Rapid energy recovery is important to increase the efficiency of the grid, as well as to enable better utilization of fluctuating renewable sources. Here, we report a new technology called �the electrochemical flow capacitor�, which combines the advantages of both flow batteries and supercapacitors. This new concept eliminates the major limitations of supercapacitors, providing decoupled energy storage from power output (i.e., scalable energy capacity) while enabling rapid charging/discharging (i.e., fast response rates with high power density). The unique aspect of this concept is the use of a flowable capacitive slurry consisting carbon particles suspended in a liquid electrolyte. A detailed proof-of-concept study has been performed to show the feasibility of this concept. Baseline data is presented for various slurry compositions (e.g., carbon materials, electrolytes, etc.) in both static and flowing configurations.

Electrochemical flow capacitors: A new technology for grid-scale energy storage

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.