Redox flow battery

Abstract

A redox flow battery 1 has a stack of individual cells, shown diagrammatically as a single cell, with anolyte and catholyte compartments divided from each other by an ionically selective and conductive separator and having respective electrodes. The battery has anolyte and catholyte tanks, with respective pumps and a pipework. In use, the pumps circulate the electrolytes to and from the tanks, to the compartments and back to the tanks. Electricity flows to a load. The electrolyte lines are provided with tappings via which fresh electrolyte can be added and further tappings via which spent electrolyte can be withdrawn, the respective tappings being for anolyte and catholyte. On recharging, typically via a coupling for lines to all the tappings, a remote pump pumps fresh anolyte and fresh catholyte from remote storages and draws spent electrolyte to other remote storages.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a redox flow battery and a combination of such batteries. Background technique [0002] In the fuel cell of a redox flow battery, the reactants pass through an ion-selective and conductive membrane separator separating two reactant compartments to opposite sides of the separator, with electrodes disposed in the respective compartments. In a redox fuel cell, the reactants are the anolyte and catholyte. As a result of the flow of ions between the reactants through the separator, current flows between the reactants through the electrodes. During discharge, these flow in one direction, and during charge, they go in the opposite direction. Furthermore, during discharge, redox ions in the anolyte (not ions passing through the separator) are oxidized, while other redox ions in the catholyte are reduced. During conventional charging, the anolyte ions are reduced and the catholyte ions are oxidized. A small leakage of redox ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This is generally inconvenient for cars

Furthermore, refill facilities are cumbersome, for example in car parks, when the car is used close to its travel range and is required to make a return trip immediately after an out-trip, the time required for refill may not be sufficient

It is possible to make the refill a bit faster, but this involves undesirably high current and voltage to the car

Furthermore, in electric commercial vehicles, the time required for routine refilling drastically reduces the available operating hours, imposing severe limitations on the usefulness and application of electric vehicles operating in high voltage operating environments

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