Salgenx has launched the new Salgenx S3000, a seawater flow battery for applications in renewable energy, telecommunication towers, oil well pumps, agricultural irrigation pumps and greenhouse irrigation or lighting. It is a scalable redox flow battery with two separate tanks of electrolytes, one of which is saltwater. Unlike other flow batteries, the new device is membrane-free, promising big gains with respect to levellised cost of storage. The batteries are suitable for standalone storage or for use with solar/wind power. As per the manufacturer’s statement, the new battery has an energy density of 125.7 Wh/L.
Furthermore, it requires two large tanks filled with fluid electrolytes, one of which is saltwater and the other a proprietary electrolyte. The fluids are circulated through electrodes, which regulate the input and output of electricity from the battery. Also, the solution can be scaled by adding more electrodes and additional electrolyte tanks. The company also provides the solution in 250 kW, 3 MWh, 6 MWh, 12 MWh and 18 MWh configurations. Reportedly, a 3,000 kWh battery entails material costs of $5 per kWh, system infrastructure costs of $257 per kWh, and a total system cost of $500,000 or $166 per kW. The technology purportedly has a life expectancy of over 25 years and a roundtrip efficiency of 91 per cent at 10 mA per square cm. Lastly, the saltwater tank can be used simultaneously for thermal storage, in combination with a heat pump using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant.
