Next-generation large-scale energy storage system promises ultra-low cost and record lifespan
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenChao Kongin BeijingPublished: 11:59am, 27 Apr 2026Updated: 12:00pm, 27 Apr 2026Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in “all-iron flow battery” technology that could sharply reduce the cost of storing renewable energy while significantly extending battery lifespan.Lithium costs over 80 times more than iron as a raw industrial material at present. An iron battery may offer a potential solution to one of the biggest bottlenecks in the global energy transition, according to the researchers.
This is a record performance for the field. The findings were published online by the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
“It offers a low-cost, long-life solution for large-scale energy storage,” the institute said in a press release on April 16.
The global energy transition faces a critical bottleneck in storing intermittent power from solar and wind farms at a scale sufficient to stabilise the grid.
