Tailored Resilient Electrodes for Sustainable Long Duration Energy Storage (TREES)

The urgent need to transition to a fully renewable grid and sustainable reliable energy systems has prompted significant interest in new long duration energy storage solutions. Among these, flow batteries have emerged as a promising candidate due to their design flexibility, safety, and scalability. However, conventional flow battery systems often suffer from efficiency losses and performance degradation, particularly under high demand cycling conditions, limiting their deployment for intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. In particular, this project will focus in one of the components of flow batteries: the electrodes. Commercially available carbon electrodes, which are produced from fossil fuels, often suffer from low wettability and poor kinetics. My research programme will design and optimise freestanding porous electrodes with tailored surface chemistries and porosities. These will be manufactured using electrospinning and biomass as carbon source. Electrospinning is a manufacturing technique that lead to the formation of a freestanding material consisting of nonwoven fibres. This technique enables a fine control of key properties of the resulting fibre electrodes, including fibre diameter, surface chemistry, density, porosity, conductivity and thickness. The proposed approach integrates novel electrode architectures that will combine freestanding carbon fibres decorated with metal and semiconductor nanoparticles. The addition of nanoparticles promotes ions absorption and accelerate electron transfer. Additionally, I will explore the use of light to promote charge separation and photocatalytic behaviour of the semiconductor nanoparticles. The key objectives of this research proposal are: 1. Development of sustainable freestanding electrodes. I will design and fabricate structured porous electrodes with a variety of structural features via electrospinning using sustainable electrodes. 2. Optimisation of electrode architectures to maximise mass transport. Multiple fibre diameters, thicknesses, fibre alignments and densities will be explored and optimised in terms of maximising flow dynamics, reduced losses and wettability of the electrodes using advanced characterisation techniques that combine structural characterisation and electrochemistry. I will also design knitted electrodes with electrospun yarns combining hydrophobic and hydrophilic fibres to help guide the electrolyte to the active sites. 3. Introduction of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles to promote faster electron kinetics. Faster charge transfer will be achieved by introducing metal and semiconductor nanoparticles that exhibit electrocatalytic activity. Additionally, a new flow battery that allows the irradiation with light will be used to explore the photoactivity of the semiconductor nanoparticles and enhancement of electron kinetics. 4. Performance evaluation and scalability. The electrodes will be tested under various operational conditions, assessing their performance, stability, and scalability for practical energy storage applications using electrolytes based on abundant low-cost chemistries. 5. Engagement with industry and other stakeholders. I will engage with industry collaborators to explore the application of the developed electrodes in commercial systems. This project will provide valuable insights into the use of tailored sustainable electrodes that can be effectively integrated into flow battery systems, paving the way for more resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly energy storage technologies. Moreover, the project will contribute to advancing knowledge in the fields of materials science, electrochemistry, and renewable energy integration, ultimately supporting the transition towards a more sustainable energy future.