Simple sugar sweetens the deal for improving performance of flow batteries
By 
George Barsted2023-07-14T08:30:00
Promising solution to large scale grid storage boosted by up to 60% by adding cyclodextrin to electrolyte
The addition of a simple sugar, β-cyclodextrin, can boost the performance of flow batteries. A team from the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), dissolved the starch derivative in the flow battery’s electrolyte, leading to a 60% improvement in the battery’s peak power and boosted its capacity and longevity.