Advanced Materials, Sustainable Energy
Carbon Felts Derived from Pitch for Use in Enhanced Energy Storage
Inventors: Dr. Mark Roberts, Dr. Amod Ogale, Dr. Abena Williams
Market Overview
Energy based on renewable resources is often not continuous and relies heavily on Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES). One option for commercial LDES is the use of redox flow batteries (RFBs). Current RFBs rely on polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fiber mats, that suffer from high cost and low carbon yield. The RFB market in North America was valued at $82.2 M in 2023 and is expected to reach $274.8 M in 2029, with a CAGR of 22.4%. Clemson University researchers have developed a process for making non-woven carbon fiber mats based on a low-cost recursor of petroleum pitch. Their pitch-based mat maintains high power efficiency of PAN fibers at ~140 mW cm-2 while decreasing the overall cost from $15/lb for PAN fibers to less than $3/lb for the pitch-based fibers.
Applications:
Alternative carbon fiber mats can be used for long time energy storage
Technical Summary:
The invention is a non-woven, conductive carbon fiber felt electrode derived from mesophase petroleum pitch for electrochemical applications. Power is retained by flowing redox metal species over the carbon fiber mat that acts as the electrode. The low-cost precursor and simple, scalable process, based on a melt-blowing process, allows for tunable dimensions and surface areas to increase conductivity and electrochemical activity. Additionally, the process for pitch-based carbon mats has a high carbon yield of ~80% while the current PAN-based fibers only achieve a carbon yield of 40%. This high carbon yield also increases the overall thermal and electrical conductivity.
Advantages:
• Cost Benefit: Replaces high-cost precursors ($15/lb) with low-cost pitch (<$3/lb)
• Scalability: Supports a melt-blowing production process that is capable of simple scaling
• Customizability: Further surface treatment of the non-woven carbon fibers with redox active species can lead to additional conductivity enhancements
Technology Overview
State of Development
Proof of Concept/Prototype
Category
CURF Reference No.
2024-015
Inventors
Dr. Mark Roberts, Dr. Amod Ogale, Dr. Abena Williams
For More Info, Contact:
Mark A. Roth
Senior Business Development Associate
E: mroth3@clemson.edu
P: (864) 656-0797
Contact
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