术，可以解锁四十多年前首次提出的化学物质。 然而，它以前总是失败，因为它的核心存在缺陷。拟议的工作解决了这一缺陷。 拟议的储能技术将进入现有解决方案服务不佳的大规模储能市场，随着世界向更大的可再生能源发电过渡，预计十年内全球每年将超过数千亿美元。 SBIR第二阶段项目旨在将一种用于液流电池的新型膜技术推向商业就绪状态。 在先前的迭代中，这种类型的液流电池由于作为这种电池的核心的薄膜膜的问题而在成功方面受到限制。 一个新的解决方案，这个问题已经确定，并已成功地证明了概念。 该项目旨在将该设备从实验室设置的单个操作单元转换为连接多个此类单元的商业产品。 这项工作将涉及实验室实验，制造设计，以及理论和模拟工作的组合。 在该项目结束时，将建立物理堆栈中的许多电池，这将有助于制造和质量保证。 这些进展将使全尺寸商业化液流电池直接过渡。 初步研究表明，解决液流电池膜问题的新技术和方法可以扩展到具有类似优势的其他类似领域，例如燃料电池。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is directly related to the utilization of renewable energy sources in the electrical grid. Due to the variability of supply, renewable energy generators (e.g. solar and wind) cannot supply the entire electrical demand as these often under-produce during times of high demand and over-produce during times of low demand. To alleviate this problem, large-scale energy storage solutions are necessary to balance generation and demand. This project aims to create the necessary technological breakthrough of a chemical battery to address this need. The company has developed an enabling technology that unlocks a chemistry which was first proposed over forty years ago. However, it has always failed before due to a flaw at its core. The proposed work addresses this flaw. The proposed storage technology will enter the large-scale energy storage market that is poorly served by existing solutions and is expected to exceed hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide annually within the decade as the world transitions to greater renewable energy generation. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to bring a novel membrane technology for flow batteries to a commercial ready status. In previous iterations, flow batteries of this type have been limited in success due to issues of thin-film membranes which are at the heart of such batteries. A novel solution to this problem has been identified and a proof-of-concept has been successfully demonstrated. This project aims to transition that device from a laboratory setting of a single operational cell to a commercial product linking many such cells in a manifold. This work will involve a combination of laboratory experiments, manufacturing design, as well as theory and simulation work. At the end of this project, numerous cells in a physical stack will be built that will facilitate manufacturing and quality assurance. These advances will enable a direct transition to full-sized commercial-ready flow batteries. Initial investigations have demonstrated that the novel technology and approach to solving flow battery membrane problems may be extended to other similar fields with similar advantages, e.g. fuel cells.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.