RFC Power, a spin-out from Imperial College London, has been developing a manganese flow battery, with the support from ShellGameChanger RFC’s long-duration storage technology has potential to contribute to the flexibility required by a low-carbon energy system, enabling the increased utilisation of locally generated renewable energy and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The next phase of the RFC- Shell GameChanger collaboration builds upon the successful demonstration of RFC’s technology in real-world conditions and will focus on validating the low-cost potential of the manganese flow battery at grid scale.
“We are keen to continue the collaboration with RFC Power and are excited to see what the next phase will bring. Open innovation is important to accelerate decarbonization. Fast-track to decarbonization requires radical ideas, novel technologies and startups and entrepreneurs play a key role in this journey. They bring a different mindset and fresh perspectives to the net-zero challenge. Our programme helps startups to de-risk, scale and accelerate their development,” says Akilah LeBlanc, General Manager Commercial Innovation Partnerships in Shell.
Tim von Werne, CEO of RFC Power, commented: “We are very excited to announce this collaboration and continued support from Shell GameChanger, which comes as further validation of the unique technology we have developed at RFC Power. We have been working closely with experts from Shell over the last couple of years and are pleased to build on this productive relationship. The demand for safe, reliable long-duration storage is growing. Combining Shell’s expertise, global reach and financial support with RFC’s innovative energy storage technology makes the difference.”
RFC Power is pleased to announce that it has been selected to collaborate with Ørsted on a pilot study following completion of the Ørsted Propel acceleration programme.
Ørsted has announced that it will partner with four ventures from the Ørsted Propel acceleration programme. Ørsted and Rockstart teamed up and launched Ørsted Propel in 2023 to accelerate startups with the potential to revolutionize the energy sector as part of Ørsted’s new Innovation Hub in the Netherlands.
Eight ventures from +150 applications participated in this unique open innovation programme. Four of the eight ventures will continue to collaborate closely with Ørsted. The aim of these collaborations is to support the ventures in reducing technological and market risks to accelerate market adoption of their solutions for commercial-scale implementation. The four ventures are phelas, RFC Power, suena, and Geyser Batteries.
With RFC Power, the feasibility of their unique flow battery that charges from inexpensive and scalable materials of hydrogen and manganese will be explored. The intent is to conduct a pilot study to prove viability and drive towards containerised, commercial-scale implementation.
RFC Power, a spin-out from Imperial College London, is developing a new class of low-cost hybrid gas-liquid flow battery chemistry. The patented hydrogen-manganese battery is a disruptive technology in long duration storage, a critical technology area for the energy transition, enabling the increased utilisation of locally generated renewable energy and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen, green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. In the Netherlands, Ørsted has built and operates the Borssele 1&2 offshore wind farm. By accelerating technologies crucial to integrating renewable generation into the energy system, Ørsted continues its active role in enabling a world running entirely on green energy.
Rockstart, a global early-stage VC-accelerator, has a track record in the energy sector since 2014 and has also raised the Rockstart Energy fund from which it has invested in 34 startups from seven European countries since its launch in October 2020. Rockstart has run over 40 programmes dedicated to startups innovating in tech, energy, and agrifood since its founding in 2012. To date, Rockstart has leveraged an international ecosystem of investors, mentors, experts, and corporate partners to support over 310 startups that have raised more than €210m of funding.
London, [02/03/2023] – RFC Power is developing the world’s lowest cost flow battery, a disruptive grid scale energy storage solution to the intermittency challenges arising from the increased use of renewable energy. Following an initial agreement in 2021 to develop and validate RFC Power’s core flow battery technology, Ceres has now increased its investment in RFC Power and has an option to acquire the outstanding share capital of the company in 2024.
RFC Power’s rechargeable redox flow battery – a hybrid between a fuel cell and a battery – stores energy highly efficiently at high energy density using a patented hydrogen manganese chemistry with core materials that are abundant, inexpensive and non-toxic. After achieving impressive milestones in 2022, including 1kW of continuous discharge power, RFC Power is gearing up to demonstrate a complete system and to accelerate the technology to a commercial scale.
Long duration energy storage (LDES) is an essential requirement for the transition to a zero-carbon future. LDES technologies smooth the peaks and troughs of intermittent renewable energy supply and fluctuating demand enabling reliable zero carbon electricity supply – releasing solar power at night, or storing wind power for a up to a month. The Long Duration Energy Storage Council estimates that the world’s electricity grids will need to deploy 85-140 TWh of long duration energy storage by 2040 with a market potential of USD 1.5 to 3 trillion.
Mark Selby, Chief Innovation Officer of Ceres and a Director of RFC Power commented: “RFC offers a long duration, high energy density, and high efficiency grid scale battery technology using inexpensive and readily available materials. In the 15 months we have been working together, I have strong conviction in the technology and am extremely excited to see what our future partnership holds.”
Tim von Werne, Chief Executive of RFC Power added: “In 2022 we successfully demonstrated more than 1kW of continuous discharge power and we are confident of hitting further milestones in 2023 with the support of Mark and the Ceres team. Energy storage has an essential role in the transition to a low carbon energy system, and our partnership with Ceres brings much needed engineering and commercial expertise to bridge from technology development to market scale.”
RFC Power, a spin-out from Imperial College London, is developing a new class of low-cost hybrid gas-liquid flow battery chemistry. The patented hydrogen-manganese battery is a disruptive technology in long duration storage, a critical technology area for the energy transition, enabling the increased utilisation of locally generated renewable energy and reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels.
Shell’s GameChanger programme works with start-ups, such as RFC Power, on early-stage technologies that have the potential to impact the future of energy. Shell GameChanger’s support isn’t limited to funding. The GameChanger programme will connect RFC Power to relevant experts from across Shell to help with de-risking critical aspects of their technology,
“Our programme aims to help companies accelerate potentially disruptive technologies to market. Innovations like this are very relevant for both the Energy Transition and for Shell”, says Akilah LeBlanc, General Manager Commercial Innovation Partnerships of Shell. “RFC Power showed a good fit with the four criteria against which we assess companies: novelty, potential value, fit with Shell and the start-ups’ capabilities to make the difference. We were keen to pursue a collaboration with RFC Power and are now excited to see that being started.”
Tim von Werne, CEO of RFC Power, commented: “We are very excited to announce this collaboration and support from Shell, which comes as further validation of the core technology we have developed at RFC Power. Every year the demand for safe, reliable long duration storage is growing. We believe that RFC Power can achieve a sustainable competitive advantage thanks to its highly distinctive patent-protected technology and deliver the long duration storage required to support the energy transition.”
