High Power Density Redox Flow Battery Cells

Redox flow batteries possess several key advantages that make them well suited for grid-scale energy-storage applications. However, the capital cost of flow batteries has been a major barrier to commercialization of this technology. One attractive path to cost reduction is the development of flow-battery cells with substantially higher power densities than conventional flow-battery cells. The cost of the cells comprises a significant portion of the total flow-battery system cost, especially at low production volumes, since cell parts are custom-built components. UTRC has developed high power density vanadium-redox battery cells utilizing a material set similar to conventional cells. This advanced cell technology can theoretically be applied to other flow-battery chemistries as well. This breakthrough in cell performance should motivate additional development of flow-battery technologies, since a realistic path to substantial cost reduction, which can be realized even at low production volumes, has now been demonstrated.