Solid Oxide Redox Flow Battery

Reference #: 00898

The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for this technology.

Potential Applications:

Has application in the large-scale stationary electricity storage for power generation industry.

Advantages and Benefits:

1. Maintains high efficiency levels that designated it as an energy-efficient electricity storage

2. It utilizes a Me/MeOx redox couple to store H2 produced by an SOEC on-cell during the charging cycle. This capability is clearly advantageous over combined SOFC-SOEC storage device where the H2 produced by SOEC must be either instantaneously consumed by SOFC or stored by H
   2-storage tank at room-temperature for later use. The latter is not an energy efficient process.

3. Exhibits lower polarization losses, faster response time and higher kinetic rate constants making it a technology that is both recharges fast and deep-important qualities for large-scale grid electrical storage application.

4. Steam is virtually the only "fuel" utilized to power the electrical cycles eliminating CO2 emission to the atmosphere MAKING SORFB something of a perfect "Green Energy" technology.

5. The technology is corrosion-free, highly modular, scalable and reliable which are characteristics needed for the large-scale on-site stationary electrical storage for grid application.

Invention Description:

Conventional rechargeable batteries are by far the most common form of electricity storage devices. Their downside for large-scale grid energy storage is mainly that of concerns for safety and slow rate of rechargeability. On the other hand, high-temperature rechargeable battery technology, though capable of being recharged very fast have issues of high manufacturing cost and corrosion-shortened cycle life. Therefore, there exists a great need in developing high-performance, low-cost and safe rechargeable battery systems to satisfy the applications in grid energy storage. One scientific solution to address this challenge is to discover a battery cell with new chemistry and/or novel structure. The subject invention is a rechargeable battery that features a novel cell structure comprising of a solid oxide electrochemical cell and a redox couple bed. It uses steam as "fuel" and controls flow direction of the steam to realize rechargeability. It is expected that this new type of high-temperature rechargeable battery can find applications in the large-scale stationary electricity storage for power generation industry.