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Redox flow batteries for renewable energy storage

As energy storage becomes an increasingly integral part of a renewables-based electricity system, new technologies are coming to the fore. Jens Noack, Nataliya Roznyatovskaya, Chris Menictas and Maria Skyllas-Kazacos from CENELEST, a joint research venture between the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology and the University of New South Wales, chart the rise of redox flow batteries, a promising alternative to lithium-ion-based systems.

The full length article is available at PV Tech: https://store.pv-tech.org/store/redox-flow-batteries-for-renewable-energy-storage/

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Deeper insight into the processes in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Our member Nataliya et al, have published an open acces review article on electron transfer processes for vanadium redox flow batteries. It concerns the complex reactions in diluted and concentrated vanadium electrolyte solutions.
The electrode processes play a decisive role in the efficiency and performance of vanadium redox flow batteries.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coelec.2019.10.003

In particular, there is a little-noticed difference in the past between the properties of diluted and concentrated vanadium electrolyte solutions. For example, the results of measurements in diluted solutions cannot simply be transferred to higher and practical concentrations, since the structural properties of the vanadium species and thus also their chemical properties and reaction mechanisms are different.

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UNSW Engineering starts the VIP Project NextGEN

Within the framework of the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) consortium, the University of New South Wales has started by piloting several different projects to commence in Term 1 2020, in the field of engineering. By joining VIP, students from second-year onwards form multidisciplinary teams to work on long term world-changing research projects.

Undergraduate students earn academic credit for their work, while academics and postgraduate students benefit from the extended efforts of their teams. Undergraduate students can join their team for a minimum one year to a maximum of three years. Each project can continue on for decades with new students replacing those who have graduated.

As part of VIP, CENELEST and the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology in Pfinztal/Germany are partners in NextGEN. NextGEN is dedicated to the development of novel electrochemical storage systems for the storage of renewable energy and other applications.

NextGen is dedicated to the following research areas:
– Redox flow batteries
– Hybrid fuel cells
– Liquid metal batteries
– Electrolyte production and stability
– Cell and stack design
– System level design
– Computational hydraulic and electrochemical modelling
– Microgrid simulations

The academic director of NexGEN is Dr. Chris Menictas (c.menictas@unsw.edu.au).

For more information: https://www.challeng.unsw.edu.au/challeng-projects/nextgen-energy-storage