Grid-scale energy storage using zinc-air fuel cells with nanostructured electrode

2016年10月5日，加拿大批准了巴黎雅阁，承诺到2030年将二氧化碳排放量减少到2005年水平的三分之一。 实现这一雄心勃勃的目标将需要在未来13年内部署大量的可再生能源，如风能和太阳能发电场。大规模储能已成为可再生能源发电的关键要求，因为有必要缓冲自然变化的供应和消费者需求之间的问题不匹配。 能源储存通过缓冲发电和消费的激增对这两个问题至关重要。 * 在众多可用的选择中，锌空气燃料电池正处于最前沿，这在很大程度上是由于所涉及的丰富而良性的化学物质。 锌空气电池系统开发背后的关键见解是，工业锌生产在一个称为电解沉积的过程中使用大量电力，将矿石中天然存在的氧化锌（ZnO）转化为金属。 这意味着装满锌颗粒的料斗代表了大量的电能储存。 在受控的电化学反应器中将这种锌转化回ZnO允许释放这种能量用于有用的目的。 这样的电池是可充电的，使用电解沉积将ZnO返回金属锌。本计画旨在改善锌-空气燃料电池空气阴极之效能，降低成本，并延长其使用寿命。 该团队将利用纳米技术的最新进展开发一种新型电极结构，然后在结构，关键特性，耐用性和性能方面全面表征所得材料。 该产品的最终用户是一家位于温哥华的初创公司，该公司正试图将其锌空气燃料电池技术商业化，用于风力发电场，太阳能装置和偏远的离网地点。

On October 5th, 2016, Canada ratified the Paris accord committing us to to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 1/3 below 2005 levels by 2030. Meeting this aggressive target will require deploying a substantial amount of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar farms, over the next 13 years. Large-scale energy storage has emerged as a critical requirement for renewable energy generation, as it is necessary to buffer the problematic mismatch between naturally variable supply and consumer demand. Energy storage is essential for both these issues by buffering surges in generation and consumption. ****Among the many available options, zinc-air fuel cells are moving to the forefront, in large part due to the abundant and benign chemicals involved. The key insight behind the development of the zinc-air battery system is that industrial zinc production uses massive amounts of electricity in a process called electrowinning to convert naturally occurring zinc oxide (ZnO) in ore to a metal. This means that hoppers filled with zinc particles represent a substantial storage of electrical energy. Converting this zinc back to ZnO in a controlled electrochemical reactor allows the release of this energy for useful purposes. Such a cell is rechargeable using electrowinning to return the ZnO back metallic zinc.****This project aims at improving the performance, reducing the cost, and extending the life of the air cathode in a zinc-air fuel cell. Together the team will develop a novel electrode structure using the latest advances in nanotechnology, then fully characterize the resultant materials in terms of structure, key properties, durability, and performance. The end user of this product is a Vancouver based startup that is trying to commercialize their zinc-air fuel cell technology for use in wind farms, solar installations, and remote off-grid locations.******