Researchers at Queen's University Belfast have developed a low-cost, 3D-printed flow battery that could accelerate the shift to renewable energy by making battery research cheaper and more standardised. Flow batteries are considered vital for storing wind and solar power for use when generation dips, but they are typically expensive and rely on vanadium, a metallic element sourced from only a few locations worldwide, which has limited their wider adoption. The QUB design instead uses iron, a far more accessible material, and has been shared freely with researchers internationally to improve the consistency and reliability of results across institutions.

The battery was created by post-doctoral researcher Dr Hugh O'Connor during his PhD, after he found that a commercial flow battery would have cost £2,000-£3,000. Through repeated 3D-printing and refinement, he produced a working cell costing roughly £74 and made up of about ten components, complete with a step-by-step "Ikea-style" assembly guide. Rather than commercialising the design, O'Connor and his supervisor chose to distribute it to the global research community for free, and it is now being used by scientists such as Dr Josh Bailey to help standardise flow battery research worldwide.