Grid Think

 I'll be honest, I didn't dream of Iron Chromium Redox flow battery in my dreams, nor did I have any secret information from NASA. I did what any other 22 year old would, ask Gemini about it. If you ask Gemini or ChatGPT about VRFBs, there are high chances that it will suggest alternate chemistries also. Now that can be a good thing or a bad thing. If you know a little bit electrochemistry, it would spit out a very obvious answer. If you don't, you'll go down the same rabbit hole I did. AI doesn't know your intentions. So it acts as the most efficient information summarizer, and that's great, if you just want information, not if you want action. So one of the first alternatives to VRFBs Gemini suggested was Iron - Chromium, and it made a lot of sense because Iron and Chromium are commodity metals, Iron is literally the most mined metal on earth and chromium comes third [ source ]. Their commodity prices are - Iron - $110 per ton   (at the time of writing) Chromi...

Search flow batteries anywhere on the internet, you'll find Vanadium's monopoly, ask any AI model about flow batteries and they'll assume vanadium and give you all the information. That's because Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (or VRFBs in short) are already being commercialized, or at least they're trying their best.  I'll try to explain why, but before i move further, i forgot to explain the redox part in the last 2 posts. All Batteries are Redox Batteries- Batteries have 3 basic parts, positive side (cathode), negative side (anode) and a membrane or separator. So, when you connect a charger to your phone, the charger takes electrons from positive and gives it to the negative side, but if the positive and negative mix together they will neutralize each other, so they need to be separated by separator (or membrane). The word "redox" is made of two words : Reduction- gaining of electrons (by the negative side) Oxidation - loss of electrons (by the posit...

We all know what a battery is, that same thing in almost every portable electronic device in your room has. Most batteries we use in our day to day are static batteries, i.e. once they are manufactured, their chemical composition doesn't really change. Now the chemicals used in a battery dictate everything about it, like its - 1. Cyclability  2. Efficiency 3. Safety 4. Supply chain constraints. Let me explain in a little more detail using examples - The AA and AAA batteries (chemical composition is Zinc and Manganese) normally used in T.V remotes are not rechargeable, they are single use. Once the energy inside them is used them, they are pretty much dead. They are mildly toxic, but safe to use, efficiency doesn't come into picture as they can't be recharged, energy density is ( 50-150 Wh/kg ) The Lithium Ion batteries in your phones and EVs are rechargeable (Duh !). Its of many types, i am aware of only two- a) NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt along with Lithium)  b) LFP (Lith...