Vanadium redox batteries, upgraded electrolyte and R2 catalyst. The VRB energy is stored chemically in different ionic forms of vanadium in a dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte. This creates a current that is collected by electrodes and made available to an external circuit. The reaction is reversible allowing the battery to be charged, discharged and recharged. This technology is one of the only socially responsible energy storage options in existence. As a "green" technology, the VRB is characterized by the lowest ecological impact of all energy storage technologies and is unlike most other conventional energy storage systems that rely on toxic substances such as lead, zinc or cadmium. The electrolyte is a solution of vanadium mixed with a dilute sulfuric acid, with about the same acidity as in a conventional lead-acid battery. Unlike lead acid systems however the VRB electrolyte has an indefinite life span and is reusable. The electrolyte in vanadium reflux batteries is known as an "Aqueous Solution of Sulphates of Vanadium". It is made up of sulfuric acid, and emulsified vanadium particles. The electrolyte is pumped from separate storage tanks into flow cells across a proton exchange membrane (PEM) where one form of electrolyte is electrochemically oxidized and the other is electrochemically reduced. Sulphuric acid is manufactured through the catalytic action of vanadium pentoxide. V5 looses oxygen to oxidize the sulfur giving sulphur trioxide and V4. Some vanadium ions remain in the final acid and so is an obvious choice for the electrolyte. The VRB-ESS installation for Hydro Tasmania on King Island in Australia was completed in November 2003. King Island is a small remote location off the south coast of Australia that supports and operates 5 wind turbines ranging from 250 - 850kW and Four Diesel generators at 1.5MW each that act as a remote grid to supply power to the local residents. The 200 kW x 4-hour (800 kWh) VRB-ESS installation has been integrated with the wind turbines and diesel generators to form a 3-way hybrid system that improves power supply and quality to the community of King Island. The VRB-ESS is used to smooth the short term output variations in the wind generators and the customer loads while providing frequency and voltage control.

Upgrading the vanadium redox battery New electrolyte mix increases energy storage by 70 percent RICHLAND, Wash. – Though considered a promising large-scale energy storage device, the vanadium redox battery's use has been limited by its inability to work well in a wide range of temperatures and its high cost. But new research indicates that modifying the battery's electrolyte solution significantly improves its performance. So much so that the upgraded battery could improve the electric grid's reliability and help connect more wind turbines and solar panels to the grid.

In a paper published by the journal Advanced Energy Materials, researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that adding hydrochloric acid to the sulfuric acid typically used in vanadium batteries increased the batteries' energy storage capacity by 70 percent and expanded the temperature range in which they operate. "Our small adjustments greatly improve the vanadium redox battery," said lead author and PNNL chemist Liyu Li. "And with just a little more work, the battery could potentially increase the use of wind, solar and other renewable power sources across the electric grid." Unlike traditional power, which is generated in a reliable, consistent stream of electricity by controlling how much coal is burned or water is sent through dam turbines, renewable power production depends on uncontrollable natural phenomena such as sunshine and wind. Storing electricity can help smooth out the intermittency of renewable power while also improving the reliability of the electric grid that transmits it. Vanadium batteries can hold on to renewable power until people turn on their lights and run their dishwashers. Other benefits of vanadium batteries include high efficiency and the ability to quickly generate power when it's needed as well as sit idle for long periods of time without losing storage capacity. A vanadium battery is a type of flow battery, meaning it generates power by pumping liquid from external tanks to the battery's central stack, or a chamber where the liquids are mixed. The tanks contain electrolytes, which are liquids that conduct electricity. One tank has the positively-charged vanadium ion V5+ floating in its electrolyte. And the other tank holds an electrolyte full of a different vanadium ion, V2+. When energy is needed, pumps move the ion-saturated electrolyte from both tanks into the stack, where a chemical reaction causes the ions to change their charge, creating electricity. To charge the battery, electricity is sent to the vanadium battery's stack. This causes another reaction that restores the original charge of vanadium ions. The electrical energy is converted into chemical energy stored in the vanadium ions. The electrolytes with their respective ions are pumped back into to their tanks, where they wait until electricity is needed and the cycle is started again. A battery's capacity to generate electricity is limited by how many ions it can pack into the electrolyte. Vanadium batteries traditionally use pure sulfuric acid for their electrolyte. But sulfuric acid can only absorb so many vanadium ions. Another drawback is that sulfuric acid-based vanadium batteries only work between about 50 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 40 Celsius). Below that temperature range, the ion-infused sulfuric acid crystallizes. The larger concern, however, is the battery overheating, which causes an unwanted solid to form and renders the battery useless. To regulate the temperature, air conditioners or circulating cooling water are used, which causes up to 20 percent energy loss and significantly increasing the battery's operating cost, the researchers noted. Wanting to improve the battery's performance, Li and his colleagues began searching for a new electrolyte. They tried a pure hydrochloric acid electrolyte, but found it caused one of the vanadium ions to form an unwanted solid. Next, they experimented with various mixtures of both hydrochloric and sulfuric acids. PNNL scientists found the ideal balance when they mixed 6 parts hydrochloric acid with 2.5 parts sulfuric acid. They verified the electrolyte and ion molecules present in the solution with a nuclear magnetic resonance instrument and the Chinook supercomputer at EMSL, DOE's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at PNNL.

Tests showed that the new electrolyte mixture could hold 70 percent more vanadium ions, making the battery's electricity capacity 70 percent higher. The discovery means that smaller tanks can be used to generate the same amount of power as larger tanks filled with the old electrolyte. And the new mixture allowed the battery to work in both warmer and colder temperatures, between 23 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 to 50 Celsius), greatly reducing the need for costly cooling systems. At room temperature, a battery with the new electrolyte mixture maintained an 87 percent energy efficiency rate for 20 days, which is about the same efficiency of the old solution. The results are promising, but more research is needed, the authors noted. The battery's stack and overall physical structure could be improved to increase power generation and decrease cost. "Vanadium redox batteries have been around for more than 20 years, but their use has been limited by a relatively narrow temperature range," Li said. "Something as simple as adjusting the batteries' electrolyte means they can be used in more places without having to divert power output to regulate heat."

A new catalyst - R2. The addition of M4 powder to the upgraded electrolyte will act as a catalyst to allow additional chemical storage of charge in the vanadium particles. The amount is not yet established but should be a magnitude of 10. The catalyst is a new designer configured nano particle of metal isotopes and isomers. This creates increased potential for storage and reactivity. The precise mechanism is a commercial secret and the subject of several world patents pending. This new product will allow storage tanks of VRB to be reduced in size by 90%, allowing greater applications in Industry. One of the new concepts in this catalyst is micro-crystalline forms that have tripled the surface area of a angular or spherical form of nano size particle. The more surface area the greater the reaction. The sharper the angles of corners and edges of the crystal adds to the availability of atoms to participate in the reaction. The normal planes of crystallization are made to grow micro structures that fill the surfaces with more crystals. Those new smaller surfaces are induced again to grow new smaller crystals and the process is repeated until the structures not only fill the external planes but also invert to fill internal structures. The catalyst now reacts with the vanadium ions and electrolyte in such a way as to replicate itself and regenerate insitu, thus creating a cascade reaction that continues until the vanadium ions are eventually replaced by R2. This catalyst acts like a ‘worm’ virus command in software that takes over the control of the reactions, the R2 replaces the original vanadium with isotopes of itself, until the a critical turn point occurs where the original saturated acid electrolyte becomes highly dense liquid plasma. The plasma state no longer functions as a chemical storage construction but as a primary transitional conduit for free energy to fix itself as matter, partly as an electrical current in the VRB apparatus, and additionally as a magnetic field.

Normal VRB demonstrate that they can recover from more than 100,000 discharge cycles without substantial loss of potential. This limit should be lengthened considerably with the new catalyst electrolyte. In addition to the surface area concept for nano particle catalysts, R2 induces a stronger charge on the electrons that form the Direct and alternating current from the VRB ionic membrane reaction. The latest production vanadium redox batteries achieve an energy density of about 25 Wh/kg of electrolyte. More recent research indicates that the use of precipitation inhibitors can increase the density to about 35 Wh/kg, with even higher densities made possible by controlling the electrolyte temperature. This energy density is quite low as compared to other rechargeable battery types (e.g., lead–acid, 30–40 Wh/kg; and lithium ion, 80–200 Wh/kg). The predicted density for M4 reactions is 500Wh/kg, a dramatic increase in density. This density is achieved through the altered spiral spin of electrons under the influence of R2. In the normal VRB charging mode the reactions are V3+ + e- = V2+ on the negative side of the membrane and V4+ = V5+ + e- on the positive side. These reactions are reversed when the battery delivers electrical power. The open circuit potential across each cell varies from 1.1 volts in the uncharged state to 1.6 volts in the fully charged state. The R2 catalyst increases this differential to 3.0 volts in the charged state with a 90% decrease in volume of electrolyte. The combined acids in the electrolyte act in chorus on the vanadium ions. The sulphuric uses oxygen gas, the hydrochloric uses chlorine gas, and R2 uses a gas/plasma that amplifies the actions of the other gases. The result is a highly reactive cascade of interactions that give higher potential and storage of power.

Vanadium forms stable, concentrated electrolytic solutions in four neighboring oxidation states. The oxidation state of unreacted Vanadium is zero, whereas its fully reacted state is +5. The different states can be clearly identified by changing colors (see picture). Remarkably, Vanadium can have other oxidation values if it is only partially reacted. Oxidation states of vanadium, from left +2 (lilac), +3 (green), +4 (blue) and +5 (yellow).

VRB's are based on the patented vanadium-based redox regenerative fuel cell that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. Redox is the term used to describe electrochemical reactions in which energy is stored in two solutions with electrochemical potentials sufficiently separated from each other to provide an electromotive force to drive the oxidation-reduction reactions. In the VRB energy is stored chemically in different ionic forms of vanadium in a dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte. This creates a current that is collected by electrodes and made available to an external circuit. The reaction is reversible allowing the battery to be charged, discharged and recharged. The cost is quoted in $/kWh (kilowatt hour) or $/MWh ( megawatt hour) since the VRB is an "Energy Storage System" and should not be considered a UPS or even a generator. Although the VRB provides the full UPS capability, its primary use is for energy storage for long periods, which UPS and conventional technologies cannot provide. As an approximate cost, systems are priced between $350-$600 per kWh, sizes ranging from a few hundred kW's to MW size systems. As the size of the system in kWh increases, the cost per unit decreases significantly. For example, a system rated at 100MWh would have an installed cost of about $325 per kWh. The incremental cost of storage for large systems is approximately $150 per kWh through the addition of more cells. This equates to a two year pay back time calculated on saved fuel costs of a diesel generator.

Car batteries. The design for a VRB battery for an electric car requires a small enough system to physically fit into a small car. To be credible the car needs two systems, one to discharge while the other is charging. This requires energy reclaim technology all over the car such as brakes, gearbox and any other moving part that can offer to return energy to the charging VRB. To date none of this is reality and the easier option is to offer fresh electrolyte refueling stations to recharge the VRB. This could be done just as existing petrol stations manage a volatile liquid like petroleum. To dispense dilute acid in the same manner will require a lot of re-education of the public. On balance, the self charging system is more desirable and achievable with highly reactive catalysts. The car could have

an unlimited mileage range and the batteries would outlive the life of the car. This concept is not attractive to oil and auto companies who only make money if you refill the car and replace parts regularly. Consequently the industry will charge an artificially high price for the car at purchase to compensate for the loss of traditional revenue after the sale. This will be a social economic barrier in the first period of time as the publics disposable income shrinks.

The membrane. The original applications of chemical energy potential used in batteries started with Iron and chromium oxides. The problem was cross contamination of the elements through the membrane that generated the current. As a result, the all vanadium battery was designed which allowed for cross contamination. Recently the membrane has been the focus of research which will allow new and varied elements to be used in batteries. One of the popular prospects in Ruthenium, but will be limited because of rarity. The new membranes are combinations of designer plastics that have the pore size designed to order. This will revolutionize the research for the future. A further advance is the total bottom up construction of designer molecules that attract many more electrons than existing elements. This will have the effect of superceding all existing designs and pave the way for super efficient batteries suitable for everyday cars, trucks and ships. This research is still in its infancy so vanadium will be the element of choice for some years to come

Patent protection. Many new chemicals are being protected through placing a deliberate contaminate in the mix, that is unique to the overall fingerprint. This allows any future analysis to establish if the patented chemical has been used in any other application. The unique identifier is not published in a patent or anywhere else. It is held as a commercial secret and only used in law to establish if the patent has been breached. The contaminate is an inert trace substance that has no effect on the performance of the reaction or commercial application. Registered patents only state the existence of the tracer and how the fingerprint is to be analyzed to establish the intellectual property. The resulting match in any future test is evidence of ownership and breach of patent. R2 has such a tracer, and its illegal use will be easy to confirm and prosecute. The product has a logo declaring the protective tracer. Patent lawyers are establishing registers for new products where an interested party can check to see if the product has a listed tracer attached. Process patent protection and counterfeit drugs are among the critical legal issues facing the pharmaceutical industry today. In addition to potential harm to consumers, billions of dollars are lost each year to lost sales and lengthy litigation battles. In recent years, new analytical techniques

have been developed to precisely identify patent infringement and counterfeit products. One such technique known as isotopic characterization was pioneered by Molecular Isotope Technologies, for use in the pharmaceutical industry. Isotopic characterization takes advantage of the highly-specific isotopic ratios in raw materials, synthetic intermediates, and final products and how the isotopic ratios systematically vary during chemical synthesis (their Isotopic Pedigree®). While the ratio of stable isotopes in raw materials varies from source to source, they give a highly-distinctive fingerprint to the origin and identity of the material. Additionally, controlled syntheses and manufacturing process will yield products with predictable isotopic differences . A suspect product with isotopic ratios differing from patented synthetic pathways indicates the likelihood of patent infringement.