Development of zinc-air flow batteries by investigating compact zinc deposition and improving air electrode cycling stability

The growing number of electric vehicles worldwide demands increasing electricity generation from renewable sources such as wind and solar in order to render these vehicles CO2 neutral. However, these systems are very intermittent and need to be coupled with high capacity and fast responding energy storage systems. Zinc-air flow batteries are designed for this stationary application, using the inexpensive, safe and abundant metal zinc as active storing material. In the project Luziflow all battery components are investigated and improved regarding the efficiency during cycling and the long-term stability during operation. On the negative zinc electrode, new insights have been gained on dendrite-free zinc deposition during charging and with flowing electrolyte. On the positive air electrode stable bifunctional electrode designs with high catalytic activity have been applied in long-term operation. The final aim of the project Luziflow will be the scale-up to 100 cm² and full cell operation