SBIR-STTR Award

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the development of a high energy density, low-cost energy storage technology. Affordable long duration energy storage is critical to the wide adoption of renewable power. This is a growing market segment which is underserved by current (e.g., lithium-ion battery) storage technologies. Energy storage can be of importance in rural communities where the impacts of power disruption are severe. This project seeks to develop energy storage that, when paired with solar or wind renewable power, is cheaper than fossil fuel-based generation. Such a development would accelerate the transition to a modern clean energy economy, would reduce the environmental impacts of power generation, and would increase the economic resilience of rural communities.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop an electrochemical energy storage device. Flow batteries are a compelling option for long-duration energy storage, as the energy storage (chemicals in tanks) is decoupled from the power delivery (in an electrochemical cell). A major hurdle for flow batteries has been the high cost of the chemicals used for storage (e.g., vanadium). This Phase I project develops a flow battery that makes use of commonly available and high energy density hydrogen and halogen chemical compounds. The project extends this flow battery technology into new concentration and fluid dynamical regimes that will enable commercial scaling of the technology. This project also tests novel bipolar plates made from modern composite materials, examining their suitability as low-cost, long lifespan cell components in commercial production. Laboratory efforts are complemented by the development of validated numerical models which will be used to optimize cell design. These laboratory experiments and validated numerical models in the high halogen concentration regime will open new windows for electrochemical energy storage at community and grid scales.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is directly related to the utilization of renewable energy sources in the electrical grid. Due to the variability of supply, renewable energy generators (e.g. solar and wind) cannot supply the entire electrical demand as these often under-produce during times of high demand and over-produce during times of low demand. To alleviate this problem, large-scale energy storage solutions are necessary to balance generation and demand. This project aims to create the necessary technological breakthrough of a chemical battery to address this need. The company has developed an enabling technology that unlocks a chemistry which was first proposed over forty years ago. However, it has always failed before due to a flaw at its core. The proposed work addresses this flaw. The proposed storage technology will enter the large-scale energy storage market that is poorly served by existing solutions and is expected to exceed hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide annually within the decade as the world transitions to greater renewable energy generation. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to bring a novel membrane technology for flow batteries to a commercial ready status. In previous iterations, flow batteries of this type have been limited in success due to issues of thin-film membranes which are at the heart of such batteries. A novel solution to this problem has been identified and a proof-of-concept has been successfully demonstrated. This project aims to transition that device from a laboratory setting of a single operational cell to a commercial product linking many such cells in a manifold. This work will involve a combination of laboratory experiments, manufacturing design, as well as theory and simulation work. At the end of this project, numerous cells in a physical stack will be built that will facilitate manufacturing and quality assurance. These advances will enable a direct transition to full-sized commercial-ready flow batteries. Initial investigations have demonstrated that the novel technology and approach to solving flow battery membrane problems may be extended to other similar fields with similar advantages, e.g. fuel cells.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.