The demand and consequent sales for EVs (Electric Vehicles) have been continuously growing for the past few years. Subsequently, the need for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to power the EVs has also augmented. According to IEA (International Energy Agency), in 2020, U.S. accounted for 1.8 Million registered electric vehicles. The statistics were three times higher than in 2016.
EVs can only subsist when they get powers anywhere and everywhere without any hurdles in recharging. However, renewable sources like wind and solar cannot be available on-demand, and even then, the electricity they generate needs to be properly stored so that it can be used later and one of it goes to waste.
Now, scientists might have solved this problem by developing a more stable way to store renewable energy. They have created a catholyte (positive electrolyte) which can be considered the most stable AORFs (Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries) to date. The newly developed battery is a huge development for Battery Energy Storage Systems Market as the study demonstrated that these cells could keep 90% of capacity over 6,000 cycles projecting 16 years of uninterrupted service at a pace of one cycle at a day.
The team stated that the advancement of high-performance RFs will lead to enrichment of the category of electrical energy storage systems and would also complement the setbacks entailing intermittent renewable energy sources. Thus, resulting in greater usability of electricity-powered facilities like vehicles. Researchers added the most crucial aspect of improving the performance of AORFs is through the development of a new catholyte.
In the present study, the team not only brought forth state-of-the-art catholyte within AORFBs but also introduced a brand new strategy for designing soluble catholyte to improve their solubility, i.e., energy density inside water. The team changed the symmetry of molecules that resulted in enhancement of solubility instead of using the conventional method of attaching hydrophilic functional groups. This new design could also help the team design new materials that would further facilitate the development of RFBs.
The researchers plan to further study the scalability of the materials and undertake studies that would help advance the present batteries even more.