Are biologically synthesized electrolytes the future in green energy storage?

The production of renewable energy from solar panels and windmills is rapidly increasing these years. However, one of the biggest hurdles that need to be overcome in the green transition is cost-efficient energy storage to reach the full exploitation of their potential. A promising energy storage technology is redox flow batteries (RFBs), particularly using quinones as electron carriers. The prototypes of quinone batteries have been derived from crude oil, which unfortunately falls short of the ambition of sustainable energy production purely from renewable sources. It is well-known that filamentous fungi have a great capacity for quinone production. and the first RFB with a fungal-produced quinone was recently generated as a proof-of-concept. Here, we give our opinion and perspectives on which challenges need to be solved before an RFB with fungal-produced quinones can be applied in the green transition.

Automated summary

The production of renewable energy from solar panels and windmills has been growing rapidly in recent years. However, a major obstacle in the green transition is the need for cost-efficient energy storage to fully exploit their potential. A promising solution is the use of redox flow batteries (RFBs) with quinones as electron carriers. Currently, quinones derived from crude oil are used, which does not align with the goal of sustainable energy production from renewable sources. Recent research has shown that filamentous fungi have great potential for quinone production, and a proof-of-concept RFB using fungal-produced quinones has been developed. We discuss the challenges that need to be addressed before fungal-produced quinone RFBs can be applied in the green transition.