Revolutionising clean energy storage and carbon capture in one “breathing” battery

Imagine a battery that’s not just storing clean energy – but powering us towards a carbon-neutral future. The best part? That future is already here.

In his quest to develop a novel flow battery that combines renewable energy storage and carbon capture, AIBN’s Associate Professor Bin Luo is tackling two of the biggest challenges for industry – reducing carbon emissions and embracing renewable technologies.

Dr Luo is developing advanced flow batteries, rechargeable batteries where energy is stored in liquid electrolytes as an alternative to solid electrodes. The batteries have been coined “breathing batteries” due to their uptake of carbon dioxide which is converted into usable products via electrochemical reactions.

Batteries and sustainability

Dr Luo’s team focuses on the design of functional materials, working on their micro-structures and interfaces, to make next generation batteries that are cost-effective, energy efficient and durable.

“At AIBN, we have full access to facilities, including the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM), the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF-Q), to design electrocatalysts and innovative flow battery systems to improve energy efficiency and stability,” said Dr Luo.

Battery research is moving towards tackling more sustainable solutions. Redox flow and sodium batteries hold great promise in meeting these emerging needs.

“We are now designing batteries that can be reused, recycled, or made from renewable or abundant elements, like zinc and sodium, and focusing on batteries that can store large amounts of energy for long periods of time which can integrate with renewable energy production.”

“And our overarching goal is environmentally responsible manufacturing so we can reduce the environmental footprint of battery production.”

Collaborating with China

Dr Luo’s research project has been recognised by the Queensland Government, recently receiving $125,000 from the Queensland-Chinese Academy of Sciences Collaborative Science Fund.

The Fund fosters collaboration between Queensland and Chinese institutions to tackle significant challenges in environmental sciences, agricultural biotechnology, food research, and human health.

“This project has the potential to contribute meaningfully to Queensland’s and China’s carbon goals, while also opening new opportunities for manufacturing industries,” said Dr Luo.

He has partnered with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop hybrid zinc-CO₂ batteries, which have a zinc metal anode and cathode, an aqueous electrolyte environment and the ability to use CO₂ as a resource.

“This collaboration strengthens our efforts in advancing this technology by leveraging our expertise in flow battery design and electrochemical systems and fostering innovation across both teams,” he said.

“I look forward to combining our complementary expertise to allow us to make significant progress in developing advanced energy and carbon capture technologies.”

“Together, we aim to develop scalable, sustainable technologies for energy storage and carbon conversion that address global environmental and industrial challenges.”

Essential testing with industry partners

Dr Luo has established collaborations with Australian-based battery industry partners, including Energy Storage Industries-Asia Pacific, Livium Ltd, Graphinex, Pure Battery Technologies and Australian Technology Energy Systems Pty Ltd (formerly Redflow), which are progressing well.

“These partnerships are essential for translating our research into tangible outcomes for the clean energy sector,” said Dr Luo.

“Together we can use real operating conditions to develop manufacturing capabilities and validate key components.”

Flow batteries are cheaper to make, safer and more adaptable than lithium batteries, making them better suited for scaling up to industrial-sized energy storage applications. For example, the capacity can be increased by using larger tanks of electrolytes.