Device architectures for metal-air batteries

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020411932-A1
Application number	US-202016913877-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 26, 2020
Priority date	Jun 28, 2019
Publication date	Dec 31, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems and methods of the various embodiments may provide device architectures for batteries. In various embodiments, these may be primary or secondary batteries. In various embodiments these devices may be useful for energy storage. Various embodiments may provide a battery including an Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) electrode, an Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) electrode, a metal electrode; and an electrolyte separating the ORR electrode and the OER electrode from the metal electrode.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A battery, comprising:
an Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) electrode; an Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) electrode; a metal electrode; and an electrolyte separating the ORR electrode and the OER electrode from the metal electrode.

2 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode and the OER electrode are portions of the same single air electrode.

3 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode and the OER electrode are separate electrodes.

4 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the ORR electrode is disposed on a surface of the electrolyte and the OER electrode is submerged in the electrolyte.

5 . The battery of claim 4 , further comprising a stackable vessel supporting the ORR electrode, the OER electrode, the metal electrode, and the electrolyte,
wherein the stackable vessel is configured to be self-stacking on other stackable vessels.

6 . The battery of claim 4 , wherein the ORR electrode is wavy or rippled.

7 . The battery of claim 4 , wherein a housing of the battery operates as a current conductor for the metal electrode.

8 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the ORR electrode and the OER electrode are submerged in the electrolyte.

9 . The battery of claim 8 , wherein the ORR electrode is supported in a frame that displaces electrolyte to create a gas volume at a depth below a surface of the electrolyte.

10 . The battery of claim 8 , wherein the ORR electrode comprises a box configuration filled with air.

11 . The battery of claim 8 , wherein the ORR electrode is supplied air.

12 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the ORR electrode is curved.

13 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the ORR electrode is supported in a frame that traps the supplied air in an air chamber bounded by a surface of the ORR electrode.

14 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the ORR electrode is tube shaped.

15 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein:
the ORR electrode is a series of two or more ORR electrodes submerged in the electrolyte; the series of ORR electrodes are arranged vertically above one another in a stack; and the supplied air bubbles move up the stack from each lower ORR electrode to the next higher ORR electrode.

16 . The battery of claim 15 , wherein the ORR electrodes are angled in the stack relative to one another.

17 . The battery of claim 16 , wherein the ORR electrodes include baffles at a higher edge.

18 . The battery of claim 15 , wherein the ORR electrodes include passages therein to allow bubbles to flow upward to the next ORR electrode.

19 . The battery of claim 15 , wherein the stack is aligned vertically.

20 . The battery of claim 15 , wherein the stack is staggered vertically.

21 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein:
the ORR electrode is configured as a cylindrical core surrounded by the metal electrode; and the OER electrode is configured as a hexagonal tube surrounding and containing the metal electrode with the ORR electrode therein.

22 . The battery of claim 21 , wherein the ORR electrode, OER electrode, and metal electrode are configured as one cell of a series of similar cells arranged in the battery as an array of cells.

23 . The battery of claim 22 , wherein the electrolyte is a pool of electrolyte and the array of cells are submerged in the pool of electrolyte.

24 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the metal electrode is configured to change position relative to the ORR electrode and the OER electrode.

25 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the battery includes air flow regulation structures.

26 . The battery of claim 25 , wherein the air flow regulation structures include arrays of ramps configured with holes therein.

27 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein:
the OER electrode is rigid and the ORR electrode is a flexible ORR electrode; and the OER electrode and ORR electrode are electrically separable by the presence or the absence of airflow displacing the flexible ORR electrode.

28 . The battery of claim 1 , further comprising a drain valve in an ORR chamber configured to enable removal of excess electrolyte from the ORR chamber.

29 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode comprises a series of ORR sections, and each section is tuned to a different operating pressure that will be experienced by that section at its depth in the electrolyte.

30 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode is a series of horizontally stacked ORR electrodes and air is flowed through the horizontally stacked ORR electrodes at each individual layer.

31 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode comprises a porous separator.

32 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode is a series of horizontally stacked ORR electrodes, the battery further comprising:
an ORR electrode support system configured to maintain vertical alignment of the stacked horizontal ORR electrodes.

33 . The battery of claim 32 , wherein the ORR electrode support system is a passive hanging control system, an active actuated control system, a passive buoyant control system, or a passive rolling control system.

34 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode is a series of horizontally stacked ORR electrodes spaced at one or more angles.

35 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode is a sealed vertical submerged (SVS) ORR electrode.

36 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the ORR electrode is an unsealed horizontal submerged (UHS) ORR electrode

37 . The battery of claim 36 , wherein the metal electrode is a bed of direct reduced iron pellets.

38 . A bulk energy storage system, comprising:
one or more batteries, wherein at least one of the one or more batteries comprises:
an Oxygen Reduction Reaction (ORR) electrode;
an Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) electrode;
a metal electrode; and
an electrolyte separating the ORR electrode and the OER electrode from the metal electrode.

39 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 38 , wherein the ORR electrode and the OER electrode are portions of the same single air electrode.

40 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 38 , wherein the ORR electrode and the OER electrode are separate electrodes.

41 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 40 , wherein the ORR electrode is disposed on a surface of the electrolyte and the OER electrode is submerged in the electrolyte.

42 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 41 , further comprising a stackable vessel supporting the ORR electrode, the OER electrode, the metal electrode, and the electrolyte,
wherein the stackable vessel is configured to be self-stacking on other stackable vessels.

43 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 41 , wherein the ORR electrode is wavy or rippled.

44 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 41 , wherein a housing of the battery operates as a current conductor for the metal electrode.

45 . The bulk energy storage system of claim 40 , wherein the ORR electrode and the OER electrode are submerged in the electrolyte.

Assignees

• Form Energy Inc

Inventors

• Weber Eric
• Westwood Mitchell Terrance
• Mumma Rachel Elizabeth
• Slocum Alexander H
• Su Liang
• Milshtein Jarrod David
• Woodford William Henry
• Chiang Yet-Ming
• Jaramillo Mateo Cristian
• Mckay Ian Salmon
• Brushett Fikile
• Benschoten Helen Van
• Gilbert Tristan
• Perkins Nicholas Reed
• Pantano Joseph Anthony
• Smith Weston
• Carlisle Kristen
• Caruso Isabella
• Hultman Benjamin Thomas
• Thompson Annelise Christine
• Smith Danielle
• Tarasov Vladimir
• Hartman Katherine
• Liotta Andrew Haynes
• Talu Onur
• Goulet Marc-Antoni
• Chakraborty Rupak
• Wehner Florian
• Mileson Bradley
• Rousseau Alexandra

Classifications

• H01M2250/10

  Fuel cells in stationary systems, e.g. emergency power source in plant · CPC title

• H01M12/08 Primary

  composed of a half-cell of a fuel-cell type and a half-cell of the secondary-cell type · CPC title

• H01M12/02 Primary

  Details (of electrodes H01M4/00; of non-active parts H01M50/00) · CPC title

• H01M4/8647

  consisting of more than one material, e.g. consisting of composites · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title