The Science and Engineering of Nanoelectrofuel Flow Battery Development

Development of transformational electrochemical energy storage technologies is an imperative for enabling sustainable technologies such as vehicle electrification and renewable energy generation. Segre and his team have developed a novel rechargeable nanoelectrofuel (NEF) flow battery technology that leverages the properties of conventional solid state batteries, flow batteries and nanofluid technology. Nanoelectrofuels have high concentrations of active materials and exhibit liquid behavior in a wide range of temperatures for good flow and pump performance. The presentation will highlight the development of an NEF flow battery prototype that is scalable for electric vehicle needs, including engineering challenges in the development of NEF electrodes and electrochemical flow reactors and the approaches that the team is using to solve them. The utilization of these results in the context of an end product development will be discussed. Segre also will discuss technology transfer and commercialization challenges, potential development routes for the NEF flow battery, including manufacturing and product development in the context of the present players, market size, and the long-term vision for the technology.