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China's 'iron flow battery' can make renewable energy storage cheaper
27 Apr 2026

Chinese scientists have developed a revolutionary "all-iron flow battery" technology, which could drastically reduce the cost of renewable energy storage.

The new battery also promises to significantly extend battery lifespan.

The research was conducted by a team from the Institute of Metal Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and published in Advanced Energy Materials.

It could solve global energy transition challenge
Breakthrough

The researchers believe that an iron battery could solve one of the biggest challenges in the global energy transition. This is mainly due to its low cost and long lifespan.

Notably, lithium now costs over 80 times more than iron as a raw industrial material today.

The new technology may help store intermittent power from solar and wind farms at a scale sufficient to stabilize the grid.

Breakthrough in stable electrolyte development
Innovation

The team's breakthrough was the development of a highly stable electrolyte that can withstand thousands of charge-discharge cycles with almost no capacity loss.

This is an unprecedented achievement in the field, marking a major step forward in energy storage technology.

The institute described it as "a low-cost, long-life solution for large-scale energy storage," highlighting its potential impact on renewable energy systems worldwide.