SBIR Phase I: Nanostructured Ceramics Membranes for Redox Flow Batteries with Superior Performance and Low Cost

SBIR一期项目旨在开发一种用于恶劣环境的新型低成本分子过滤器。这是使用商品硅胶来完成的，通常作为食品包装中的干燥剂，其孔可以制成只有几个分子宽。精确调整硅胶孔的大小和形状，使某些分子能够通过，而其他分子则被阻止通过。这些分子过滤器的一个很有前途的应用是它们在电网规模的能量存储中的应用。液流电池有能力储存城市大小的可再生能源。然而，它们需要使用昂贵的分子过滤器，由于恶劣的电池环境，这些过滤器不易更换。在SBIR一期项目中开发的低成本过滤器有可能将液流电池的成本降低多达30%。低成本的电网规模存储意味着更多的可再生能源发电（如太阳能和风能）可以在不压倒电网的情况下增加。低成本分子过滤器也具有商业上的优势，有可能获得13亿美元的市场。正因为如此，该项目预计将在未来5年内创造近20个就业机会和7900万美元的税收收入。SBIR第一阶段项目正在开发一种分子选择性溶胶-凝胶陶瓷膜，该膜不需要煅烧或高聚合物负载，而且在堆栈应用（例如燃料电池和液流电池）的压缩过程中也不会破裂。这是通过将选择区域与被堆栈压缩的膜区域解耦来实现的。这些膜将用于提高全钒氧化还原液流电池（VRFB）的性能和降低成本。这些膜需要水合氢离子的选择性运输，但不需要钒离子。因此，尺寸排除膜必须严格控制孔径和尺寸分布、形状和网络结构，以便选择性地运输离子。为此，将利用溶胶-凝胶处理和表面化学修饰来最大化质子电导率和限制钒离子的渗透性。优化的膜配方还必须具有优异的化学和机械稳定性；经过数百次VRFB循环后，性能没有下降。最后，膜必须从实验室尺寸（1 cm2）缩放到商业尺寸（630 cm2），同时保持性能均匀性。在SBIR一期项目中开发的低成本膜有可能将vrfb的成本降低多达30%。低成本的电网规模存储意味着更多的可再生能源发电（如太阳能和风能）可以在不压倒电网的情况下增加。

This SBIR Phase I project seeks to develop a novel low-cost molecular filter for use in harsh environments. This is accomplished using commodity silica gel, commonly found as a desiccant in food packing, whose pores can be made to be only a few molecules wide. Accurate tuning of the size and shape of the silica gel pores enables certain molecules to pass through while others are block from passing. One promising application for these molecular filters is their use in grid-scale energy storage. Flow batteries have the ability to store city-sized quantities of renewable energy. However, they require the use of expensive molecular filters that are not easily replaced due to the harsh battery environments. The low-cost filters developed during this SBIR Phase I project have the potential to reduce the cost of flow batteries by as much as 30%. Lower cost grid-scale storage means that more renewable energy generation (e.g., solar & wind) can be added without overwhelming the grid. Low cost molecular filter also have commercial upside with the potential to capture a $1.3 billion dollar market. Because of this, this project is expected to generate nearly 20 jobs and $79 million dollars in tax revenue over the next 5 years.This SBIR Phase 1 Project is developing a molecularly selective sol-gel ceramic membrane that does not require calcination or high polymer loading but also does not fracture during compression in stack applications (e.g., fuel cells and flow batteries). This is accomplished by decoupling the selective region from the region of the membrane being compresses by the stack. These membranes will be utilized to improve the performance and reduce the costs of all-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB). These membranes require selective transport of hydronium ions but not vanadium ions. Size exclusion membranes must therefore have tight control over the pore size and size distribution, shape and network structure in order to selectively transport ions. Towards this end, sol-gel processing and surface chemistry modification will be utilized to maximize proton conductivity and limit vanadium ion permeability. Optimized membrane formulations must also have excellent chemical and mechanical stability; showing no degradation after hundreds of VRFB cycles. Finally, membranes must be scaled from lab size (1 cm2) to commercial size (630 cm2) while maintaining performance uniformity. The low-cost membranes developed during this SBIR Phase I project have the potential to reduce the cost of VRFBs by as much as 30%. Lower cost grid-scale storage means that more renewable energy generation (e.g., solar & wind) can be added without overwhelming the grid.