Arotech Corporation’s Power Systems Division has received the support of the Israel Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) for its Grid Storage Flow Battery Program. The non-dilutive OCS funding is for $750,000 and is intended to cover thirty percent of the first year's budget.
The Iron/Iron flow battery is intended to create an affordable technology that delivers a reliable on-demand supply of stored energy that accommodates the highly variable nature of renewable energy sources, acts as a back-up during power disruptions and also as a load-leveler for conventional power sources balancing between supply and demand. The resultant product is expected to be safe, have a long operating life and a low system cost versus competing technologies at below $250/kWh, due to its use of Iron, an abundant element.
"The program approval and financial support of the OCS is a solid endorsement from the highest levels for our novel Iron/Iron flow battery concept," commented Arotech's President and Chief Executive Officer, Steven Esses. "We have made great progress in our development since we initiated this program a year ago, and we are optimistic that this technology can be a key enabler for renewable energy. While we still have a number of years of development ahead, we very much believe that we are creating a game changing technology for the power generation markets, with massive potential."
Ronen Badichi, President of the Power Systems Division - Europe and Asia, commented: "Our development plans are progressing well and we continue to meet our interim development goals. We recently increased the energy density towards our end-target levels, while improving the overall efficiency of our technology. With the added support of the Chief Scientist in Israel, we are on track to demonstrating a full working lab model in the coming several months."