A New Type of Liquid Flow Battery with Ultra-Long Discharge Time

Honeywell has introduced liquid flow battery technology that stores wind and solar energy to meet the demand for sustainable energy storage. Using a safe, non-flammable electrolyte, this new flow battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy to store energy for subsequent use while meeting utilities' environmental, durability and safety goals.

Honeywell's new technology provides utilities with greater flexibility and longer energy storage durability. The battery stores energy for use when wind and solar power are not available, when there are power outages and when the grid is fully loaded. It stores and discharges for up to 12 hours, far exceeding the discharge time of lithium batteries, which is only four hours. The battery is designed with recyclable components that will not degrade over time, maintaining reliable system performance for up to 20 consecutive years in a cost-effective manner.

The flow battery technology will be tested by Duke Energy at its Emerging Technology and Innovation Center in Mount Holly, North Carolina. The company has more than a decade of experience testing a variety of battery chemistries and has deployed several large-scale energy storage projects across the United States.

Project Plans

Honeywell plans to deliver a battery unit with a capacity of 400 kWh to Duke Energy's site in Mount Holly in 2022. When deployed on a large scale, these batteries will enable Duke Energy to better utilize solar and wind energy while reducing the use of coal-fired power plants. These renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly cost-competitive compared to traditional fossil fuels. Honeywell plans to deploy a 60 MWh utility-scale pilot project beginning in 2023.

Honeywell's innovative energy storage technology based on liquid flow batteries meets a looming energy storage need that cannot be addressed by current technologies in the marketplace. As utilities and businesses continue to seek cost-effective, long-term energy storage solutions to replace coal-fired power plants, the adoption of 24/7 renewable energy sources to reduce carbon emissions is a key focus. By partnering with Duke Energy, we are able to deploy this innovative energy storage technology at scale, bringing breakthrough flow batteries to market to meet the growing demand for energy storage and help organizations meet their carbon neutrality goals.

--Ben Owens, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions

Ben Owens, Vice President and General Manager

Duke Energy has been looking at flow battery technology for many years and is therefore interested in the technological breakthroughs Honeywell has made. Our Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center is an ideal testing ground for researching this technology. Over the next five years, Duke Energy plans to install approximately 400 megawatts of battery storage capacity in its service territory.

--Duke Energy Smart Grid

Director of Emerging Technologies and Operations

Tom Fenimore

Honeywell Flow Battery can also be combined with Experion PKS, Honeywell's integrated system for process, business and asset management, and Connected Factory, an enterprise performance management solution, to enable remote monitoring.

The combination of this technology and renewable energy is expected to provide utilities and independent power producers with a complete, integrated energy storage solution to help achieve net-zero emissions goals. The complete system will also make Honeywell one of the first providers of vertically integrated, end-to-end energy storage solutions from battery manufacturing to integration, controls, energy management systems and performance contracting.