BRITE Relaunch: Leak-Proof Tubular Redox Flow Batteries for the Low-Cost and Fire-Safe Storage of Solar and Wind Energy

锂离子电池是存储可再生能源间歇性能量的首选设备。不幸的是，高生产成本和低防火性能限制了我们社会对锂离子电池的采用。只有大约20%的家庭太阳能电池板所有者安装了储能设备。这个促进工程变革和公平进步的研究思路（BRITE）重新启动项目旨在通过开发低成本和防火的铁钛氧化还原液流电池来应对这一挑战。设想的电池比锂离子电池便宜约30-40%，并且它们不含有火灾危险材料。这项研究还将通过建立一个工业-大学混合教育计划来补充，该计划将培训本科生和研究生，特别是代表性不足的少数民族学生，进行工业研究和开发。该项目将产生更广泛的影响，通过减少温室气体排放，增加清洁能源的采用，可能创造高薪制造业工作岗位，并培训下一代劳动力在新兴行业工作，从而帮助减轻气候变化的影响。该项目有两个研究和开发目标。第一个目标是开发新的聚砜锆基质子传导膜，减少不必要的金属电解质交叉。合成了一种新型的含磷酸酯基团的二羟基苯单体，该单体可与双（4-氟苯基）砜共聚生成磷酸化聚砜。锆屏障将通过形成不溶于水的磷酸锆复合物而浸渍在磷酰聚砜膜内，从而减少金属电解质的交叉。第二个目标是测试无泄漏氧化还原液流电池的管状电池设计。管状液流电池的一个显著优点是，与平面电池设计相比，密封长度显著减少，这降低了电解质泄漏的可能性。此外，由于可以在单个步骤中生产半电池或整个电池，因此可以降低电池制造成本。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Lithium-ion batteries are the devices of choice for storing intermittent energy from renewable sources. Unfortunately, the high production cost and low fire-safety profile have limited our society's adoption of lithium-ion batteries. Only about 20% of home solar panel owners have installed energy-storage devices. This Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering (BRITE) Relaunch project aims to address this challenge by developing low-cost and fire-safe iron-titanium redox flow batteries. The envisioned batteries are about 30-40% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, and they do not possess fire-hazardous materials. The research will also be complemented by establishing an industry-university co-education program that trains undergraduate and graduate students, especially underrepresented minority students, on industrial research and development. The project will have broader impacts that can help mitigate the effect of climate change by reducing greenhouse emissions, increase the adoption of clean energy, potentially create highly paid manufacturing jobs, and train the next-generation workforce to work in emerging industries. The project has two research and development objectives. The first objective is to develop novel polysulfone-Zr-based proton-conductive membranes that reduce unwanted metal electrolyte crossovers. New dihydroxybenzene monomers tethered with a phosphoric ester group through an alkyl chain will be synthesized, which can be co-polymerized with bis(4-fluorophenyl)sulfone to yield phosphorylated polysulfones. Zirconium barriers will be impregnated inside a phosphoryl polysulfone membrane by forming water-insoluble zirconium phosphate complexes that reduce metal electrolyte crossovers. The second objective is to test tubular cell designs for leak-free redox flow batteries. A distinctive advantage of tubular flow batteries is that the sealing length is significantly reduced compared to planar cell designs, which decreases the possibility of electrolyte leaks. In addition, cell manufacturing costs can be reduced as half cells or entire cells can be produced in a single step. A co-extrusion-based fabrication technology permits continuous industrial battery production.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.