Ess Tech, Inc.

Brady Thompson

Yang Song

Craig E Evans

Timothy J McDonald

Yan Wu

A method for a redox flow battery may include, interrupting cycling of the redox flow battery, including charging the redox flow battery to a threshold charge condition, draining positive and negative electrolyte from the redox flow battery, circulating a wash solution through the redox flow battery, and returning the positive and negative electrolyte to the redox flow battery, and resuming cycling of the redox flow battery. In this way, contamination of the redox flow battery system can be reduced, thereby prolonging the life and increasing performance of the redox flow battery system.

Method and system for redox flow battery performance recovery

Systems and methods are provided for electrochemical and/or chemical pretreatment of bipolar plates, for example, for plating electrodes in redox flow batteries. In one example, a method may include pretreating a bipolar plate for the redox flow battery by disrupting a surface of the bipolar plate. In some examples, pretreating the bipolar plate may include positioning the bipolar plate within the redox flow battery, and thereafter charging the redox flow battery at multiple discrete plating current densities for each of one or more initial charging cycles to electrochemically etch the surface. In additional or alternative examples, pretreating the bipolar plate may include soaking the bipolar plate in solution to chemically treat the surface. In this way, the bipolar plate may be pretreated via electrochemical etching and/or chemical treatment so as to reduce electrochemical performance losses and dendrite formation in the redox flow battery.

Methods and systems for pretreating bipolar plate and use thereof in redox flow battery

Methods and systems are provided for iron preformation in a redox flow battery. In one example, a method may include, in a first condition, discharging and then charging the redox flow battery, and in a second condition, charging the redox flow battery including preforming iron metal at a negative electrode of the redox flow battery, and thereafter entering an idle mode of the redox flow battery including adjusting one or more electrolyte conditions. In some examples, each of preforming the iron metal and adjusting the one or more electrolyte conditions may increase a battery charge capacity to greater than a threshold battery charge capacity.

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Canby, OR, United States of America

Brady Thompson