Supercapacitor-battery hybrid based on multivalent vanadium for storage of renewable energy

加拿大已承诺到2050年将经济转变为净零碳排放。能源部门是最大的二氧化碳排放源之一，将可再生能源整合到发电中是减少碳排放的一项有前景的战略。然而，风能和太阳能等可再生能源是不规则的，不仅在短时间内（几秒钟到几小时）变化，而且在很长一段时间内（几天到几周）也会变化。因此，来自可再生能源的能源不会立即被消耗，必须储存起来，直到需要时使用和供应。电池可以储存和分配相对大量的能量，但它们在高功率下不能很好地工作。相比之下，超级电容器可以处理很大的功率，但不能储存很多能量。因此，这两个候选方案都不是支持将可再生能源并入电网的理想方案。我们小组最近发明了一种新型的电池-超级电容器混合材料，它制造简单，由丰富的，环保的和相对经济有效的材料组成。这种混合物结合了超级电容器和电池的能量存储机制，并在理想的演示中结合了它们的优点。也就是说，它可以像电池一样储存大量能量，像超级电容器一样处理高功率，使其成为现有电网中可再生能源整合的理想储能设备。这项提案的资金允许进一步发展的混合。我们将通过开发一种合适的电极来改进化学修饰，从而提高混合材料的能量密度。我们还将重新配制电解液并改进接触界面，以提高设备的能量含量和效率。这项提案的经费还培训了两名高素质人员，并通过技术发展为加拿大的经济未来作出贡献。

Canada has pledged to convert the economy to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The energy sector is one of the largest carbon dioxide emitters and the integration of renewable energy into electrical power generation is a promising strategy to reduce carbon emissions. However, renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are irregular and do not only vary over short times (seconds to hours) but also over long periods (days to weeks). Hence, energy from renewables, which is not immediately consumed, has to be stored until it is used and supplied when required. Batteries can store and dispense relatively large amounts of energy but they don't work well at high electrical power. In contrast, supercapacitors can handle large power but do not store a lot of energy. Hence, both candidates are not ideal to support the integration of renewable sources into the grid.Our group recently invented a novel battery-supercapacitor hybrid which is simple to manufacture and consists of abundant, environmentally-benign and relatively cost effective materials. This hybrid combines the energy storage mechanisms of supercapacitors and battery and, in an ideal demonstration, combines their advantages. That is, it can store large amounts of energy like a battery and handle high power like a supercapacitor making it an ideal energy storage device for the integration of renewable energy sources in the existing electricity grid. The funding of this proposal allows for further development of the hybrid. We will improve the hybrid's energy density by developing a suitable electrode for a modified chemistry. We will also re-formulate the electrolyte and improve the contact interfaces to increase energy content and efficiency of the device. The funding of this proposal also trains two Highly Qualified Personnel and contributes to Canada's economic future by technology development.