Electrochemical Energy Storage Device and Method for Operating the Same

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The invention relates to a rechargeable electrochemical energy storage device based on a novel form of metal-air battery. Unlike conventional metal-air batteries, this design uses a liquid active material (such as a metal or its compounds) in contact with an ion- or proton-conducting membrane. The liquid/gas battery is housed in a container, where the active material stays in liquid form during operation, and reacts with a gas at the opposite electrode. The system is scalable, operates at high temperatures, and leverages the density differences between the oxidized and reduced forms of the liquid material for efficient operation.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Grid-scale energy storage for renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind)
• Backup power systems for critical infrastructure or data centers
• Industrial large-scale battery storage for peak shaving and load leveling
• Electric vehicle high-capacity energy storage
• Remote energy storage where simple refilling and maintenance are needed
• Recycling-oriented stationary batteries due to easy separation of liquid components

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• High energy density comparable to or exceeding lithium-ion batteries
• Scalability to large sizes due to simple component construction
• Use of abundant, potentially low-cost materials (variety of metals/compounds)
• Enhanced cyclability and long life due to lack of solid phase damage (e.g., no mechanical stress from volume changes)
• Easy maintenance and replenishment of active material and gas
• Potentially reduced risk of hazardous reactions due to design (e.g., rapid gas shut-off)
• Simple recycling and end-of-life processing due to liquid phase separation
• Less need for pumps and complex auxiliary systems compared to redox-flow batteries
• Flexible operation by adjusting temperature and system orientation for optimized charge/discharge cycles

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The rechargeable energy store according to the invention is based on a metal-air battery, in which a gas electrode is used and an ion- or proton-conducting membrane is used as the electrolyte. As a difference from the known metal-air batteries, in the case of the energy store according to the invention the active component is in the form of a liquid medium on the side of the electrolyte membrane that is opposite from the gas electrode. The liquid-medium/gas battery according to the invention has a container that holds a medium in liquid form as the active material at the operating temperature of the battery. The following are suitable inter alia as such a material: metals, semimetals, oxygen-containing compounds including simple or complex oxides, nitrogen-containing compounds, carbon-containing compounds, hydrogen-containing compounds, phosphorus-containing compounds, halogen-containing compounds, other chalcogen-containing compounds, silicon-containing compounds, germanium-containing compounds or boron compounds, in particular with one or more metals or semimetals (with respect to the entire list of the oxides up to the boron compounds), or mixtures thereof, as long as they are in a liquid form at operating temperatures.