(May 7, 2012) The CUNY
Energy Institute, which has been developing innovative low-cost batteries that
are safe, non-toxic, and reliable with fast discharge rates and high energy
densities, announced that it has built an operating prototype zinc anode
battery system. The Institute said large-scale commercialization of the battery
would start later this year.
Zinc anode
batteries offer an environmentally friendlier and less costly alternative to
nickel cadmium batteries. In the longer term, they also could replace lead-acid
batteries at the lower cost end of the market. However, the challenge of
dendrite formation associated with zinc had to be addressed. Dendrites are crystalline
structures that cause batteries to short out.
To prevent
dendrite build-up, CUNY researchers developed a flow-assisted zinc anode
battery with a sophisticated advanced battery management system (BMS) that
controls the charge/discharge protocol. To demonstrate the new technology and
its applications, which range from peak electricity demand reduction to
grid-scale energy storage, they have assembled a 36 kilowatt-hour rechargeable
battery system.
The system,
housed in the basement of Steinman Hall on The City College of New York campus,
consists of 36 individual one kWh nickel-zinc flow-assisted cells strung
together and operated by the BMS. In
peak electricity demand reduction, batteries charge during low usage periods,
i.e. overnight, and discharge during peak-demand periods when surcharges for
power usage are very high.