1366 replies to this topic

[splashflash]

Chinese Researchers Test New Low-Cost Battery

https://oilprice.com...st-Battery.html

"Researchers developed a low-cost “all-iron” flow battery with long life (6,000+ cycles), high efficiency, and no degradation—potentially a major improvement over lithium-ion.
Cheaper, safer batteries could unlock large-scale renewable adoption, but concerns remain around scalability and global dependence on Chinese technology."

"There is also the problem of degradation over time, which essentially limits the life of a lithium-ion battery, adding to the lifetime cost of the technology. According to news coverage of the new invention, the iron flow battery can endure more than 6,000 charge-discharge cycles, which is equivalent to 16 years of operating on a daily basis. Over that period, the researchers say their battery did not produce any harmful byproducts and demonstrated 99.4% leak-proof efficiency, according to Interesting Engineering reports"

"The degradation part is important because previously degradation was the main problem of iron batteries, preventing them from becoming a serious contestant on the battery storage market. Leakage of materials from within the battery was also a challenge to be overcome by iron battery developers. Yet it appears it was worth it: iron is a lot cheaper than lithium, whose price has seen some wild swings over the past few years

[dasmo]

Curious where the dust settles on this as there is a lot of smoke and mirrors happening. Shouldn’t that solid state Donut battery be in production now?

Certainly a TGTBT battery would be a game changer on many fronts.

[Victoria Watcher]

The key is approaching this from multiple angles.

 

Energy density is most important for cars.

 

The iron battery is interesting, the challenge there is solving degradation or leakage.

[splashflash]

For these iron flow batteries, Chinese researchers appear to have succeeded in preventing degradation by innovative design.

https://interestinge...ins-6000-cycles

"The South China Morning Post stated that this molecule uses its rigid, bulky structure to physically shield the iron core from chemical attack, while its strong negative charge creates a force field that repels leaking particles.
"Together, these mechanisms prevent the battery’s active materials from degrading or from escaping across the membrane, thereby ensuring long-term stability.

Vanadium redox flow batteries are the current large scale marketed option, competitive for grid-scale operations. But, iron, similar to vanadium in chemistry, but far more accessible, would be a game-changer.

Edited by splashflash, 06 May 2026 - 05:44 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Australia’s home battery scheme hits 350,000 installs

 

https://renewablesno...stalls-1294091/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, Yesterday, 03:28 AM.

[dasmo]

That’s how Solar should be implemented. Distributed and site specific.

[dasmo]

If these TGTBT batteries come to market it could be worth just getting a battery to both be power backup and offset power use to off peak time.