'Instantly Rechargeable' Battery Could Change the Future of Electric Cars (sciencedaily.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science Daily: A technology developed by Purdue researchers could provide an "instantly rechargeable" method that is safe, affordable and environmentally friendly for recharging electric and hybrid vehicle batteries through a quick and easy process similar to refueling a car at a gas station. John Cushman, Purdue University distinguished professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary science and a professor of mathematics, presented the research findings "Redox reactions in immiscible-fluids in porous media -- membraneless battery applications" at the recent International Society for Porous Media 9th International Conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Cushman co-founded Ifbattery LLC (IF-battery) to further develop and commercialize the technology. "Designing and building enough of these recharging stations requires massive infrastructure development, which means the energy distribution and storage system is being rebuilt at tremendous cost to accommodate the need for continual local battery recharge," said Eric Nauman, co-founder of Ifbattery and a Purdue professor of mechanical engineering, basic medical sciences and biomedical engineering. "Ifbattery is developing an energy storage system that would enable drivers to fill up their electric or hybrid vehicles with fluid electrolytes to re-energize spent battery fluids much like refueling their gas tanks." Mike Mueterthies, Purdue doctoral teaching and research assistant in physics and the third co-founder of Ifbattery, said the flow battery system makes the Ifbattery system unique. "Other flow batteries exist, but we are the first to remove membranes which reduces costs and extends battery life," Mueterthies said. Ifbattery's membrane-free battery demonstrates other benefits as well. "Membrane fouling can limit the number of recharge cycles and is a known contributor to many battery fires," Cushman said. "Ifbattery's components are safe enough to be stored in a family home, are stable enough to meet major production and distribution requirements and are cost effective." For the visual learners, Purdue Research Park has uploaded a video about Ifbattery's "instantly rechargeable" method.

Comments

Re:This is new?

[StevenMaurer]

Well, I didn't see anything about energy density, which is the main problem with flow batteries. They're lower than Lithium-ion.

Furthermore, membrane-less flow batteries already exist. The problem is that they rely on laminar flow, which is basically impossible to maintain under any sort of acceleration. So, no. Can't use them in cars.

I call this a meaningless hype article

Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars

[blindseer]

Don't be stupid and lazy. We will definitely have electric cars that are cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to operate, and cheaper to maintain than ICE's in the very near future (this coming decade, guaranteed).

HEY EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP!

Okay, not that I have your attention I have great news to share. It seems that all of our problems are solved.... Well, they'll be solved in ten years. But don't worry. You don't have to do anything in that time. We have it all figured out. Come back here in ten years, with your check books mind you, and we'll be selling planet saving cars for your garage and solar collecting shingles for your roof.

These cars will cost no more than your last car and be just as convenient and luxurious, more likely even more so. These solar collectors will cost no more than shingles and last just as long. The two together means you'll never have to pay another utility bill or visit a filling station. All with the power of the sun.

Thanks everyone for your attention. In the mean time do as you were, there's nothing to worry about.

[/snark]

Is that the message you want to send? Because I assure you that is the message a lot of people are getting right now.

What does your guarantee give me if you cannot provide what you promised? Won't this mean people will be making the problem worse in the mean time?

I have a solution, maybe just part of the solution but it is something we can do right now. We can build more nuclear power plants. Nuclear fission is as clean as wind and solar, as cheap as coal, safer than all the above, and does not require some future technologies to work. If we give the US Navy some money to develop their jet fuel synthesis program then we can produce fuels made from carbon extracted from the air and hydrogen from seawater. I won't guarantee the synthetic fuel technology in ten years because it is possible the Navy wants to keep this for themselves for a while. But the nuclear power we can have right away. We can build a gigawatt scale nuclear reactor in a matter of a couple years. In a couple years later with experienced manpower we can build two in that same time. Then four, then eight. in ten years we could have dozens of nuclear power plants giving us cheap, clean, and safe energy.

We can't stop there though. We'd have to keep going as those nuclear power plants age and need replacement. That's how we keep them safe, by taking them out of service before they become a problem. Don't worry about nuclear waste either. We know how to turn that waste into medical isotopes, portable heat and energy sources for spacecraft, and so on. All that stuff will be used as it decays away to inert elements or get shot off into deep space.

I don't understand the marketing

[thegarbz]

From TFS: "but we are the first to remove membranes which reduces costs and extends battery life"

The battery life of flow batteries is already ahead of all others which is why they are being seen as a potentially better alternative in grid applications.

From TFS: "Membrane fouling can limit the number of recharge cycles and is a known contributor to many battery fires"

As above the recharge cycles of flow batteries are already well above every other type of battery. And fire? Well the fact that flow batteries don't catch fire is one of their key selling points.

Is this just marketing fluff that is using buzzwords to try and get across? The big problem with flow batteries is their energy density at best is currently less than half of an equivalent lithium battery system. This is a far more important problem to fix.

Mind you I do like what they are talking about. One of the big problems with electric cars is the grid connections for fast chargers. It makes the highway rest stop model of petrol stations difficult to convert to electric. All you need is 3 fast chargers in use at once and you're using more power than the currently biggest petrol station in Europe, and many of the highway stops are in the middle of nowhere which don't lend themselves to easy electrical infrastructure upgrades.

Re:So, capacitors

[AmiMoJo]

Say you have a 100kWh battery in a car and you want to charge it in 1 minute. You need to provide a power source capable of supplying 6MW. You need a cable capable of carrying 6MW to the car, which is going to require industrial equipment to lift because a person won't be strong enough, and wouldn't be safe anyway. The car itself will need a charging port and wiring capable of support 6MW.

Rather than concentrating on reducing charge times, which are already good enough for human beings, we need to concentrate on infrastructure to reduce the need to dedicate time to charging. Most charging is done while the owner is doing something else, like shopping or sleeping or working.