Novel Rechargeable Hybrid Redox Flow Battery Based on Particle-Stabilised Emulsions and H2 carriers

自2010年以来，全球能源系统经历了巨大的变化。事实上，风力和太阳能发电成本的快速下降使可再生能源发电厂与传统的化石能源相比具有竞争力。这推动了对灵活储能技术的投资需求（即，电池）来管理来自发电源的可变输出。锂离子电池（LIB）由于其高体积和重量能量密度而普遍存在并主导实际电力市场。然而，LIB的高维护成本和安全限制（即，高点火风险），加上锂/钴元素的有限可用性和可持续性及其缩短的生命周期（<10，000），正在鼓励其他大规模固定储能技术。氧化还原液流电池（RFB）具有模块化设计，低维护成本，更安全的化学和长寿命周期（> 25，000），成为LIB的替代候选者，用于风成公园和太阳能农场的可持续能源存储/发电。RFB将从那些发电厂充电，以向当地电网提供按需电力，同时帮助全球电力系统脱碳。尽管RFB有好处，但目前的技术由于阳极/阴极电活性分子的低溶解度/可逆性（例如，钒离子）。为了提高RFBs的电流/功率密度，目前的研究计划集中在设计可溶的、可逆的阳极/阴极电活性分子，以及有机溶剂和无机酸，对电池的绿色足迹有负面影响。本项目的目的是探索一种完全不同的策略，影响RFBs的效率和绿色足迹，允许循环资源流。它将设计一个混合RFB，采用有机H2载体对（AH 2/A）在颗粒稳定的水包油乳液作为阳极元件（发电模式），和空气在阴极。为了实现这一目标，有三个目标：O 1。制备具有规定尺寸、亲水亲油平衡、酸度和催化功能（即金属中心）的两亲性颗粒;O2.生成具有高水平颗粒回收和再利用的颗粒稳定的水包油乳液，并调查离子电导率和乳液电极电子转移;O3.设计一个实验室规模的混合RFB原型，该原型基于颗粒稳定的乳液，具有高电流/功率密度可充电性和耐用性。本项目将设计前所未有的可充电RFB，具有高电池电压和功率密度，用于固定能量存储/发电，作为可持续性差的LIB和最先进RFB的替代品，不含有毒盐，昂贵的溶剂，无机酸或表面活性剂。此外，它将通过采用可逆的H2载体来解决循环经济问题，该载体可以使用绿色H2再生。它将促进电动个人和公共车辆的部署，然后将有助于每辆车每年平均节省4.6吨二氧化碳。

Since 2010, the global energy system has experienced drastic changes. Indeed, rapid decrease in the cost of eolian and solar power generation has made renewable power plants competitive with conventional fossil alternatives. This has driven the need for investment in flexible energy storage technologies (i.e., batteries) to manage the variable output from generation sources. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are ubiquitous and dominate the actual power market due to their high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities. However, the high maintenance costs and safety restrictions of LIBs (i.e., high ignition risk), combined with the limited availability and sustainability of lithium/cobalt elements and their reduced life cycles (<10,000), are encouraging other technologies for large-scale stationary energy storage. Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs), with modular design, low maintenance costs, safer chemistry, and long-life cycles (>25,000), emerge as alternative candidates to LIBs for sustainable energy storage/generation in eolian park and solar farms. RFBs will charge from those power generation plants to provide on-demand power to the local grid while helping to decarbonise global electricity systems.Despite the benefits of RFBs, current technologies are today limited by low current/power densities due to low solubility/reversibility of anodic/cathodic electroactive molecules (e.g., vanadium ions). To increase the current/powerdensities of RFBs, current research programs focus on the design of soluble, reversible anodic/cathodic electroactive molecules, as well as organic solvents & inorganic acids, with negative effect on the green footprint of the batteries.The aim of this project is to explore a radically different strategy, impacting the efficiency & green footprint of RFBs, allowing a circular resource-flow. It will design a hybrid RFB, employing an organic H2 carrier couple (AH2/A) in a particle stabilised oil-in-water emulsion as anodic element (generation mode), and air at the cathode. To meet this aim, there are 3 objectives:O1. Preparation of amphiphilic particles with defined sizes, hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, acidity and catalytic functions (i.e. metal centres);O2. Generation of particle-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with high level of particle recycling and reuse, and survey of the ionic conductivity and emulsion-electrode electron transfer;O3. Engineering a lab-scale hybrid RFB prototype based on particle-stabilised emulsions with high current/power density rechargeability and durability.The present project will design unprecedented rechargeable RFBs with high cell voltage and power density for stationary energy storage/generation, as alternative to poorly sustainable LIBs and state-of-the-art RFBs, without toxic salts,expensive solvents, inorganic acids or surfactants. Moreover, it will address circular economy by employing reversible H2 carriers, that can be regenerated using green H2. It will promote among others deployment of electric personal and public vehicles and will then help to save in average 4.6 tons of CO2 per vehicle and per year.