With the increasing need to seamlessly integrate renewable energy with the current electricity grid, which itself is evolving into a more intelligent, efficient, and capable electrical power system, it is envisioned that energy‐storage systems will play a more prominent role in bridging the gap between current technology and a clean sustainable future in grid reliability and utilization. Redox flow battery technology is a leading approach in providing a well‐balanced solution for current challenges. Here, recent progress in the research and development of redox flow battery technology, including cell‐level components of electrolytes, electrodes, and membranes, is reviewed. The focus is on new redox chemistries for both aqueous and non‐aqueous systems.

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Employing electrolytes containing Bi(3+), bismuth nanoparticles are synchronously electrodeposited onto the surface of a graphite felt electrode during operation of an all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). The influence of the Bi nanoparticles on the electrochemical performance of the VRFB is thoroughly investigated. It is confirmed that Bi is only present at the negative electrode and facilitates the redox reaction between V(II) and V(III). However, the Bi nanoparticles significantly improve the electrochemical performance of VRFB cells by enhancing the kinetics of the sluggish V(II)/V(III) redox reaction, especially under high power operation. The energy efficiency is increased by 11% at high current density (150 mA·cm(-2)) owing to faster charge transfer as compared with one without Bi. The results suggest that using Bi nanoparticles in place of noble metals offers great promise as high-performance electrodes for VRFB application.

The relationship between electrochemical performance of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRBs) and electrolyte composition is investigated, and the reasons for capacity decay over charge-discharge cycling are analyzed and discussed herein. The results show that the reasons for capacity fading over real charge-discharge cycling include not only the imbalanced vanadium active species, but also the asymmetrical valence of vanadium ions in positive and negative electrolytes. The asymmetrical valence of vanadium ions leads to a state-of-charge (SOC)-range decrease in positive electrolytes and a SOC-range increase in negative electrolytes. As a result, the higher SOC range in negative half-cells further aggravates capacity fading by creating a higher overpotential and possible hydrogen evolution. Based on this finding, we developed two methods for restoring lost capacity, thereby enabling long-term operation of VRBs to be achieved without the substantial loss of energy resulting from periodic total remixing of electrolytes.

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A redox fl ow battery using Fe 2 + /Fe 3 + and V 2 + /V 3 + redox couples in chloric/sulfuric mixed-acid supporting electrolyte is investigated for potential stationary energy storage applications. The Fe/V redox fl ow cell using mixed reactant solutions operates within a voltage window of 0.5-1.35 V with a nearly 100% utilization ratio and demonstrates stable cycling over 100 cycles with energy effi ciency > 80% and no capacity fading at room temperature. A 25% improvement in the discharge energy density of the Fe/V cell is achieved compared with a previously reported Fe/V cell using a pure chloride acid supporting electrolyte. Stable performance is achieved in the temperature range between 0 and 50 ° C as well as when using a microporous separator as the membrane. The improved electrochemical performance makes the Fe/V redox fl ow battery a promising option as a stationary energy storage device to enable renewable integration and stabilization of the electric grid.