The battery set to transform renewable energy

We all know that renewable energy will play a pivotal role if we’re to decarbonise the environment. One of the key challenges with alternative power sources, such as wind and solar, is storing what they produce at scale.

But scientists at the University of Jena think they may have found the solution. They have developed a battery containing organic polymers that can cope with the fluctuations that result in renewable energy generation due to changing weather conditions.

"We need to buffer the energy, so even if there's a lull in the wind, we can use that energy. And this kind of battery, the “Redox flow battery", is perfect for storing large amounts of energy," Ulrich S. Schubert, Director of the Centre for Energy and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Jena told Euronews.

"The new polymer plastic-based batteries can store almost as much energy per kgs as a lithium battery. But because plastics are lighter, we need a larger volume to store that energy," he added.

Another major advantage of the battery is its lower environmental impact. At present most batteries rely on rare or toxic metal compounds, such as lead and lithium.

For example, vanadium salts are dissolved in acid to produce a traditional ‘redox flow battery’. But with this batter, polymers are used in a liquid salt solution.

"Inside our 'Redox Flow battery', we’ve dissolved an active material, small molecules or polymers. We can compare it to a little bit like how we dissolve salt when we’re cooking pasta or putting sugar in tea," said Martin Hager, the project's Polymers & Energy Group Leader.

"When we have enough wind, and electricity is available, we can bring an electron out of one side of the active material, to the other side of the other type of