A low-cost iron-cadmium redox flow battery for large-scale energy storage
Abstract
The redox flow battery (RFB) is one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies that offer a potential solution to the intermittency of renewable sources such as wind and solar. The prerequisite for widespread utilization of RFBs is low capital cost. In this work, an iron-cadmium redox flow battery (Fe/Cd RFB) with a premixed iron and cadmium solution is developed and tested. It is demonstrated that the coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency of the Fe/Cd RFB reach 98.7% and 80.2% at 120 mA cm-2, respectively. The Fe/Cd RFB exhibits stable efficiencies with capacity retention of 99.87% per cycle during the cycle test. Moreover, the Fe/Cd RFB is estimated to have a low capital cost of 108 kWh-1 for 8-h energy storage. Intrinsically low-cost active materials, high cell performance and excellent capacity retention equip the Fe/Cd RFB to be a promising solution for large-scale energy storage systems.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Power Sources
- Pub Date:
- October 2016
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.08.107
- Bibcode:
- 2016JPS...330...55Z
- Keywords:
-
- Iron-cadmium redox flow battery;
- Cross-contamination;
- Cyclic stability;
- Capital cost;
- Energy storage