As these molecules are non-toxic, non-flammable, and able to be produced at low cost, the researchers believe that their use could help revolutionize large-scale, inexpensive electricity storage from intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind.

Flow batteries are rechargeable energy storage units that use chemicals dissolved in liquids stored in two external tanks that are separated by a membrane. After the battery has been charged up using energy from sources like wind or solar to pull electrons from the positively charged solution into the negatively charged solution, an electric current flow is produced when the battery is switched on the and the electron flow is reversed. The resultant cell voltage is normally in the range of 1.0 to 2.2 volts and, as a general rule, the larger the holding tanks, the greater amount of energy they can store.