The MemFlow project - covering co-development of cellulose based, PFAS-free membranes and Rivus' organic flow battery electrolytes - is completed!
Together with Cellfion and RISE, with funding from The Swedish Energy Agency, we’ve worked to validate a path toward large-scale energy storage using non-PFAS, cellulose based membranes and metal-free, organic electrolytes for flow batteries.
Here’s what the project entailed:
• Cellfion developed and optimized a PFAS-free membrane, targeting high ionic selectivity with minimal crossover
• Rivus validated the membrane in our aqueous organic flow battery setup through extensive lab testing and cycling
• RISE conducted Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) comparing the membrane and system impacts to incumbent alternatives
And here are the key results:
✓ ~87% permselectivity with negligible crossover (PFAS-free membrane)
✓ 96.4% capacity retention after 300 cycles and coulombic efficiency ≥99.9% in cell validation
✓ Up to 88% lower GHG impact vs. commercial membrane (822 → 99 kg CO₂-eq in the assessed case)
✓ ~80% lower GHG impact of Rivus’ organic electrolytes with Cellfion’s cellulose based membranes in commercial flow battery hardware vs. vanadium flow batteries with commercial membrane at system level (1.6 vs 8.3 kg CO₂-eq/MWh. Assumption-dependent, but still highly encouraging).
The next step for the technologies is commercial and industrial deployment, where Cellfion has recently secured a 54 MSEK grant from the Swedish Energy Agency to establish an industrial roll-to-roll production line in Stockholm. In parallel, Rivus has been awarded new grant funded projects from Vinnova and the Swedish Energy Agency - in collaboration with partners including RISE, Uppsala University, and Compular - covering electrolyte R&D, process optimization and industrialization, and preparation for commercial scale-up.
Thank you Cellfion and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden for a great partnership, and The Swedish Energy Agency for the continued support!
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