Elie: Elie moved page Iron redox flow batteries to Archive:000/Iron redox flow batteries without leaving a redirect: Huge_refactor

2024-10-26T20:29:48Z

Elie moved page Iron redox flow batteries to Archive:000/Iron redox flow batteries without leaving a redirect: Huge_refactor

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Elie at 19:23, 2 September 2023

2023-09-02T19:23:22Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:23, 2 September 2023
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	[[File:irfb1.jpg\|thumb]]		[[File:irfb1.jpg\|thumb]]
			[[Category:Energy storage]]

	Iron redox flow batteries (IRFBs) are gigantic batteries made of molten iron. Each one is about the size of a shipping container, and could store [[energy]] for hundreds of homes.<!-- TODO: confirm whether "hundreds" is actually the proper estimate --> This is a possible solution to ''part'' of the [[energy storage]] problem - to smooth out the intermittency of [[wind]] and [[solar]] power.		Iron redox flow batteries (IRFBs) are gigantic batteries made of molten iron. Each one is about the size of a shipping container, and could store [[energy]] for hundreds of homes.<!-- TODO: confirm whether "hundreds" is actually the proper estimate --> This is a possible solution to ''part'' of the [[energy storage]] problem - to smooth out the intermittency of [[wind]] and [[solar]] power.
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	==Usable in vehicles?==		==Usable in vehicles?==
	No. IRFBs contain molten metal, and are only safe for ''stationary'' energy storage. They can't be made small enough to fit in a car anyway{{x\|it would be impossible to contain the heat at that scale, due to physics (surface area to volume ratio)}}.		No. IRFBs contain molten metal, and are only safe for ''stationary'' energy storage. They can't be made small enough to fit in a car anyway{{x\|it would be impossible to contain the heat at that scale, due to physics (surface area to volume ratio)}}.

			<!-- TODO:
			* refactor this page to the newer considerations format
			* use some standardized energy storage estimates
			-->

Elie: Created page with "thumb Iron redox flow batteries (IRFBs) are gigantic batteries made of molten iron. Each one is about the size of a shipping container, and could store energy for hundreds of homes. This is a possible solution to ''part'' of the energy storage problem - to smooth out the intermittency of wind and solar power. ===Chemistry and physics=== This section is incomplete..."

2023-01-27T02:28:34Z

Created page with "thumb Iron redox flow batteries (IRFBs) are gigantic batteries made of molten iron. Each one is about the size of a shipping container, and could store energy for hundreds of homes. This is a possible solution to ''part'' of the energy storage problem - to smooth out the intermittency of wind and solar power. ===Chemistry and physics=== This section is incomplete..."

New page

[[File:irfb1.jpg|thumb]]

Iron redox flow batteries (IRFBs) are gigantic batteries made of molten iron. Each one is about the size of a shipping container, and could store [[energy]] for hundreds of homes. This is a possible solution to ''part'' of the [[energy storage]] problem - to smooth out the intermittency of [[wind]] and [[solar]] power.

===Chemistry and physics===
This section is incomplete. For now, read the [//wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_redox_flow_battery Wikipedia page on IRFBs] for a very long-winded description of how they work.

===Viability===
{|class="wikitable
|[[#Need for iron]]
|Reasonable
|-
|[[#Ready for deployment?]]
|Maybe
|-
|[[#Usable in vehicles?]]
|No
|}

==Need for iron==
Iron is a far more abundant metal than, say, the lithium & cobalt used in [[lithium-ion batteries]]. In fact, this is the main reason why IRFBs are being developed.

Just to confirm that iron is actually abundant enough:
{{dp
|other_energy.tfc
|3290.73 Mtoe/year
|Global energy usage, total final consumption minus transport and industrial
|Source: Key World Energy Statistics 2020 (IEA report) Note: This is roughly the amount of on-grid energy consumption that we might need energy storage for. It consists of - for example - lighting, heating, appliances, and other energy used in homes and other buildings. We don't count ''industrial'' here, because we can assume (in principle) that most factories could operate during peak sunlight/wind, needing negligable energy storage.}}
{{dp
|storage_timescale
|24 hours
|How big the "buffer" of energy storage would have to be to be resiliant against weather fluctuations
|The exact number could be up for debate. Join the {{talk}}.
}}
{{dp
|iron.reserves
|85 billion tonnes
|Global iron reserves - iron metal recoverable
|Source: Global iron ore reserves 2010-2021 - Statista
}}
{{dp
|iron.production
|1.95 billion tonnes/year
|
|Source: World crude steel production 2021 - Statista
 The source doesn't specify whether this is steel from newly-mined iron or steel from recycling scrap. Probably it's both combined.
}}
{{dp
|irfb.energy_by_mass
|85 watt hours per kg
|Specific energy of an iron redox flow battery
|Using half the "theoretical specific energy" of 170 watt hours per kg. This battery hasn't really been commercialized yet, so it's safe to assume that we won't be close to the theoretical maximum in the near future.
 Source: https://dornsife.usc.edu/labs/narayan/all-iron-redox-flow-battery/
}}
{{calc
|other_energy.tfc * storage_timescale / irfb.energy_by_mass
|% iron.reserves
}}
{{calc
|other_energy.tfc * storage_timescale / irfb.energy_by_mass
|years iron.production
}}


==Ready for deployment?==
Several companies have started designing IRFBs, but there isn't a lot of info on whether they're actually being used yet.{{rn}}

For IRFBs to be ''useful'', we still have to solve the other challenges of large-scale [[solar]] and [[wind]]. Especially [[solar/challenge 1]]: How to make enough ''solar panels'' without needing too many rare metals.

==Usable in vehicles?==
No. IRFBs contain molten metal, and are only safe for ''stationary'' energy storage. They can't be made small enough to fit in a car anyway{{x|it would be impossible to contain the heat at that scale, due to physics (surface area to volume ratio)}}.

Archive:000/Iron redox flow batteries - Revision history

Elie: Elie moved page Iron redox flow batteries to Archive:000/Iron redox flow batteries without leaving a redirect: Huge_refactor

Elie at 19:23, 2 September 2023