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

自2010年以来，全球能源体系经历了剧烈变化。事实上，风能和太阳能发电成本的快速下降使可再生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(即电池)的投资需求，以管理发电来源的可变输出。锂离子电池(LIB)因其高的体积和重量能量密度而无处不在，并主导着实际的电力市场。然而，LIB的高维护成本和安全限制(即高点火风险)，再加上锂/钴元素的有限可用性和可持续性及其缩短的生命周期(&lt；10,000)，正在鼓励其他大规模固定能量存储技术。氧化还原液流电池(RFB)具有模块化设计、低维护成本、更安全的化学成分和长生命周期(&gt；25,000)，是风沙公园和太阳能发电场可持续能量存储/发电的替代方案。RFB将从这些发电厂充电，为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具有优势，但由于阳极/阴极电活性分子(如钒离子)的低溶解度/可逆性，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，目前的研究计划集中在设计可溶的可逆阳极/阴极电活性分子，以及有机溶剂和无机酸，对电池的绿色足迹产生负面影响。本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。它将设计一种混合RFB，在粒子稳定的水包油乳状液中使用有机氢载体对(AH2/A)作为阳极元件(生成模式)，并在阴极使用空气。为了实现这一目标，有三个目标：O1。制备具有规定尺寸、亲水亲油平衡、酸性和催化功能(即金属中心)的两亲性颗粒；颗粒稳定的水包油乳状液的研制，具有高水平的颗粒回收和再利用，以及离子电导率和乳状液-电极电子转移的测量；设计一种实验室规模的混合RFB原型，基于具有高电流/功率密度可充电性和耐用性的粒子稳定乳剂。本项目将设计史无前例的具有高电池电压和功率密度的可充电RFB，用于固定能量存储/发电，作为可持续性较差的LIBS和最先进的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，它还将通过使用可逆的氢气载体来解决循环经济问题，这种载体可以使用绿色氢气进行再生。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减少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.