January 27, 2014 
PNNL's vanadium redox flow battery technology licensed by WattJoule
RICHLAND, Wash. - A Massachusetts startup has signed a license arrangement with Battelle to commercialize battery technology that can help store large amounts of renewable energy and enhance the reliability of the nation's power grid. The license with Lowell, Mass.-based WattJoule Corporation is expected to advance the commercial use of redox flow battery technology.
"Redox flow battery technology is well-suited for storing intermittent, renewable energy on the electric grid. The technology can help balance supply and demand, prevent disruptions and meet the grid's varying load requirements," said Imre Gyuk, energy storage plan manager at DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability, which supported the licensed technology's development at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Lab.
"Successful commercialization of DOE-sponsored technology development is vital for creating the grid of the future, and sustaining U.S. leadership in advanced technology," Gyuk added.
Smoothly integrating intermittent renewable power such as wind and solar onto the electric grid while also maintaining grid stability has been challenging. 1st developed in the 1970s, the redox flow battery shows promise in meeting this challenge. Until recently, these batteries have been limited by their ability to only work well within certain temperature ranges, their relatively high cost and their low energy density.
But researchers at PNNL, which is managed by Battelle, have made significant progress in improving the performance of redox flow technologies. PNNL developed novel vanadium electrolytes that overcome the limitations of earlier redox flow batteries. The result is a dramatically improved operating temperature range, higher energy density and lower cost for vanadium redox flow batteries.
WattJoule projects to combine its own proprietary technology with PNNL's to develop an energy storage platform for a broad variety of energy companies, including those involved in wind and solar power. This is the 3rd and final license granted for PNNL's technologies to all-vanadium, mixed acid redox flow battery developers.
Tags: Energy, Technology Transfer and Commercialization, Renewable Energy, Batteries
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,300 staff and has an yearly budget of about $950 million. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.. For more information, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.
