David L. Chandler

MIT Press Office

A new concept for a flow battery functions like an old hourglass or egg timer, with particles (in this case carried as a slurry) flowing through a narrow opening from one tank to another. The flow can then be reversed by turning the device over.

Battery Technology Turned Upside-Down

Pump-free design for liquid battery could offer advantages in cost and simplicity.

This illustration depicts a possible configuration for the combined system proposed by MIT researchers. At the bottom, steam (pink arrows) passes through pulverized coal, releasing gaseous fuel (red arrows) made up of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. This fuel goes into a solid oxide fuel cell (disks near top), where it reacts with oxygen from the air (blue arrows) to produce electricity (loop at right).

Cut Coal-Plant Emissions in Half

Finding a cleaner way of using that coal could be a significant step toward achieving carbon-emissions reductions while meeting the needs of an increasingly industrialized world population.