Harry Michael The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that by 2030, we’ll see an incredible 350% increase in global renewable energy generation capacity of 12,600 GW from the current level of about 2,800 GW.
The storage of surplus energy produced during periods of high output, and later utilizing it during low production periods is required to enable a consistent and dependable supply of electricity.
Today, electricity accounts for just 20% of total energy consumption. By 2050, this number is going to rise to between 50%-70% of total energy consumption. Energy storage is going to be critical to enabling this electrification.
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries fall short on grid-energy storage applications, literally, as they can only affordably output energy at full capacity for four hours. They also contain flammable chemicals that can explode if damaged with deadly consequences. Last year, New York alone had almost 200 fires started by Li-ion batteries.
Installing grid-energy storage systems that can output energy at full capacity for 8-24 hours to facilitate intraday energy storage, are safe and environmentally friendly is key to meeting rising global renewable energy generation capacity. This is where Quino Energy comes in.
Quino Energy are on a mission to delivering the price of renewable energy far below fossil fuel prices with their novel water-based organic flow battery.
The flow battery offers a rock bottom installed cost of energy storage, three times cheaper than grid-scale Li-ion batteries, with its ultra-cheap electrolyte comprised of organic molecules called quinones, and materials of construction such as iron and carbon. Moreover, the electrolyte is produced using highly abundant coal/wood tar feedstocks making the battery insensitive to volatile mineral prices.
In addition to its cost advantages, Quino’s flow battery boasts an added safety benefit: its water-based organic electrolyte is non-flammable making the battery a safer and more reliable option for large-scale energy storage applications.
These advantages are enabled by Quino’s breakthrough electrochemical regeneration process that regenerates the electrolyte at its end-of life, realising a long operational lifetime. This process occurs inside the battery during operation, without compromising the system’s high round trip efficiency. As a result, the flow battery has a net lifetime that is 17 times longer than previous research on organic flow-batteries have shown. Following this discovery, scientists at Harvard University have termed quinone as the “zombie” molecule, as it can be electrically brought back to life.
The breakthrough electrochemical regeneration process has already been proven and demonstrated in flow batteries. The next step is to scale-up development of their battery systems, specifically geared towards meeting the energy demands of utility sectors.
The Quino team, led by Eugene Beh, have developed a revolutionary battery that will shape the future of grid-scale energy storage. We are proud to support Quino Energy on their mission to delivering the price of renewable energy far below fossil fuel prices. The company has also secured funding from ANRI, Doral Energy Tech Ventures and TechEnergy Ventures. Together, we are committed to journeying towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.