A Marlborough, Massachusetts, startup has made an organic flow battery that can rival lithium-ion packs for grid-level storage, according to TechCrunch.

The innovation provides for a variety of perks, including a “capital cost [that] should be ultra low,” XL Batteries co-founder Tom Sisto said.

At issue is an energy storage unit concept that has been around for centuries without a game-changing breakthrough. XL may have changed that, touting improvement through better, cheaper organic materials. Past iterations have used corrosive substances and costly parts. They are also heavy, limiting applications, TechCrunch reported.

Flow batteries consist of a pipe network, two fluid holding tanks, and pumps, which transfer the liquids past a membrane. One side serves as the cathode, and the other side as the anode, just like in common batteries. The setups, different from other packs in part because of the pumped liquid structure, can provide high power and long duration by converting chemical energy into electrical energy, all per TechCrunch and ScienceDirect.

Organic substances address the corrosive problem, but the electron-abundant molecules tend to break apart quickly. Some even require refrigeration, the story added. XL’s product uses molecules that hold up better, though it’s still a bulky system built for stationary use.

Sisto’s discovery started during research at Columbia University when he found a durable organic molecule that could sustainably be packed with electrons and stabilized in a pH-neutral water, according to TechCrunch.

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From there, XL was born. The company’s packs are sent in a shipping container, which includes all the parts. The bigger the tank, the more capacity the battery provides. More shipping containers improves charge-discharge speeds, the report added.

“We believe the project-level economics of this are very compelling,” Sisto said.

The company website added that the product garnered a nearly 100% electrochemical efficiency. It’s also safe and scalable, forecast to last for two decades. If commercialized, storage sites could power tens of thousands of homes or more, depending on the tank sizes, according to TechCrunch.

The development is crucial for efforts to store renewable energy. Lithium-ion batteries, such as Tesla’s Megapacks, are often used to hold intermittent electricity made by the wind and sun. But they require expensive materials that need to be mined and sourced from foreign markets.

U.S. government experts are working on flow packs, too, focusing on size reduction. Work at Montréal’s Concordia University is geared to improve the systems, as well.

For its part, XL is working on a demonstration unit and is seeking power producer partners to use its tech for grid support. Texas is a prime location, per TechCrunch.

“The commercial design is significantly done,” Sisto said about the schematic progress.

Storing cleaner energy is vital to reducing heat-trapping air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, which produces fumes linked by NASA to increased risks for extreme weather. The added grid support is also important for blackout protection as growing data center power demand and utility line-dropping storms are contributing to greater strain.

It’s part of a shift that will provide more planet-friendly electricity to homes, with options including community solar becoming more common. Those programs provide cleaner solar energy without the need for a rooftop setup, saving you cash on your energy bill. A quick hack to implement is to unplug your unused chargers and devices when they are idle. The simple move can save you more than a hundred bucks a year.

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