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

2010年以来，全球能源体系发生了巨大变化。事实上，风力发电和太阳能发电成本的迅速下降，使可再生能源发电厂与传统的化石能源替代品相比具有竞争力。这推动了对灵活储能技术（即电池）的投资需求，以管理发电源的可变输出。锂离子电池（LIBs）由于其高体积和重量能量密度而普遍存在并主导着实际电力市场。然而，锂离子电池的高维护成本和安全性限制（即高着火风险），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的发展。氧化还原液流电池（rfb）具有模块化设计、低维护成本、更安全的化学成分和较长的使用周期（bbb25 000），成为风成公园和太阳能发电场可持续储能/发电的替代方案。rfb将从这些发电厂收取费用，为当地电网提供按需供电，同时帮助全球电力系统脱碳。尽管rfb具有诸多优势，但由于阳极/阴极电活性分子（例如钒离子）的溶解度和可逆性较低，目前的技术受到低电流/功率密度的限制。为了提高rfb的电流/功率密度，目前的研究项目集中在设计可溶的、可逆的阳极/阴极电活性分子，以及有机溶剂和无机酸，这些都会对电池的绿色足迹产生负面影响。该项目的目的是探索一种完全不同的策略，影响rfb的效率和绿色足迹，允许循环资源流动。该公司将设计一种混合型RFB，在颗粒稳定的水包油乳液中使用有机H2载流子对（AH2/ a）作为阳极元素（生成模式），在阴极处使用空气。为了实现这一目标，有三个目标：具有确定尺寸、亲水亲脂平衡、酸度和催化功能（即金属中心）的两亲性颗粒的制备；2 .高水平颗粒回收再利用的颗粒稳定水包油乳液的制备及其离子电导率和乳液电极电子转移的研究；设计一个实验室规模的混合RFB原型，该原型基于颗粒稳定乳液，具有高电流/功率密度、可充电性和耐久性。目前的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，用于固定储能/发电，作为可持续性差的lib和最先进的rfb的替代方案，不含有毒盐，昂贵的溶剂，无机酸或表面活性剂。此外，它将通过使用可逆H2载体来解决循环经济问题，这些载体可以使用绿色H2再生。除其他外，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和每年平均节省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.