"Conventional flow batteries pack very little energy into a given volume and mass. Their energy density is as little as 10 percent that of lithium-ion batteries, due to the amount of material an aqueous solution can hold. There is only so much salt you can dissolve in a glass of water.
Thus flow batteries have been too bulky for most applications so far. To shrink them enough to fit in electric vehicles, you need to raise their energy density to that of #lithiumIon#batteries.
One good way to add capacity is with nanofluids, which hold nanoparticles in suspension. These particles undergo redox reactions at the electrode surface similar to how the dissolved ions react in conventional flow batteries, but the nanofluids are more energy dense. Importantly, the nanofluids are engineered to remain suspended indefinitely, unlike other suspensions—for instance, sand in water. That indefinite suspension helps the particles move through the system and make contact with the electrodes. The particles can compose up to 80 percent of the liquid’s weight while leaving it no more viscous than motor oil.
A next-gen system should have 5 times the energy density of present Li-ion systems."
"The cathode is not made from the familiar mixture of #lithium and other metals. Instead, the primary ingredient is #zinc, which ranks as the fourth most produced metal in the world.
Eos’s batteries use a #water-based electrolyte (the liquid that moves charge around in a battery) instead of organic solvent."
This is intended to be a #GridBattery.
"#Vanadium#FlowBatteries may be more expensive up front but last for decades, don’t catch fire and can store and dispatch sunshine for 10 to 18 hours
Coupling a six megawatt solar plant with an eight MWh flow battery at the site will produce 10 GWh of dispatchable solar power yearly.
Australia has vast reserves of vanadium but most of the world’s supply is sourced from China, Russia and South Africa and goes into making steel alloy."