Level 1 - Absolute Beginner

Scientists at the University of Waterloo made a new kind of battery part. The leader of the team is Dr. Maxime van der Heijden.

They used a 3D printer to make the part. They copied shapes and patterns from nature.

This kind of battery is called a flow battery. It can store energy from the sun and the wind.

The new design worked very well. It made the battery 52 percent better than old designs.

battery

a device that stores energy so it can be used later

engineer

a person who designs and builds machines or systems

3D printer

a machine that builds solid objects layer by layer from a digital design

pattern

a shape or design that repeats in a regular way

store

to keep something for use later

solar power

energy that comes from sunlight

wind power

energy that comes from moving air

design

a plan or shape made to do a certain job

Level 2 - Elementary

Researchers at the University of Waterloo, led by chemical engineering professor Dr. Maxime van der Heijden, have developed a new kind of electrode for a technology called a redox flow battery.

Redox flow batteries are used to store large amounts of renewable energy, such as power from the sun and wind, for later use, for example at night or on a day with no wind. Instead of storing energy in a solid part like a normal battery, they store it in liquids that are pumped through the battery to charge and discharge it.

The team used advanced 3D printing to build electrodes with complex shapes copied from patterns found in nature. These shapes were designed to help the battery liquids flow better and to help the chemical reactions inside the battery happen more efficiently.

Their best design was based on a shape called a diamond geometry. In tests, it increased the battery's performance by 52 percent compared to older, more ordinary designs. The findings were published in the Journal of Energy Storage.

electrode

a part of a battery that helps carry electric current

redox flow battery

a battery that stores energy in liquids pumped through a cell

renewable energy

energy from sources that do not run out, like sun and wind

efficient

able to work well without wasting time or resources

geometry

the shape and arrangement of something

charge

to fill a battery with energy

discharge

to release stored energy from a battery

publish

to make research results available for others to read

Level 3 - Intermediate

A research team at the University of Waterloo, led by chemical engineering professor Dr. Maxime van der Heijden, has developed a nature-inspired, 3D-printed electrode intended to improve the performance of redox flow batteries, an emerging technology for large-scale renewable energy storage.

Redox flow batteries store energy in liquid electrolytes held in external tanks, which are pumped through a cell to charge and discharge, rather than storing energy in a solid electrode the way a typical lithium-ion battery does. This design makes them well suited to storing large amounts of solar and wind power for use when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.

The Waterloo team used advanced 3D printing to build electrode structures based on complex geometries found in nature, aiming to improve how the battery liquids flow and how efficiently the chemical reactions that store and release energy take place inside the cell. Their best performing design, based on a diamond geometry known as a triply periodic minimal surface structure, increased battery performance by 52 percent compared to conventional designs.

Many redox flow batteries, including vanadium redox batteries, a common type, use water based electrolytes rather than the flammable materials found in lithium-ion batteries, which can make them a safer option for large, stationary energy storage. The findings were published in the Journal of Energy Storage under the title 'Enhancing Mass Transport in Redox Flow Batteries with 3D-Printed Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Electrode Structures.'

emerging technology

a new technology that is still developing and gaining wider use

electrolyte

a liquid or substance that allows electric current to flow through it

stationary

staying in one place, not moving

mass transport

the movement of a substance, such as a liquid, from one place to another

flammable

able to catch fire easily

conventional

traditional or ordinary, following the usual way of doing something

vanadium

a metal used in certain types of flow batteries

minimal surface

a curved, mathematically defined surface shape that repeats in a regular pattern

Level 4 - Advanced

A team at the University of Waterloo, led by chemical engineering professor Dr. Maxime van der Heijden, has developed a nature-inspired, 3D-printed electrode designed to improve the performance of redox flow batteries, an emerging technology for large-scale renewable energy storage that is increasingly seen as central to managing the intermittency of solar and wind power.

Unlike a typical lithium-ion battery, which stores energy in a solid electrode, a redox flow battery holds its energy in liquid electrolytes contained in external tanks, pumped through a cell to charge and discharge on demand. That architecture allows storage capacity to be scaled up simply by enlarging the tanks, making the technology attractive for grid-scale applications where a solar or wind installation needs to bank power generated at midday or in a stiff breeze for release hours, or longer, later.

The Waterloo group used advanced 3D printing to fabricate electrode structures based on complex geometries observed in nature, with the explicit aim of improving mass transport, how efficiently the battery liquids flow through the cell, and correspondingly improving the efficiency of the electrochemical reactions that store and release energy. Their best performing configuration, built around a diamond geometry classified as a triply periodic minimal surface structure, increased battery performance by 52 percent relative to conventional electrode designs, a substantial margin for a component-level change rather than a wholesale redesign of the chemistry involved.

Many redox flow batteries, including vanadium redox systems, a widely deployed variant of the technology, rely on water based electrolytes rather than the flammable organic solvents found in lithium-ion cells, a distinction that can make them a comparatively safer choice for large, stationary installations sited near homes or businesses. The research was published in the Journal of Energy Storage under the title 'Enhancing Mass Transport in Redox Flow Batteries with 3D-Printed Triply Periodic Minimal Surface Electrode Structures,' adding to a growing body of work suggesting that borrowing structural principles from biology, rather than inventing them from scratch, may be one of the more efficient paths toward the next generation of grid storage hardware.

intermittency

the quality of stopping and starting, not being continuous, as with solar or wind power

architecture

the overall design or structure of a system

grid-scale

large enough to serve an electricity grid rather than a single device or home

fabricate

to manufacture or construct something, often using a specific process

electrochemical

relating to chemical reactions that produce or use electricity

configuration

the particular arrangement or setup of the parts of something