Award Abstract # 1827554
PFI-TT: Development of Prototype Aqueous Energy Storage Device using Nanomaterials

NSF Org: TI
Translational Impacts
Recipient: UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Initial Amendment Date: August 14, 2018
Latest Amendment Date: August 14, 2018
Award Number: 1827554
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Kaitlin Bratlie
TI
 Translational Impacts
TIP
 Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Start Date: August 15, 2018
End Date: May 31, 2021 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $191,937.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $191,937.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2018 = $191,937.00
History of Investigator:
  • Xiaowei Teng (Principal Investigator)
    xteng@wpi.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of New Hampshire
51 COLLEGE RD
DURHAM
NH  US  03824-2620
(603)862-2172
Sponsor Congressional District: 01
Primary Place of Performance: University of New Hampshire
51 COLLEGE RD
Durham
NH  US  03824-3585
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): GBNGC495XA67
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): PFI-Partnrships for Innovation
Primary Program Source: 01001819DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1662, 8019, 8030
Program Element Code(s): 166200
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.084

ABSTRACT

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is to provide an alternative energy storage solution to current lithium-ion battery technology in the marketplace, with a safer, more stable, and less expensive storage system using V2O5 nanomaterials. Residential solar photovoltaic systems combined with affordable battery storage are becoming increasingly likely to drive an evolution of modern electricity supply systems with a low-emission of greenhouse gases. In the past decade, development of the residential solar photovoltaic across the nation has disrupted the way in which centralized electricity systems operate. As solar panel system prices have fallen dramatically in the past few years, a residential solar battery system that can operate off-grid remains relatively expensive. The proposed technology, if successful, will provide a cost-effective energy storage solution for residential solar systems by offering a low-cost, environmentally benign aqueous battery system based on V2O5 nanomaterials. Thus, much less investment will be needed during installation of solar panel system, accelerating the adoption of residential solar energy.

The proposed project is built on the PI's previous success on the development of disordered V2O5 nanomaterials for aqueous K-ion storage. However, the real-size energy storage devices using such innovative materials under practical operational conditions has not been tested, which requires the development of prototype battery devices. The proposed project will involve the scale-up production of the proposed materials, including the fabricating and testing of the prototype pouch cells using industrial-level line equipment. This project will provide a critical bridge across the performance gap to move this innovation from the lab to commercial scale. This project will also utilize realistic assessment metrics to support the continued development of the device from research discovery toward commercial reality.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

The main objectives of the proposed project are to synthesize and prototype a new type of vanadium oxide-based materials as cathode materials for high-capacity and long-life aqueous batteries as low-cost and safe alternatives to aqueous lead-acid batteries non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries for household stationary storage application.  The major goals of this project are to address the following two technical challenges that hamper the commercialization of this promising technology, including (i) the design of reactor systems for scale-up production of nanostructured vanadium oxide-based electrode materials and (ii) fabrication and evaluation of the prototyping battery devices (pouch-cell) using commercial line equipment.

 

The main outcomes of the proposed project include:

  • The PI has successfully designed a batch reactor system with material productivity of up to 500 grams per batch.  The resulting NaV3O8 materials had a one-dimension (1D) ribbon-like morphology with widths ranging from 50 nm to 100 nm and lengths ranging from 5 to 20 um, consisting of [VO5] octahedra and [VO6] square pyramids, and only a portion of polyhedra are connected through edge-sharing.  This is a highly reproducible approach and carried out under ambient conditions, allowing the PI to prepare adequate materials for pouch cell and split cell production. 
  • The PI filed an international patent application (PCT/US2018/060677) in November 2018 on the preparation of NaV3O8 electrode materials.  
  • The PI has prepared nine prototyping pouch cells using Zn foil anode, NaV3O8 cathode, and aqueous electrolyte through industrial collaboration. Various conditions, including current collectors, electrolytes, and separators, have been tested and optimized. 

 


Last Modified: 06/11/2021
Modified by: Xiaowei Teng

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