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THE TEAMThe study, which was published in Flow:The research was led by
THE INNOVATIONApplications of Fluid Mechanics (Cambridge Assoc. Prof. Amir Gat,
University Press), focuses on improving energy Assoc. Prof. Matthew
storage capabilities by combining aspects of Assoc. Prof. Amir Gat Suss and PhD student
fluid mechanics and electrochemistry. “This is a Assoc. Prof. Matthew Suss Sofi Kuperman.
unique combination, as most research in the field Sofi Kuperman Assoc. Prof. Amir Gat
focuses only on the chemical composition of the is a researcher who studies
fluids,” explains Gat. In an effort to simplify the flow and elasticity. He has
battery’s complexity and thus reduce energy storage been a member of the faculty
costs, the researchers developed a flow battery with no since 2021. He completed
membrane (which is the expensive part of the battery). his PhD in the Faculty of
To this end, explains Gat, it is essential to understand Aerospace Engineering at the
the processes that occur within such batteries. Technion and his post-doc
One of the notable results of the research is developing at the California Institute of
and proving the ability to create a new design for Technology (Caltech).
flow batteries, one that offers significantly improved Assoc. Prof. Matthew Suss
capabilities compared with standard flow batteries. researches flow batteries
Normal flow batteries have a primary flow channel. In and desalination facilities.
the current study, the researchers added a secondary He completed his PhD at
flow channel to the battery that is separated from Stanford University and his
the main channel by a perforated electrode, which post-doc at MIT. He joined
enables the flow to move between the channels. “The the Faculty of Mechanical
secondary channel causes a flow to form from the main Engineering in 2013.
channel towards the electrode, and thereby increases Sofi Kuperman did her BSc
the number of interactions (the rate of battery in the framework of the
discharge), resulting in a 350% faster energy discharge “Brakim” excellence program,
rate compared to the classic design of flow batteries,” and completed her MSc cum
says Gat. laude. She received the Miles
Another study from the two groups focuses on the B. Rubin Award for excellence
fact that in a flow battery, reactive particles on the in graduate studies and was
flow must reach the electrode at the bottom of the recognized by the IDF for
battery and interact with it without reaching the upper scientific excellence during
electrode. “We decided to leverage gravity and use her army service. She is
one fluid that is heavier than the other and sinks to the currently a PhD student in
bottom of the battery,” explains Gat. “The challenge is Prof. Amir Gat’s research
that this requires a sufficient quantity of the material group. As part of her studies,
that sinks; but since this material has low conductivity, she was awarded the Jacobs
as it accumulates at the bottom of the battery, it Scholarship for graduate
effectively harms the battery’s conductivity. In the studies at the Technion
study we managed to make the connection between
the flow in the battery and the manner that the material Faculty of Mechanical Engineering | MEgazine | 15
accumulates on its bottom layer, which allowed us to
understand the effect on the battery’s conductivity – in
other words, on its ability to discharge energy. Using
the analytical model we developed, we can find the
optimal state for operating any battery – something
that until now required multiple experiments for each
battery separately, and usually wasn’t done in practice.
“The theory we developed allows us to build better
batteries and brings us closer to the goal of creating
flow batteries that facilitate inexpensive and efficient
large-scale energy storage, reducing the carbon
footprint associated with emissions from burning fuels
to create energy.”