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ICL is partnering with a range of industry players, from research institutions to developers of energy storage applications, to advance innovation in the energy storage market. Specifically, we evaluate the production of electrolytes currently used in batteries and research next-generation solid electrolytes.
As the world transitions from fossil fuel power for emissions-free electrification, batteries are becoming a vital storage tool to facilitate the energy transition. Batteries contribute to decarbonizing the mobility sector and enable decentralized and off-grid energy solutions. Batteries also help increase access to reliable energy for off-grid communities worldwide.
Developing special chemical blends ideal for energy storage
ICL’s YPH joint venture in China has been experiencing growing demand for its specialty mono ammonium phosphate (MAP) solutions to produce lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes destined for electric vehicles and other energy storage applications. In 2021, we expanded our specialty product offerings of battery grade mono ammonium phosphate (MAP).
In addition, ICL collaborates with research and academic institutes to advance LFP technology. ICL continues to search for ways to expand its presence in this evolving market in Asia, North America, and Europe through capacity expansions, R&D, and business development. ICL recently added dedicated resources to battery research at our R&D center in Tarrytown, N.Y., adding to our capability for battery material research in Israel and Germany.
ICL is exploring different partnerships and collaborations with potential partners from this sector, especially downstream the value chain.
It’s no surprise LFP is one of the fastest growing sectors of the battery industry, as this technology offers superior safety at a lower cost and with a longer life. LFP also reduces exposure to conflict metals, which aligns with our mission to transform from a company that extracts minerals to a company that uses its minerals to create sustainable solutions for humanity,” Anantha Desikan, EVP and chief innovation and technology officer of ICL.
ICL is collaborating with Professor Dan Steingart at the Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center (CEEC) of Columbia University, to improve battery safety and energy density and is exploring multiscale modeling across lithium iron phosphate, lithium metal and zinc-bromine batteries. The Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center (CEEC) joins together faculty and researchers from across Columbia University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and is using a multiscale approach to discover groundbreaking technology and accelerate commercialization. CEEC’s industry partnerships enable the realization of breakthroughs in electrochemical energy storage and conversion.
Read MoreICL has developed unique chemical blends required to create flow batteries that are ideally suited for storing large amounts of energy. These batteries contribute to efforts that aim to solve the energy storage challenge. Due to bromine’s high abundance and rapid kinetics, bromine-based batteries offer superior performance and cost-efficiency, making it one of the preferred solutions for energy storage. ICL continues to develop bromine-based energy storage solutions for Br-battery companies, using diverse compounds and the commercialization of the new bromine-based electrolyte. For more information, visit our dedicated resource on energy storage.
Bromine–based flow batteries experience minimal loss of storage capacity over their lifetime.
By creating these special chemical blends and recycling these chemicals, the Company assures that this technology is fully sustainable, in its post-use phase, as well. ICL’s innovative ‘energy storage’ services provide complete chemical support for producers of bromine based ‘flow batteries’. To read a Safety Review of Bromine Based Electrolytes for Energy Storage Applications, click here.
Piloting with Energy Storage of Renewable Energy
ICL is experimenting with unique technology for bromine-based energy storage. At its R&D site in Beer Sheva, Israel, ICL has set up photovoltaic panels for electricity production, two zinc-bromine flow batteries, and an energy management system.
The batteries (Z-Cell) are charged by the solar panels during the day and are used based on the facility's needs. The core of the system is the batteries which enable energy storage. The energy is used when needed and not necessarily when it is produced, the way most solar systems currently operate.
The batteries installed produced by Redflow, an Australian company in Thailand, use zinc-bromine electrolyte solution developed at ICL's R&D labs in Beer Sheva and produced in ICL's facilities in Terneuzen in the Netherlands. Redflow's batteries are being commercially implemented in Australia, South Africa, and the United States.
As the pilot phase concludes successfully, ICL will be looking to expand the use of the batteries and test other scenarios and use cases.
The Flow Battery Solution
A flow battery is an electrical storage device that is a cross between a conventional battery and a fuel cell. Liquid electrolytes of metallic salts are pumped through a core that consists of positive and negative electrodes, which are separated by a membrane. The ion exchange that occurs between the cathode and anode generates electricity.
Thomas Maschmeyer, professor of chemistry at the University of Sydney, invented a ground-breaking zinc-bromide gel battery that won this year’s Australian Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation.
This unique battery (based on ICL’s electrolytes) makes renewable energy storage cheaper, safer, and more deployable.
The exciting breakthrough by ICL’s partner Gelion is fantastic news for zinc-bromide batteries.
The energy storage technology uses a solution known as zinc-bromide gels. It can run at high temperatures in a largely unmanaged system and is a solution particularly relevant to off-grid challenges in Australian agriculture, mining, and remote communities.
