Monash scientists have designed a quick and safe liquid battery for solar at home. The system could surpass costly lithium-ion options.
The engineers have created a new water -based battery designed to make solar storage on the roof in safer, more affordable and more efficient Australian houses.
This “new generation flow battery” opens the way to compact and high performance energy systems suitable for households and should cost much less than today’s lithium-ion configurations, which are at the price of around $ 10,000.
Revolutionary membrane design
Although flow batteries have existed for decades, they have mainly limited to large -scale energy storage due to their bulk and relatively slow charging times.
Wanqiao Liang, the main author of the study and a doctoral candidate at the Ministry of Science and Materials Engineering, explained that the redesigned membrane of the team solves this speed limitation, which makes the technology practical for houses and positioning it as a solid competitor in the renewable energies market.
“We took a safe and affordable chemistry and we did fairly quickly to capture solar on the roof in real time,” said Ms. Liang.
“We have designed a membrane which finally makes the batteries with organic flows competitive for residential storage and at the medium scale. It opens the door to not only cheaper systems, but also safer and simpler on the scale. ”
Outperforming industry standards
Although several companies are already making flow batteries, the version developed in Monash is distinctive to unite safety, affordability and fast performance. Very few systems have been able to reach this balance.
“The key was to improve the selectivity of ions; leaving the right ions through quickly while keeping the unwanted.
“We have outlined the standard NAFion industry membrane in speed and stability – running 600 high current cycles with practically no loss of capacity – it is a major jump for this type of battery.”
Wanqiao said that a meticulous balance was crucial to operating these batteries for solar on the roof at home.
“This is the kind of battery you want in your garage,” said Ms. Liang.
“It is non -toxic, non -striking and made of abundant materials, while following solar energy on a sunny day.”
The team is now in 3D printing prototype systems and tests them in real conditions.
“If the prototypes continue to do how we expect it, it could be on the market in a few years,” said Ms. Liang.
How the flow batteries work
Dr Cara Doherty, co-author of the study of Csirosaid that flow batteries store energy in liquids rather than solid materials like those found in lithium-ion batteries, making them less expensive to make, safer to use and easier to evolve.
“The flow batteries work a bit like two fish reservoirs joined by a membrane barrier which allows the ions to pass, allowing the storage and the release of energy,” said Dr Doherty.
“We have developed a new type of membrane inside the battery which better guides the flow of materials – a bit like adding tracks to a highway. This means a faster load, a longer battery life and better performance overall. ”
In 2018, Monash installed a storage system of 1 MWh Energy (now known as the Invinity Energy Stocial) – the largest commercial configuration behind the meter in Australia and the first of its kind – as part of the base of the microreseau of its Clayton campus. The monash microreseau plays a central role in the university’s goal of becoming 100% self -sufficient energy and is a key element in making zero net emissions by 2030.
Now Monash is home to the next big jump in clean energy storage.
Reference: “Flow battery with remarkably stable performance with high density of current: development of an unpleasant separator with simultaneous rejection and conductivity” by Wanqiao liang, Ehsan Ghasemestahbanati, Nathan T. Eden, Durga Erhaya, Cara M. Doherty, Mainak Majumder and Matthew R. Hill, May 19 2025, International edition of applied chemistry.
Two: 10.1002 / Anie.202505383
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