Flow Batteries: Current Status and Trends

The development of various redox-flow batteries for the storage of fluctuating renewable energy has intensified in recent years because of their peculiar ability to be scaled separately in terms of energy and power, and therefore potentially to reduce the costs of energy storage. This has resulted in a considerable increase in the number of publications on redox-flow batteries. This was a motivation to present a comprehensive and critical overview of the features of this type of batteries, focusing mainly on the chemistry of electrolytes and introducing a thorough systematic classification to reveal their potential for future development.

The Chemistry of Redox-Flow Batteries.

In recent years, with the deployment of renewable energy sources, advances in electrified transportation, and development in smart grids, the markets for large-scale stationary energy storage have grown rapidly. Electrochemical energy storage methods are strong candidate solutions due to their high energy density, flexibility, and scalability. This review provides an overview of mature and emerging technologies for secondary and redox flow batteries. New developments in the chemistry of secondary and flow batteries as well as regenerative fuel cells are also considered. Advantages and disadvantages of current and prospective electrochemical energy storage options are discussed. The most promising technologies in the short term are high-temperature sodium batteries with β″-alumina electrolyte, lithium-ion batteries, and flow batteries. Regenerative fuel cells and lithium metal batteries with high energy density require further research to become practical.

Battery Technologies for Large-Scale Stationary Energy Storage

Power converter interfaces for electrochemical energy storage systems – A review

A novel single flow zinc–bromine battery with improved energy density

Raman spectroscopic study of the bromine storing complex phase in a zinc-flow battery

One of the most promising candidates for affordable energy storage systems for electric vehicles is the zinc/bromine battery. The reversible cell voltage of 1.82 V, a theoretical specific energy of 430 Wh kg{sup {minus}1}, robustness, high cycle life, unlimited standby periods in the charged or discharged state, low self-discharge rates, and operation at ambient temperature explain the scientific and industrial interest in this system. The storage reactions of the zinc/bromine battery are the cathodic deposition of zinc and the anodic formation of a nonaqueous polybromide phase. Quaternary ammonium cations, N-methylethylpyrrolidinium (MEP{sup +}) and N-methylethylmorpholinium (MEM{sup +}), store the bromine as polybromide complexes. The mechanism of this complicated reaction determines the polarization and self-discharge rate of the bromine electrode. Electrochemical in situ techniques, phase-stabilized electrochemical quartz microbalance, and in situ reflection-absorption Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed for the first time to investigate these electrode processes. It was shown that specifically adsorbed polybromide anions (Br{sub n}{minus}) formed MEM-Br{sub n}. Therefore, a homogeneous chemical reaction of the dissolved MEP{sup +} cation with electrochemically generated bromine leads to the storage complex MEP-Br{sub n} much more rapidly than the heterogeneous electrochemical reaction of the strongly adsorbed MEM{sup +} to MEM-Br{sub n}. These results demonstratemore » that in situ techniques not only support the evaluation of the mechanism but also provide key information for battery development.« less

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.1392456/pdf

Josef Drobits

Papers

Raman spectroscopic study of the bromine storing complex phase in a zinc-flow battery

In Situ Investigations of Bromine‐Storing Complex Formation in a Zinc‐Flow Battery at Gold Electrodes

In-situ-Ramanspektroskopie am Elektrolyten des Zink-Brom-Batteriesystems

Bromine‐Storage Materials

Bromine-Storage Materials