Membrane Science and Technology

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Research progress on ion-conducting membranes for
iron-chromium redox flow batteries

Authors： TIAN Xinyao1, HOU Shuandi1,2, WANG Hongtao2, JIANG Rui2, YAN Litao2, CAO Zhongqi2, CHENG Xueyi2,
YANG Jiahui3, LU Chunxi1

Units： 1. College of Chemical Engineering and Environment, China University of Petroleum,
Beijing 102249, China; 2. SINOPEC (Dalian) Research Institute of Petroleum and Petrochemicals
Co., Ltd., Dalian 116045, China; 3. National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy,
Beijing 102211, China

KeyWords： iron-chromium redox flow battery; ion-conducting membrane; perfluorosulfonic acid membrane; non-fluorinated membrane; battery efficiency

ClassificationCode：TQ028； TM912

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(3):205-217

Abstract：

Iron-chromium redox flow batteries (ICRFBs) have broad prospects for applications in large-scale energy storage, attributed to the abundant reserves of active materials (iron and chromium), as well as the low-cost and environmentally friendly electrolytes, making them especially suitable for mitigating fluctuations arising from the large-scale integration of renewable energy into power grids. As a core component of ICRFBs, the ion-conducting membranes play a critical role in facilitating the transport of charge carriers while inhibiting the crossover of Fe3+/Cr3+. Their performance directly dictates the batteries’ efficiency, cycle life, and overall cost. Herein, we systematically analyze the performance requirements of membrane materials for ICRFBs, summarize the research progress in the selection and optimization of commercial perfluorosulfonic acid membranes, and review the development of non-fluorinated ion-conducting membranes. By comparing the batteries’ efficiency of diverse membranes in ICRFBs, we further evaluate their respective advantages and limitations, and discuss the research future directions for the development of high-performance membrane materials.

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AuthorIntro：

第一作者简介：田心瑶（1991-），女,吉林长春人，博士研究生，工程师，主要研究方向为液流电池储能技术.*通讯作者，E-mail：lcxing@cup.edu.cn

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Research progress on ion-conducting membranes for
iron-chromium redox flow batteries

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