Prize-winning technology for large-scale energy storage

Safe, inexpensive and sustainable exertion for vigor retention has been developed astatine the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University. It is based connected 2 large breakthroughs: the manufacture of wood-based electrodes successful rolled form, and a caller benignant of water-based electrolyte. The effect has been published successful the technological diary Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research. The exertion has been patented and is to beryllium commercialized by Norrköping-based spin-off institution Ligna Energy AB, which received the grant for champion "Startup for Climate", during the caller COP26 gathering successful Glasgow.

An expanding stock of renewable energy successful the vigor premix and expanding depletion of energy successful nine are causing large challenges for balancing powerfulness proviso networks. In principle, energy is consumed astatine the instant of its production, and determination are presently constricted options for storing ample amounts of electricity. The occupation is peculiarly acute during acold periods, erstwhile the request for energy is highest. Imbalance successful the grid tin origin superior powerfulness outages.

Professor Xavier Crispin and his colleagues astatine the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, person developed a conception for large-scale energy storage that is safe, inexpensive and sustainable. The imaginable powerfulness output is sufficiently precocious for the exertion to support powerfulness equilibrium successful the energy supply.

"Our results let for safe, environmentally sustainable integrated vigor retention with precocious powerfulness density, 5 kW/kg, wherever the electrodes are manufactured from wood-based worldly successful a printing press. We must, however, summation the vigor density: our integrated batteries are amended than mean supercapacitors, and person astir the aforesaid show arsenic lead-acid batteries. But lithium-ion batteries are better", says Crispin.

Previous attempts to make a sustainable strategy for vigor retention based connected inexpensive integrated and water-based electrolytes with carbon-based electrodes person each had problems with accelerated self-discharge: it has been hard to execute much than 1 day.

The fantabulous results presented successful the nonfiction are based connected 2 breakthroughs: a caller benignant of water-based electrolyte, and electrodes made from lignin, which is simply a readily available, inexpensive by-product from the manufacture of paper. The researchers person developed a polyelectrolyte that consists of a highly concentrated water-based polymer, potassium polyacrylate, unneurotic with biopolymer lignin (as affirmative electrode) and polyimide mixed with conductive c (as antagonistic electrode). 

"The voltage drop, which measures the self-discharge, is little than 0.5 V successful 100 hours, which is simply a satellite grounds for vigor retention with integrated electrodes successful water-based electrolytes", says Crispin.

The caller exertion uses inexpensive earthy materials: neither lignin, c nor the polyelectrolyte outgo much that 1 USD/kg. These are readily disposable and non-flammable materials, and the exertion tin beryllium scaled up to ample batteries. It is simply a sustainable solution for large-scale and harmless vigor storage.

The probe appeared successful Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research.

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More information: Ziyauddin Khan et al, Water‐in‐Polymer Salt Electrolyte for Slow Self‐Discharge successful Organic Batteries, Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research (2021). DOI: 10.1002/aesr.202100165