Hi everyone, my name is James and I'm an aerospace engineer based out of the central United States. My partner and I have a dream of living on a small farm that is energy-independent and is protected from any future supply chain volatility or disruptions; in my planning, I came across flow batteries and have been learning about iron hybrid flow batteries. Their very high cycle life, cheap components, and DIY-friendly manufacturing (at least compared to traditional lithium batteries) were all strong plus' for me. Nighthawk's videos on producing cheap carbon felt electrode material and Rowow's work on open-source ion exchange membranes have made the most expensive elements of these batteries potentially very affordable.
I'm still coming up-to-speed on the current state of this technology and what challenges are left to be overcome for high current, high voltage cells. Delivering enough electrolyte flow, uniformly through the felt electrode for high current production seems like it's going to be a big one. I'm very excited to see what this group is doing and will be learning a lot from you all!
Cheers!
-James