Can flow batteries be optimized to be fed low voltage and high current (such as from a homopolar generator, and then feed a local consumer power grid)?
1 Answer
In any battery (flow or not) (pedantically: any electrochemical cell), current can always be increased by making the battery bigger, but voltage is set based on which chemical reaction you are using. Most reactions output just a few volts, which is very low from a power grid perspective - I assume you don't want to go any lower than that. Typically, multiple smaller cells are connected in series to form a battery with a higher voltage; if you use just one big cell, you have a low voltage and high current.