IIT-Delhi develops flow battery that can replace diesel generators
IIT-Delhi has developed a working prototype of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery which is an “efficient replacement” to pollution-causing diesel generators and can store and utilise renewable energy.
The Supreme Court-mandated Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) has banned the use of diesel generators in the Delhi-NCR region from Oct 15 under the Graded Response Action Plan to control rising air pollution.
Developed by the Sustainable Environergy Research Lab (SERL) of Chemical Engineering Department, IIT Delhi, the flow battery can be an efficient replacement to polluting diesel generators.
It can efficiently store and utilize renewable energy for a wide range of applications such as rural electrification, e-vehicle charging station, domestic and commercial power back-up leading to zero carbon footprint.
Anil Verma a professor in SERL, “VRFB is non-polluting (no emissions), easily scalable, safe and environmentally friendly, and highly durable.
“One of the major differences between the flow battery and a conventional battery is the independent scaling of power and energy capacity. The flow battery can store energy from kWh to MWh range and suitable for long discharge time with low cost in contrast to the conventional battery,” he said.
