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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的广泛影响/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（如太阳能和风能）不能满足全部电力需求，因为它们经常在高需求时期生产不足，而在低需求时期生产过剩。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，解开了40多年前首次提出的一种化学反应。然而，由于其核心存在缺陷，它之前总是失败。提议的工作解决了这个缺陷。拟议的存储技术将进入现有解决方案服务不足的大规模能源存储市场，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第二期项目提出将一种新型膜技术用于液流电池，使其达到商业化的状态。在之前的迭代中，这种类型的液流电池的成功受到了限制，因为这种电池的核心是薄膜的问题。已经确定了一种新的解决方案，并成功地进行了概念验证。该项目旨在将该设备从实验室设置的单个操作单元过渡到将许多此类单元连接在歧管中的商业产品。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结合。在该项目结束时，将在物理堆栈中构建许多单元，这将促进制造和质量保证。这些进步将使全尺寸的商用液流电池能够直接过渡。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。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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.