Flow batteries could store massive amounts of renewable electricity for the grid, but have a high cost and short life. Fortunately, a compound commonly used in candles can boost their storage capacity and lifespan. Most storage today employs expensive lithium-ion batteries using materials with risky supplies and ethical sourcing concerns. Lead-acid batteries, while cheap and recyclable, carry toxic lead concerns. Flow batteries store energy in liquid electrolytes contained in large tanks making it easy to customize their size for specific applications. But the most common chemistry relies on expensive vanadium. However, an organic compound called fluorenone (a waste product from coal tar and from the manufacture of a common food additive) is already used in solar panels, malaria drugs, and in candles for fragrance. The molecule in its natural form doesn’t dissolve in water or take up and release electrons though, both important to make flow battery electrolytes. Researchers have solved that problem and created a postage stamp-sized flow battery that worked continuously for 120 days going through 1,111 full cycles of charging and discharging while boasting an energy density more than twice that of vanadium-based flow batteries.
Source: Ruozhu Feng et al. Reversible ketone hydrogenation and dehydrogenation for aqueous organic redox flow batteries. Science, 2021.
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