Redox Flow Batteries (RFBs) are a promising option for design flexibility and large scale long duration stationary electric energy storage. RFBs utilize redox active materials dissolved in liquid electrolytes stored in tanks, and the amount of the storable energy depends on the volume of the tanks. Pumps ensure the circulation of the electrolytes through electrochemical cells where the electrochemical reactions take place thus setting the power (cell surface and pumped mass flow). In addition, it is possible to fully recover performance losses with time and number of cycles, up to nominal conditions with moderate maintenance. Finally, the lifecycle that they can reach is long, above 10000 cycles.
State-of-the-art of RFBs work with non-flammable aqueous electrolytes utilizing highly acidic solutions based on vanadium sulfates. Despite vanadium being recyclable and not scarcely present on earth as lithium, it would be better to develop the RFBs working with non-corrosive solutions and based on ubiquitous materials such as organic molecules or non-toxic metals. This could boost a large scale deployment because it would dramatically reduce its price and environmental impact, plus reduce the dependence of European Union from import.
CompBat will thus focus on developing tools for the discovery of new prospective candidates for next-generation flow batteries, based on machine learning assisted high-throughput screening. Density functional theory calculations will be used to obtain data on solubilities and redox potentials of different molecules, and machine learning methods are used to develop high-throughput screening tools based on the obtained data. The results of the high-throughput screening are validated with experimental results. As next step, numerical modelling of flow battery systems will be performed with finite element method enabling to investigate cell details and provide the required information to develop more general zero-dimensional models based on mass-transfer coefficients. This data is used then to predict the flow battery overall system performance. In this way, including economic assumptions will be possible to develop tools capable of assessing the battery costs and stored energy cost, such as the Levelized Cost Of Storage (LCOS). So techno-economic studies could be performed, comparing different solutions in terms of storage technology and energy system integration, as well as identifying suitable targets for the RFBs development.
Coordinator: AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR (AALTO)
Other Partners:
Sito Progetto: https://compbat.eu/who-we-are/
Sito Commissione Europea: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/875565
Start date: 01/02/2020
End date: 31/01/2023
Duration: 36 months
Call title: H2020-LC-BAT-2019-2020
Unipi role: PARTNER
WEBSITE: link a sito progetto https://compbat.eu/
