With the climate apocalypse looming, countries around the world have been striving to meet the zero emissions target by the middle of the century. Renewable energy and off-grid applications can be one way to go. A start-up led by a CUHK professor and incubated by the University has emerged out of some 200 contestants from all over the world to land second runner-up in the TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Competition organised by Towngas and State Power Investment Corporation, with its safe and low-cost flow battery. The fledgling company also received tens of millions of investment from Towngas.

The winning team, Luquos Energy, is supported by CUHK’s Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, and led by Lu Yi-chun, professor of Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering. The flow battery presented by the group uses earth-abundant elements and aqueous electrolytes to store electricity, and what results is an eco-friendly, affordable, and resilient product that compares favourably to common lithium-ion batteries. With its ion-selective membrane, the battery may last 15 years. The technology can be used in renewable energy projects and electric vehicle solar charging stations, providing uninterrupted power supply.

The Luquos team will work to demonstrate the efficacy of the new battery and speed up its commercialization in days to come.