An environmentally friendly system for storing energy using the rhubarb plant.

Renewable energies are in themselves subject to periods in which they cannot generate constant energy and for this reason they would need new storage technologies that can compensate for periods in which little or no production is produced.

The wind, the sun and the water itself are subject, for meteorological reasons, to periods in which there are drops in performance in the generation of electricity. This is due to the absence of wind, persistent clouds or due to peaks in energy demand or lack of water, which is often repeated for the decrease in rainfall.

Scientists have long been studying the possibility of bridging this drop in energy production with new batteries that can continue to feed clean energy to the community.

The latest studies are directed towards flow batteries , which are rechargeable and composed of electrolytes containing dissolved electro-active substances that pass from electrochemical cells transforming chemical energy into electrical energy.

The purpose of this research is to find an alternative to lithium-ion batteries that use expensive metals, which are now the object of trade wars for the domination of the quarries from which raw materials are extracted.

Organic flow batteries use natural compounds such as quinones, which can also be extracted from plants, such as rhubarb .

The use of these batteries under study could require an important structure , such as pumps, sensors and containment tanks, therefore suitable for permanent use. However, they are suitable for leveling energy peaks in homes or production facilities, storing energy during the night and reintroducing it into the network during the day, when the cost would be higher. They are also indicated for the accumulation of energy from renewable sources when this production falls from a performance point of view for meteorological reasons.

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