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

2016年10月5日，加拿大批准了巴黎协议，承诺我们到2030年将二氧化碳排放量减少到2005年水平的三分之一。要实现这一雄心勃勃的目标，将需要在未来13年部署大量的可再生能源，如风电场和太阳能发电场。大规模能源储存已成为可再生能源发电的一项关键要求，因为它对于缓冲自然可变的供应和消费需求之间存在的问题错配是必要的。能源储存对这两个问题都至关重要，因为它可以缓冲发电量和用电量的激增。在众多可用的选择中，锌空气燃料电池正走在前列，这在很大程度上是因为所涉及的化学物质丰富且无害。开发锌空气电池系统背后的关键见解是，工业锌生产在一种称为电积的过程中使用大量电力，将矿石中自然形成的氧化锌(ZnO)转化为金属。这意味着装满锌颗粒的料斗代表着电能的大量储存。在受控的电化学反应器中，将这些锌转化回氧化锌，可以将这种能量释放出来，用于有用的目的。本项目旨在提高锌空气燃料电池空气阴极的性能，降低成本，延长电池的使用寿命。该团队将共同利用纳米技术的最新进展开发一种新型的电极结构，然后从结构、关键性能、耐用性和性能方面对所得到的材料进行充分的表征。该产品的最终用户是一家总部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、太阳能设施和偏远的离网地点。

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.