A novel solid oxideredox flow battery for grid energy storage

Abstract

In this work we report proof-of-concept of a novel redox flow battery consisting of a solid oxide electrochemical cell (SOEC) integrated with a redox-cycle unit. The charge/discharge characteristics were explicitly observed by operating between fuel cell and electrolysis modes of the SOEC along with “in-battery” generation and storage of H₂ realized by an in situ closed-loop reversible steam-metal reaction in the redox-cycle unit. With Fe/FeO as the redox materials, the new storage battery can produce an energy capacity of 348 Wh/kg-Fe and round-trip efficiency of 91.5% over twenty stable charge/discharge cycles. This excellent performance combined with robustness, environmental friendliness and sustainability promise the new battery to be a transformational energy storage device for grid application.