A Smarter Electrolyte Unlocked Tin's Full Charge for Flow Batteries

Researchers in China unlocked tin's full four-electron charge capacity in an acidic flow battery by mixing chloride and iodide in the electrolyte, lifting energy return to about 89 percent from 53 percent in the comparison battery. A 20-cell prototype ran for more than 1,000 hours, a step toward cheaper, higher-capacity grid storage.