The Chemours Co. (Wilmington, Del.; www.chemours.com) announced a strategic partnership with UniEnergy Technology LLC (UET), a redox flow battery (RFB) manufacturer headquartered in Mukilteo, Washington. With their long run time, maintaining full storage capacity over 20 years, scalability and improved safety profile, flow batteries provide a competitive, long-term energy storage solution.
There is increasing demand for renewable energy from utilities, end users and governments around the world – a demand to provide reliable distributed power without emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. However, the greatest barrier to widespread adoption of renewable energy has been a long-duration, flexible and scalable way to store this energy to ensure intermittent renewable resources work directly for consumers and utilities when the sun doesn’t shine, and the wind doesn’t blow. Chemours believes flow batteries are the answer to this barrier. UET’s unique redox flow battery is based on a new, third generation, patented electrolyte developed at Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) under the support of the US DOE OE Energy Storage Program.
This strategic partnership will consist of an investment in UET as well as a longterm and exclusive supply agreement for Nafion ion-exchange membranes. The strategic partnership with UET will enable Chemours to further develop and optimize the Nafion product offering as the industry standard for applications in energy storage, as well as, ultimately raise the competitiveness and accelerate the adoption of flow batteries in the marketplace.
The energy market is a key growth area for Chemours Fluoroproducts business. As smart grids develop and energy storage needs increase, the use of fluoropolymers in renewable energy generation and storage applications is expected to grow approximately 20 percent annually over the next ten years.
“A major component of our growth strategy is shifting from a product orientation to a more market orientation,” said Paul Kirsch, president of Chemours Fluoroproducts business. “We believe this strategic partnership allows us to be at the forefront of this new energy storage technology and provides us greater insight into the needs of this emerging market from the end user perspective,” he added.
“Chemours is establishing itself as a new kind of chemistry company, and I believe this partnership is another example,” said Mark Vergnano, CEO of Chemours. “The partnership aligns well with our recently announced Corporate Responsibility Commitments by not only enabling the competitiveness and proliferation of renewable energy but doing so with Chemours unique membrane technology that works together with a fully recyclable electrolyte,” he added.