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Inexpensive New Water-Based Liquid Battery Could Replace $10,000 Lithium Systems


Monash scientists designed a fast, safe liquid battery for home solar. The system could outperform expensive lithium-ion options. Engineers have created a new water-based battery designed to make rooftop solar storage in Australian homes safer, more affordable, and more efficient. This next-ge

Wanqiao Liang, the study’s lead author and a PhD candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, explained that the team’s redesigned membrane solves this speed limitation, making the technology practical for homes and positioning it as a strong contender in the renewable energy market. “Flow batteries work a bit like two fish tanks joined by a membrane barrier that allows ions to pass through, enabling energy storage and release,” Dr Doherty said. Reference: “Flow Battery with Remarkably Stable Performance at High Current Density: Development of A Nonfluorinated Separator with Concurrent Rejection and Conductivity” by Wanqiao Liang, Ehsan Ghasemiestahbanati, Nathan T. Eden, Durga Acharya, Cara M. Doherty, Mainak Majumder and Matthew R. Hill, 19 May 2025, Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

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