Electric vehicles are the future stars of sustainable transportation. They have large battery compartments placed on wheels, which are alternatives to high fuel consumption and high carbon emissions internal combustion engines.

However, electric vehicles are not perfect either, and their limitations are equally significant. For example, limited range and heavy dependence on battery raw material supply. Most electric vehicles rely on grid charging, and in many countries, the grid still heavily relies on fossil fuels. Although more and more

The power grid is gradually adopting renewable energy, and electric vehicle owners are also gradually adopting solar energy or other green energy for charging, but challenges still exist.

In this context, another technology - flow batteries - may be one of the solutions people are looking for.

Having multiple advantages

Flow battery, also known as redox flow battery, is an electrochemical energy storage device that uses two flowing liquid electrolytes to generate electricity.

According to the American Fun Engineering website, the cleverness of this battery design lies in the fact that two special solutions can flow in two adjacent spaces separated by thin films. Thin films promote ion exchange across membranes and generate currents in external circuits, while solutions circulate within their respective spaces. These solutions are safely packaged in separate storage tanks and are only injected into the battery for use when needed.

The family of flow batteries is vast, covering both inorganic and organic branches, and can be designed in various forms such as full flow, half flow, and membrane free. Unlike traditional batteries, flow batteries store energy in electrolytes rather than electrode materials.

Some people believe that after lead-acid batteries, flow batteries are one of the few battery types that can store renewable clean energy and can be 100% recycled without affecting the environment.

For electric vehicles, flow batteries bring multiple advantages: non-toxic, non flammable, longer range, and faster refueling speed compared to lithium-ion batteries. With the continuous improvement of energy density, the application of flow batteries in the field of fixed energy storage is becoming increasingly widespread.

In addition to surpassing lithium-ion batteries in performance and safety, flow batteries also have better scalability: if you want to store more energy, simply expand the size of the solution storage tank or increase the solution concentration; If you want to provide more power, simply stack more batteries or add new battery packs.

Continuously achieving breakthroughs from concept to technology

The concept of flow batteries is no longer just a theoretical concept. At present, this type of battery has been widely used around the world. Austrian CellCube company has partnered with American G&W power company to deploy multiple flow battery projects in North America. In September of this year, Switzerland announced the launch of a 500 megawatt flow battery project, which is expected to become the world's largest flow battery facility.

On October 29th, Swiss battery startup Unbound Potential announced the development of a membrane free redox flow battery. It does not require any critical raw materials, and ion exchange does not rely on membranes, but is controlled through immiscible electrolytes. This innovation makes the battery more durable, reducing the required sealing surface by 90%.

Amazon stated that the energy storage solution provided by Unbound Potential perfectly solves the problem of limited solar resource utilization under its all-weather operation mode, and demonstrates strong long-term energy storage capabilities, which are crucial for meeting its energy intensive logistics operation needs.

350000 kilometers of testing verified extremely high stability

Swiss nanoFlowcell company is also actively laying out this emerging technology. In 2019, their QUANTiNO electric vehicle equipped with flow batteries validated the feasibility of this technology. In a driving range of nearly 350000 kilometers, the vehicle has accumulated over 10000 hours of driving time, and the flow battery components exhibit extremely high stability with almost no signs of performance degradation.

In December 2022, nanoFlowcell released the new QUANTiNO model. It is said that the car can last up to 2000 kilometers on a single "refueling", and its liquid battery is stored in a separate storage tank in the car's trunk. After optimization, the storage tank can be compactly integrated into the electric vehicle body.

The "oil" used by QUANTiNO is a special liquid called bi ION, and its "refueling" method is similar to traditional fuel vehicles. It is reported that bi ION is an electrolyte solution made by mixing specially purified water with metal and non-metal salts. In this' saltwater ', a secret molecule specifically designed as an energy carrier has also been added. The power density of bi ION is comparable to modern lithium-ion batteries, but its energy density can reach up to 600 watt hours per kilogram, which is five times that of lithium-ion batteries. During the driving process, the electrolyte storage tank releases atomized water vapor.

Although multiple companies are developing flow batteries, can flow batteries occupy a place in the electric vehicle market? Can it truly capture the attention of consumers? The answer is yet to be revealed.