PhD project

Liquid flow characteristics and mass transport in porous electrodes for hydrogen bromine redox flow batteries

David Adrian Ochoa Fajardo (PhD Candidate), Rob Lammertink (promotor), Guido Mul (promotor)

Duration: 2020 – 2024

Funding: NWO as part of the Crossover programme, project number 17621

Introduction
Electrochemical electrical energy storage has been proposed as a solution to the mismatch between supply and demand on the grid, caused by the intermittent nature of electrical energy generation by renewable sources. Redox flow batteries in particular are ideally suited for electrical energy storage for the grid, however the technology is still immature and state of the art batteries require a reduction in their levelized cost of storage to meet target prices. Hydrogen bromine flow batteries seek to reduce costs by using cheap and abundant materials, but are limited by transport processes in the liquid side. It is therefore necessary to improve our understanding of flow and transport near electrodes and membrane, to develop an optimized redox flow battery system.

Key words
Redox flow battery, electrochemistry, hydrogen-bromine flow battery

Technological challenges
This research seeks to understand how the dynamic conditions of flow encountered during battery operation and caused by electrode-flow field interaction, affect the transfer of mass in the hydrogen bromine flow battery.

Research goals
The goals of this project are: