EAGER: High-Energy-Density Storage for Renewable Energy Sources for Environmental Sustainability

University Of Kansas Center For Research Inc, Lawrence KS

Investigators

Abstract

The environmental impact of the use of fossil fuels for energy can be greatly reduced if electricity, which represents one third of all energy uses, can be generated totally from renewable/sustainable sources such as wind and solar. However, this requires cost-effective long-duration (3-5 days) energy storage technologies, which would allow the highly variable and unpredictable wind and solar energy sources to become as reliable as baseline energy sources like coal or natural gases. Redox flow battery (RFB) energy storage systems are potentially highly suitable for this large-scale, long-duration storage application. To make this technology more cost-effective for this application, its cost must be reduced. This is the focus of this proposed work. An innovative technical approach will be explored that, if successful, would increase storage capacity significantly. Electricity generation totally from renewable energy sources like wind and solar would greatly reduce the effect of fossil fuel emission on the environment and world climate. The proposed high energy density storage technology would facilitate reaching the goal of 100% electricity generation from renewable sources by making highly variable and unpredictable renewable energy sources as reliable as coal, oil, and natural gases. Leadership in this area will generate many economic opportunities for the US. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.