Imagine a battery that works like a fuel tank, where energy is stored in liquids rather than solid blocks. Instead of wearing out quickly like a phone battery, this system uses a special chemical 'shuttle' to move energy without creating damaging crystals. It's designed to hold power for days or weeks, filling the gap between quick-charge batteries and massive hydrogen plants.
Renewable energy grids suffer from intermittency that short-term batteries (4-6 hours) cannot fix, and hydrogen storage is often too complex for mid-term needs. There is a critical gap in affordable, long-duration energy storage that doesn't rely on expensive or critical raw materials.
A lab-scale (0.5-1.5kW/6kWh) redox-mediated zinc-air flow battery that prevents dendrite formation to extend battery life.
If you are a network operator dealing with unstable power from wind and solar—this project developed a Zn-air flow battery that allows discharge times beyond days. This ensures grid resiliency with a target capital cost of 80 €/kWh.
If you are a factory owner dealing with high energy costs and intermittent supply—this project developed a storage system with a levelized-cost-of-storage <0.5 €/kWh/cycle. It provides a cheaper alternative to Li-ion for storage needs lasting longer than 6 hours.
If you are a developer dealing with energy waste during peak production—this project developed a recyclable battery using non-critical-raw-materials. It enables long-duration storage to bridge the gap between short-term batteries and seasonal hydrogen storage.
The estimated capital cost for large-scale deployment is approximately 80 €/kWh, with a levelized-cost-of-storage of less than 0.5 €/kWh/cycle.
The project is demonstrating the technology at a lab-scale of 0.5-1.5kW/6kWh.
Based on available project data, specific IP or licensing terms are not disclosed, but the project involves a consortium of 12 partners including 6 industry members.
While Li-ion batteries are used for short-duration storage (4-6 hours), this technology targets long-duration storage capable of discharging over several days.
The project runs from 2023-10-01 to 2027-09-30, with a pilot concept design to be conceived after the lab-scale demonstration.
The project features a strong commercial orientation with a 50% industry ratio, comprising 6 industrial partners and 2 SMEs. Led by SINTEF ENERGI AS, the 12-partner consortium spans 6 European countries, balancing academic research (4 universities, 2 research centers) with industrial application to ensure the business case for distribution network operators is validated.
Contact SINTEF ENERGI AS regarding the Zn-air flow battery pilot design.
Contact us to connect with the ReZilient consortium for early-stage technology licensing.
