Flow Battery Membrane

Vanadium redox batteries (VRB) are rugged, multi K-Whr long life flow batteries that can store large amounts of regenerative energy in liquid form and are useful as energy accumulators in intermittent renewable power plants such as wind and solar, or storage of off-peak power generation. Cost-effective, highly selective membranes are needed for enhancing the commercial attractiveness of this technology. Low-cost versions of currently employed membranes will be chemically modified to reduce vanadium-ion selectivity, without compromising proton conductivity.Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: Better energy storage technologies are expected to enable reduction of the nations dependence on imported petroleum, reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution, and conservation of petrochemical feedstocks. Their potential public benefits include reducing adverse health impacts from pollution, reducing adverse environmental and economic impacts of global warming, and reducing economic impacts of limited world petroleum supply