Researchers at Waterloo Engineering have designed a new electrode with potential impact on the way energy generated on wind and solar farms is stored in the future.
The electrode was inspired by shapes found in nature and took advantage of the design freedom of 3D printing to help optimize redox flow batteries as safer alternatives to the lithium-ion batteries now used in many energy-storage systems.
“With 3D printing, we can design the internal structure of an electrode in ways that are difficult to achieve using conventional manufacturing,” said Dr. Maxime van der Heijden, a chemical engineering professor at Waterloo who led the research team.
“That gives us much greater control over how the liquid moves through the battery and reaches the surfaces where the energy-storing reactions take place.”
Go to Nature-inspired 3D printing could improve large-scale renewable energy storage for the full story.