L R AS Published on Sunday 19 January 2020 - n° 305 - Categories:other batteries
The Canadian e-Zn's battery would have many advantages
Canada's e-Zn obtains C$2 million to fund the continued development of a zinc battery. This process uses zinc,
cheap and abundant product to store energy for the desired period (one week for example).
The process differs from the lithium battery as well as the flow battery: charging is done from the top. An electric current precipitates zinc pellets in an alkaline electrolyte. Wiper-like elements scrape the pellets off the bottom of the cell. To discharge the battery, the device sucks in air and dissolves the zinc in a solution.
The capacity of each cell currently reaches 100 watts of power. The battery is discharged over 24, 48 or more hours. The power and energy ratios can be customised by adjusting the specific surface area of the charging and discharging electrodes, as well as the volume of electrolyte and zinc. This reduces the costs of long-term storage. This type of battery does not have a membrane because it uses gravity: "wipers" dislodge the zinc nuggets. They fall to the bottom, where they rest until they are discharged. This process reduces the cost of storage, and ensures that energy will be conserved as long as the battery does not need to be discharged, since the zinc nuggets remain on standby.
A first model dating from April 2018 uses a 5 kW solar panel and a 1 kW / 24kWh battery. The funding will enable a 5 kW / 240 kWh system to be manufactured.
GreenTech Media of 16 January
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