An energy transmission system is provided for a power generation plant including. plural distributed power generation devices and a flow battery system that includes plural charging stacks including electrochemical flow, wherein each charging stack is associated with one or a group of the power generation devices of the power generation plant and wherein each charging stack is configured to receive electrical energy produced by the associated power generation device or group of power generation devices and to energi/e an electrolyte of the flow battery system by the received electrical energy; a central storage unit configured to store the electrolyte of the flow battery system; a discharging stack including electrochemical flow cells, wherein the discharging stack is configured to extract electrical energy from the electrolyte and to provide the electrical energy to a power gri A wind farm including wind turbines and including such energy transmission system is further provided.

The present invention includes a method including providing an anode and a cathode; providing a desalination device operably coupled to establish an electrical potential between the anode and the cathode when the desalination device is operating; providing water containing dissolved solids; thereby establishing the electrical potential; reducing a salinity of the water by supplying the water to the desalination device; and generating electrical power by reducing the salinity of the water.

An electrolyte including a mixture of hydroxynaphtoquinone and a precursor material thereof is provided. The electrolyte may achieve higher capacities.

A hybrid redox fuel cell system includes a hybrid redox fuel cell and an electrochemical cell. The hybrid redox fuel cell includes an anode side through which hydrogen is flowed and a cathode side through which liquid electrolyte is flowed, the liquid electrolyte including a metal ion at a higher oxidation state and the metal ion at a lower oxidation state. An anode side of the electrochemical cell is fluidly connected to the cathode side of the hybrid redox fuel cell. At the hybrid redox fuel cell, power is generated by reducing the metal ion at the higher oxidation state to the lower oxidation state at the cathode side while oxidizing the reductant at the anode side. At the anode side of the electrochemical cell, the metal ion at the lower oxidation state is oxidized to the higher oxidation state while the power is generated.

A hybrid redox fuel cell system includes a hybrid redox fuel cell including an anode side through which a reductant is flowed and a cathode side through which liquid electrolyte is flowed, and a trickle bed reactor including a catalyst bed fluidly connected to the cathode side of the hybrid redox fuel cell. Furthermore, the liquid electrolyte includes a metal ion at a higher oxidation state and the metal ion at a lower oxidation state, and power is generated at the hybrid redox fuel cell by way of reducing the metal ion at the higher oxidation state to the lower oxidation state at the cathode side while oxidizing the reductant at the anode side.

A method of refreshing an asymmetric redox flow battery system is described. The redox flow battery system comprises: at least one rechargeable cell comprising a positive electrolyte, a negative electrolyte, and a separator positioned between the positive electrolyte and the negative electrolyte, the positive electrolyte in contact with a positive electrode, and the negative electrolyte in contact with a negative electrode; the positive electrolyte comprising water and a metal precursor and having a volume; the negative electrolyte comprising water and the metal precursor and having a volume; the negative electrolyte having a concentration of the metal precursor greater than a concentration of the metal precursor in the positive electrolyte. The flow of mixed electrolyte past the negative electrode is prevented, and the negative electrolyte and positive electrolyte are mixed together. The mixed solution is reapportioned to the negative and positive sides based on the initial negative and positive electrolyte volumes. Flow of the refreshed negative electrolyte past the negative electrode is then resumed.

A redox flow battery system having decreased cross-over of active species and decreased hydrogen generation, which is particularly important with less expensive polyethylene or polypropylene membranes. The redox flow battery system comprises at least one rechargeable cell comprising a positive electrolyte, a negative electrolyte, and a separator positioned between the positive electrolyte and the negative electrolyte. The positive electrolyte is in contact with a positive electrode, and the negative electrolyte is in contact with a negative electrode. The positive and negative electrolytes comprise water and a metal precursor, and the concentration of the metal precursor in the negative electrolyte is greater than the concentration of the metal precursor in the positive electrolyte. The metal in the metal precursor comprises iron, copper, zinc manganese, titanium, tin, silver, vanadium, or cerium.

A flow battery comprising: a first tank having a variable internal volume and containing a first ionic solution having a first oxidation state, and wherein the first tank is substantially evacuated of any gas; a second tank having a variable internal volume and containing a second ionic solution having a second oxidation state that is different from the first oxidation state, and wherein the second tank is substantially evacuated of any gas; a reaction chamber operatively coupled with the first and second tanks such that the first ionic solution within the reaction chamber is separated from the second ionic solution by an ion exchange membrane; a first pump configured to pump the first ionic solution through the reaction chamber; and a second pump configured to pump the second ionic solution through the reaction chamber.

An electrolyte membrane and method for generating the membrane provide a resistance as low as possible to minimize ohmic losses. The membrane has a low permeability for redox-active species. If redox-active species still cross the membrane, this transport is balanced during charge and discharge preventing a net vanadium flux and associated capacity fading. The membrane is mechanically robust, chemically stable in electrolyte solution, and low cost. A family of ion exchange membranes including a bilayer architecture achieves these requirements. The bilayer membrane includes two polymers, i) a polymer including N-heterocycles with electron lone pairs acting as proton acceptor sites and ii) a mechanically robust polymer acting as a support, which can be a dense cation exchange membrane or porous support layer. This bilayer architecture permits a very thin polymer film on a supporting polymer to minimize ohmic resistance and tune electrolyte transport properties of the membrane.

A reaction cell for a flow battery having flow channels positioned within a recess of a non-porous and non-brittle housing that is also a dielectric. Positioning the flow channels within the recess eliminates the need for end plates, gaskets, and insulators of conventional designs. A current collector and an electrode within the recess have areas approximately equal to the area of the recess such that they fit within the recess and maximize the contact area between them.