A great deal of money and effort has been invested in battery technology, especially since the beginning of this year. This is also understandable; after all, the question of energy density and charging options is currently the most important core issue in electromobility, both socially and economically. One area of development is very much on the rise and is both very exciting and promising: the redox flow battery.
This is a type of battery with two liquids (electrolytes) for storing electrochemical energy. The electrolytes, as the actual energy carriers, are stored in separate tanks and pumped through the battery cell. These two separate liquids discharge in the actual cell, releasing their energy in the form of electrical energy – just like a normal battery.
The energy density of 20 to 50 Wh per liter is still well below the energy density of fossil fuels, but they offer the great advantage over solid-state batteries that you can actually refuel them – discharged electrolytes out, fresh ones in. Integration into the existing service station system as an option for fast charging on the road would thus be conceivable in parallel with conventional charging at home or at charging stations. The fact that this type of battery functions technically well is shown even by quite large intermediate storage systems, for example in wind power technology; in high-voltage vehicles, mainly test vehicles have been on the roads so far.
Conclusion: It remains exciting which battery types will prevail best in the long run, researching in all directions remains the right way, whether the redox flow battery will prevail in the future, although it has not been used much so far, remains to be seen.