The winners of the 2024 "China Electrotechnical Society Science and Technology Awards" have recently been announced. A total of 155 projects were honored across different award categories (including 2 Grand Prizes, 31 First Prizes, 50 Second Prizes, and 72 Third Prizes), alongside 20 recipients of the Youth Science and Technology Award. Among these, the project led by Professor WANG Kangli , a ICARE Chinese mentor and a professor at the School of Electrical Engineering, titled “New Technology for Large-Capacity Long-Life Liquid Metal Energy Storage Batteries,” received the First Prize for Technological Invention in the 2024 "China Electrotechnical Society Science and Technology Awards".
The China Electrotechnical Society Science and Technology Award is one of the first social force awards approved by the national science and technology rewards administration authority. Hosted and evaluated by the China Electrotechnical Society, this award aims to recognize entities and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to scientific and technological progress in the field of electrical engineering. It is a comprehensive science and technology award targeting the entire nation's electrotechnical industry.
Project Introduction: New Technology for Large-Capacity Long-Life Liquid Metal Energy Storage Batteries
Different Capacity Levels of Liquid Metal Battery Cells
5kW/30kWh Liquid Metal Battery Energy Storage Demonstration System
This project was jointly completed by HUST and Wasion Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The principal contributors include WANG Kangli, Li Haomiao, WANG Wei, Zhou Min, and others.
Energy storage technology is a critical support for efficiently integrating large-scale renewable energy and constructing new types of power systems. The urgent demand for low-cost, long-life, high-safety medium-to-long duration energy storage technologies becomes increasingly prominent as the proportion of renewable energy connected to the grid rises. Among these, electrochemical energy storage stands out for its flexibility and efficiency, rapidly developing into a strategic focus supported by China and a global competition hotspot in emerging industries.
To meet the significant demands of large-scale energy storage applications, the project team, based at the Advanced Electrical Materials and Devices Research Center of the National Key Laboratory of Strong Electromagnetic Engineering Technology, undertook this challenge with strong support from national key R&D programs and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Through close collaboration between university and industry, after more than a decade of relentless effort, the team has broken through traditional electrochemical energy storage principles and architectures, invented new materials and systems for liquid metal storage batteries, and overcame key challenges in interface stability control and long-term service characteristics regulation for large-capacity liquid metal batteries. As a result, they have successfully developed China's first 5kW/30kWh liquid metal battery energy storage demonstration system, achieving technical indicators that lead internationally. This advancement paves the way for the development of liquid metal battery storage technology, providing an important low-cost, long-life, high-safety medium-to-long duration energy storage solution for new power systems.
