Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have developed an improved redox flow battery (RFB) for intermittent renewable energy applications such as wind, solar, and tidal. The device provides high-density energy storage and transfer without losing capacity over time and frequent replacement as with traditional lithium batteries.

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Electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) are promising candidates for use in lightweight power sources because they have high power densities and excellent charge/discharge cycling stabilities.  An ideal EDLC electrode should have large surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, and chemical and mechanical stability. To increase the gravimetric capacitance of an EDLC, the electrode must be self-supporting so that current collectors and nonconductive binders are not required. Three-dimensional (3D) self-supporting carbon-based materials such as graphene/carbon aerogels, carbon monoliths, carbon nanotube (CNT) sponges, and carbon nanofiber foams  have been extensively studied for use in lightweight EDLCs.majorStill a major challenge for 3D carbon electrodes is the limited ion diffusion rate in their internal structures. During the rapid charging and discharging process, the limited ion diffusion causes undesirable capacitance loss and lowers the rate capability and power density. To address this limitation, the preparation of highly porous 3D structures, providing high numbers of ion diffusion channels, is favorable. The presence of macro- and mesopores facilitates ion diffusion within 3D structures, while the presence of micropores increases the gravimetric capacitance by increasing the ion-accessible surface area. 3D porous carbon materials are expected to have enhanced specific capacitances as well as rate capabilities compared to their 3D non-porous counterparts.

Prof. Juchen Guo and his research team have discovered novel methods that use a liquid reagent to extract close to 100% of the metals lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni) and manganese (Mn) from LiCoO2 (LCO) and LiNixMnyCo(1-x-y)O2 (NMC) cathodes, efficiently. This low cost process is easy to implement, scale up, low cost and is environmentally friendly.

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Aqueous rechargeable zinc-based batteries (ARZBs) are promising candidates for next-generation grid storage and battery-buffered charging stations due to many characteristics. These include their relative safety, low cost, and high power density.  Researchers have developed various ARZBs, including Zn-ion batteries, alkaline Zn-based batteries, and Zn-based redox flow batteries, among others. Zinc-iodine (Zn-I2) redox flow batteries have generated the most interest. These use using ZnI2 aqueous solution as an electrolyte and offer impressive theoretical capacity (211 mAh per gram of iodine, 820 mAh per gram of zinc) and energy density (322 Wh L-1). This is thought to be due to the high solubility of ZnI2 (up to 7 M) and multi-electron conversion reactions that occur during charge/discharge. During charging, metallic zinc is electrodeposited on the anode (Zn2+ + 2e− → Zn), while iodine is generated at the cathode and spontaneously transformed into highly soluble triiodide (I3-) ions with the presence of iodide (I-) ions (2I− → I2 + 2e−; I2 + I− →I3−). The reverse reactions occur during discharge. Static Zn-I2 batteries (ZIBs) have been designed to overcome many hurdles of flow batteries. A remaining challenge is the self discharge caused by the shuttling of I3- ions to the zinc anode. This results in low Coulombic efficiency. Other strategies to address this challenge include physically blocking the I3- shuttling with an ion selective membrane (e.g. Nafion), but this increases the device cost and inner resistance. Another alternative is to encapsulate the I2 in microporous carbon and use another solution as an electrolyte. While this results in improved Coulombic efficiency, the total capacity and energy density are reduced. 

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