A 3D-printed battery designed at Queen's University Belfast could speed up energy storage research.

Dr Hugh O'Connor developed the 3D-printed cell when he discovered a commercial flow battery for his research would cost up to £3,000 A 3D-printed battery developed at Queen's University Belfast could "make a genuine impact" on the road to net zero, say the researchers behind it. Flow batteries are seen as key to scaling up renewable energy, allowing it to be stored for when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. But they are expensive and typically use a metallic element - vanadium - that is only produced in a few places round the world. Now, scientists at QUB have developed one based on iron, which is much easier to source, and have sent it around the world to help standardise research. It is hoped it will accelerate the renewable energy revolution, making research more reliable and its findings more scalable. Post-doctoral researcher Dr Hugh O'Connor began tinkering with the design of flow batteries when he needed one for his PhD - and realised it would cost £2,000-£3,000. "I started 3D-printing them and I made lots of little tweaks. After a lot of trial and error, eventually these started to work really well."