Cheap energy storage within the range of an “ice electrode” of soot and manganese dioxide

How to store huge amounts of electricity at the lowest possible cost? These types of questions arise regularly in any discussion about switching to renewable energy plants. There are many ideas, and the existing ones have just been joined by a project involving an ice electrode.

The use of the ice electrode has opened the way for scientists to cheap energy storage

Scientists from MIT boasted that they have developed a new type of flow batteries, one that uses a special electrode that resembles Italian ice cream. Apparently, this can be easily integrated with flow-through accumulators in order to cheaply store renewable energy. These solutions guarantee flexibility, scalability and a low price while maintaining high capacity and durability.

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The latest flow batteries from MIT use cheaper chemicals in the form of a semi-solid electrolyte based on zinc dioxide and a manganese dioxide electrode (MnO₂) and soot. As the mixture is pumped from the tanks towards the diaphragm (as is usual with flow batteries), the soot reacts with the conductive zinc solution, effectively converting chemical energy into electricity. However, it requires more energy in this process.

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Tests have shown that the costs associated with their batteries are higher compared to lithium-ion and other flow batteries, but they start to pay off after just one day of operation.