SBIR Phase II: Development of a Flow Battery Using Common Materials and Proprietary Electrolytes

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the development of a grid-scale battery to enable large-scale, long-duration energy storage. New technologies for long-duration energy storage are required to solve the challenge of renewable energy intermittency. The widespread deployment of a new battery technology based on ubiquitous and inexpensive chemistry that is fabricated from low-cost and high-throughput manufacturable cell materials will help society achieve climate goals and bolster American manufacturing and energy independence. Additionally, the energy landscape of the future clearly presents enormous commercial potential. US grid storage capacity today is less than 0.01% of daily generation. Globally, the estimated energy storage needs to meet climate goals is 15 Terawatt hours by 2030. This translates to a market opportunity of $1.3 trillion to be fulfilled by emerging technologies. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to design and fabricate a prototype battery system using highly stable, proprietary electrolytes and knowledge gathered from an SBIR Phase I award that verified the stability of charge storage solutions when in contact with inexpensive cell fabrication materials (plastics, rubbers, and composites). This project will validate performance in full-scale cells, stacks and systems, and culminate in the delivery of a battery system capable of outputting 1 kW for 10 hours. The delivered 1 kW/10 kWh system will have a longer lifetime (20+ years) and demonstrated lower cost than current flow batteries available today and will represent a significant step towards the development of a utility scale energy storage system. 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.