Semisolid Flow Cell: New designs for batteries
26 June 2011Current electrical battery design uses the same cell for storage and discharge of electricity. A new design from MIT, however, separates the two mechanisms and stands to become cheaper and much more efficient. Look out, internal combustion.
A radically new approach to the design of batteries, developed by researchers at MIT, could provide a lightweight and inexpensive alternative to existing batteries for electric vehicles and the power grid. The technology could even make “refueling” such batteries as quick and easy as pumping gas into a conventional car.
The new battery relies on an innovative architecture called a semi-solid flow cell, in which solid particles are suspended in a carrier liquid and pumped through the system.
Flow batteries have existed for some time, but have used liquids with very low energy density (the amount of energy that can be stored in a given volume).
The new semi-solid flow batteries pioneered by Chiang and colleagues overcome this limitation, providing a 10-fold improvement in energy density over present liquid flow-batteries, and lower-cost manufacturing than conventional lithium-ion batteries.
Okay, maybe not as sexy-lookin' as a V8
