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by datacruncher01 909 days ago
Flow batteries biggest issue has been density. If they have solved it at better cost effectiveness than current EV batteries then it may take off. I doubt the complexity of the electrolyte water solution, pumps, and membranes would really win out against an equivalent electrolyte in a rechargeable battery for car sized volumes.

Where this could be a major use case is large scale grid batteries. That would allow for an effective baseline power store for solar and wind power.

1 comments

> Flow batteries biggest issue has been density.

I don’t know about the other practical considerations of putting this into a car, but certainly the article suggests the density problem to be solved

> With the basic science problem resolved, Katsoudas adds, Influit is now developing a battery with an energy density rated at 550 to 850 watt-hours per kilogram or higher, as compared to 200 to 350 Wh/kg for a standard EV lithium-ion battery. The company expects larger versions would also beat old-style flow batteries at backing up the grid because the nanoelectrofuel can be reused at least as many times as a flow battery—10,000 or more cycles—and it will probably be cheaper.