Flow battery, a new method of energy storage, could mean electric cars are charged and ready to go within seconds, the University of Glasgow chemists who developed the technology have claimed.
The new type of energy storage system uses a dense liquid filled with highly charged nano-molecules that store power, according the Nature Chemistry journal. The energy is released either as electricity of hydrogen gas, then it can be replaced and recharged for the next vehicle. This would be a process similar to gassing up a car, with the exception being that the fuel itself is what is recharged.
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"For future renewables to be effective, high capacity and flexible energy storage systems are needed to smooth out the peaks and troughs in supply," said Professor Leroy Cronin, one of the developers of the new system. "Our approach will provide a new route to do this electrochemically."
One of the key problems preventing the mass adoption and development of electric cars is the fact that charging the battery tends to take several hours, dissuading investors and consumers. With the introduction of this new system, the process of adoption could increase significantly worldwide.
