A group of Melbourne-based engineers say they are in pole position in the race to develop a cheaper, safe battery that will not end up in landfill.
The team at RMIT University announced on Wednesday a two-year research partnership with Italian automotive component firm Eldor Corporation to accelerate the invention.
"The aim of this collaboration is to scale up the system from the watt to the kilowatt and ultimately to the megawatt scale," lead researcher Professor John Andrews said.
"There are also no end-of-life environmental challenges with a proton battery, since all components and materials can be rejuvenated, reused or recycled," he said.
The proton battery developed over the past five years uses a carbon electrode to store hydrogen that has been split from water, and then works as a hydrogen fuel cell to produce electricity.
The engineers say the rechargeable battery could power homes, vehicles and devices, and has the potential to be very fast charging.
"Our proton battery has much lower losses than conventional hydrogen systems, making it directly comparable to lithium-ion batteries in terms of energy efficiency," said Prof Andrews, from RMIT’s School of Engineering.
He said recent design improvements meant it was becoming competitive as a carbon-neutral alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
As the world shifts to renewable energy to slash carbon emissions, additional energy storage options that are efficient, cheap and have secure supply chains will be in high demand.
"That’s where this proton battery - which is a very equitable and safe technology - could have real value and why we are keen to continue developing it into a viable commercial alternative," Prof Andrews said.
The collaboration with international supplier Eldor to produce a prototype battery is an important step towards commercialisation, including the potential use of the technology in hydrogen supply chains for fuel-cell vehicles.
Progress on the proton battery has been published with Dr Seyed Mohammad Rezaei Niya and Dr Shahin Heidariin in the Journal of Power Sources.