QUB Researchers Develop Low-Cost 3D-Printed Flow Battery Cell for Energy Storage Research

 

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) Press.

Scientists at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) have developed a 3D-printed flow battery cell intended to reduce the cost of laboratory research into energy storage. The open-source design is intended to support more reproducible, lower-cost experimentation as researchers work toward scaling flow battery technology for grid-level renewable energy use.

Research Highlights

• Cost Efficiency: According to the researchers, while commercial flow battery cells used in research can cost between £2,000 and £3,000, their 3D-printed design requires approximately £74 in parts.

• Material Selection: The prototype uses iron rather than vanadium, a material commonly used in vanadium redox flow batteries but which can be costly and difficult to source.

• Standardization Efforts: To help researchers obtain consistent data across different institutions, the team has distributed a detailed assembly guide, allowing for identical experimental setups.

• Research Status: The researchers said the design is currently being shared with international research groups to facilitate collaborative reproducibility studies.

Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) Press.

How the Design Works

The project was initiated by Dr. Hugh O'Connor while addressing the high costs of specialized equipment for his PhD studies. Through iterative testing, Dr. O'Connor produced a functional research cell comprising roughly ten components, including printed flow channels and electrodes. The design is accompanied by a step-by-step assembly guide to assist participants in replicating the setup.

Potential Impact and Limitations

Flow batteries store electricity in liquids, offering a solution for renewable energy storage during low wind or solar production. The QUB team believes their standardized, affordable design could shorten the innovation cycle for these storage chemistries.

Important Note: The current design has not yet been validated for commercial-scale energy storage and is intended for single-cell research and small-stack testing in laboratory environments. The researchers are now scaling their work to see how the technology performs in larger stacks to evaluate potential future applications.

What Researchers Found

Dr. Josh Bailey, Illuminate Fellow at QUB, emphasized the importance of using identical equipment to generate robust evidence. The team is co-leading international studies to refine these storage technologies, noting that a reliable, standardized approach is vital to meeting 2050 net-zero targets.

Sources

• Primary reporting: BBC News

• Research Institution: Queen's University Belfast (QUB) School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

• Fieldwork/Study Status: Laboratory-level reproducibility and stack-scaling trials

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3dyd4l8250o