High-energy and low-cost membrane-free chlorine flow battery

Abstract

Grid-scale energy storage is essential for reliable electricity transmission and renewable energy integration. Redox flow batteries (RFB) provide affordable and scalable solutions for stationary energy storage. However, most of the current RFB chemistries are based on expensive transition metal ions or synthetic organics. Here, we report a reversible chlorine redox flow battery starting from the electrolysis of aqueous NaCl electrolyte and the as-produced Cl2 is extracted and stored in the carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or mineral spirit flow. The immiscibility between the CCl4 or mineral spirit and NaCl electrolyte enables a membrane-free design with an energy efficiency of >91% at 10 mA/cm2 and an energy density of 125.7 Wh/L. The chlorine flow battery can meet the stringent price and reliability target for stationary energy storage with the inherently low-cost active materials (~$5/kWh) and the highly reversible Cl2/Cl− redox reaction.