WO2018187817A1

WO2018187817A1 - Lithium ion micro particle fuel cell

Info

Publication number: WO2018187817A1
Application number: PCT/US2018/026769
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Charles NUNNALLY
Original assignee: Applied Physical Electronics, L.C.
Priority date: 2017-04-07
Filing date: 2018-04-09
Publication date: 2018-10-11

Abstract

A system and method including an electrochemical battery system, which includes at least one electrochemical cell container comprising an anode compartment and a cathode compartment, an anode electrode within the anode compartment, and a cathode electrode within the cathode compartment. In addition, the system includes an anode bidirectional pump configured to pump an anode liquid electrolyte selectively in one of two opposite directions through the anode compartment, causing the anode liquid into electrical contact with the anode electrode. Furthermore, the system includes a cathode bidirectional pump configured to pump a cathode liquid electrolyte selectively in one of two opposite directions through the cathode compartment, causing the cathode liquid into electrical contact with the cathode electrode.

Description

Description/Specification

Lithium Ion Micro Particle Fuel Cell

A. Background

[HI] The invention relates generally to battery technology.

B. Brief Description of the Drawings

[H2] Other objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent upon reading the detailed description and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.

[H3] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the active volume of a traditional lithium battery, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H4] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a possible correspondence of a battery to a fuel cell, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H5] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating charge transfers in a traditional lithium ion

battery, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H6] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the flow of ions and electrons in a lithium ion particle fuel cell, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H7] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a lithium ion micro particle, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H8] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating particle flows in a MPFC cell, in accordance with some embodiments. [H9] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a Li-MPFC system, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H10] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating the bidirectional flow of an electromagnetic induction pump slurry, in accordance with some embodiments.

[Ull] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a Li-MPFC, in accordance with some

embodiments.

[H12] While the invention is subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and the

accompanying detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments. This disclosure is instead intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

C. Detailed Description

[H13] Disclosed below are various concepts related to, and embodiments of, systems and methods for automatically detecting similarities between sensors in order to identify and match sensors of a similar nature and type.

[H14] The desired performance parameters for large energy storage systems are high energy density and high rates of charge or discharge with a long cycle life. Traditionally, batteries can be optimized for either high energy density or high power density.

Separating the functions of energy storage and energy (power) conversion in a fuel cell configuration may enable both high energy density and high power density to be realized in the same system. More importantly, such a fuel cell configuration may allow cooling of the energy storage media, which may enable continuous high-power charge or discharge operation. [H15] In some embodiments, the operation of the disclosed Ll-Micro Particle Fuel Cell (LI- MPFC or MPFC) may approach the maximum energy density of lithium battery chemistry while simultaneously allowing high, continuous output power with extended cycle life. The basic energy density of lithium chemistry may be sufficiently large to generate megawatts of output power with sub-millimeter thick layers of material flowing through a conversion cell at low velocities.

[H16] In some embodiments, the LI-MPFC is made readily feasible by fabricating two types of lithium micro particles in large quantities combined with innovative conversion cell construction that moves slurries of the micro particles through the conversion cells and controls parasitic losses of series of connected cells. In addition, the LI-MPFC may be safer than large battery banks due to the separation of the two energy storage materials both before and after passing through the conversion cell. In some implementations, the mass energy storage density of a LI-MPFC may be in the order of 10 times that of Vanadium Flow Batteries, for example.

[H17] Thus, the LI-MPFC may provide high power density and high storage density in a cost effective and safer manner compared to traditional systems.

[H18] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the active volume of a traditional lithium battery, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H19] In a typical lithium-ion battery, only a small fraction of the volume is active at any point during charge and discharge as illustrated in Figure 1. The remaining volume may consist of energy stored volume, energy depleted volume, and the ion conductive media separating the positive and negative regions of the structure.

[H20] For example, as illustrated in Figure 1, the active regions 104 and 109 where ions are deployed from or inculcated into the battery materials are very small compared to the total volume. In such a battery structure, with an assumed current density 101 of 1 A/cm² being sourced, the active regions may have an effective thickness of only microns and move at only several tens of microns/second. Examples of the active thicknesses used and speeds per second may be:

^♦ LiFeP0₄ => 1 A/cm² / 910 A-s/cm³ ~ 11 m/s

♦ Graphite => 1 /cm² / 3000 A-s/cm³ ~ 3.3 m/s

[H21] The relatively long distances that the ions 107 and electrons 103 need to transit in

battery materials 105, 106, 108, 110, and 111 result in losses that appear as heat and as increased battery source impedance. Thus, the limitations on energy storage in a traditional lithium ion battery are at least partially due to the standard battery approach that combines the functions of energy storage and energy conversion in the same volume.

[H22] The following elements are shown in the figure:

♦ 101 Lithium Ion Battery Current density

♦ 102 Positive electrode

♦ 103 Electron diffusion through Negative material

♦ 104 Active Region - accepting Lithium Ions - accepting electrons

♦ 105 "positive terminal" - active material

♦ 106 Depleted Positive terminal material

♦ 107 Lithium Ion diffusion through electrolyte, depleted materials a

separator

♦ 108 Separator - ion permeable membrane

♦ 109 Active Region - deploying Lithium ions - deploying electrons

♦ 110 Depleted Negative terminal material

♦ 111 Undepleted Negative terminal material

♦ 112 Negative electrode

[H23] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a possible correspondence of a battery

cell, in accordance with some embodiments. [H24] In some embodiments, the Lithium Ion-Micro Particle Fuel Cell (LI-MPFC) separates the energy storage volume from the active or energy conversion region and locates only the active regions in the electro-chemical cell with the energy storage volume relocated to flow through the cell (using bidirectional pumps, for example).

[H25] The following elements are shown in the figure:

♦ 201 Positive Terminal electrode

♦ 202 Lithium Ion diffusion

♦ 203 Positive Active Region

♦ 204 Positive Electrode Materials

♦ 205 Separator

♦ 206 Negative Active Region

♦ 207 Negative Electrode Materials

♦ 209 Electron diffusion

♦ 211 Positive Electrode Materials - slurry

♦ 212 Negative Electrode

♦ 213 Negative Electrode Materials - slurry

[H26] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating charge transfers in a traditional lithium ion

battery, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H27] In a traditional Lithium Ion "Rocking Chair" battery, lithium ions 306 are transferred from one side of the battery through the electrolyte 310 and the ion permeable separator 311 to the other side as illustrated in Figure 3. The direction of Lithium Ion flow is determined by the function being implemented, specifically charge or discharge, also illustrated in Figure 3.

[H28] In Figure 3, the ejection or injection of a lithium ion 306 from the active materials 308 and 309 on the battery electrodes 307 is concurrent with the transfer of an electron 305. The electron flow through active material to the electrode and through the charging source or load is matched by the ion flow through the cell so that charge neutrality is maintained in the electrode materials. The relationship between the charging source 304 potential, the Lithium Ion chemical potential, and the load 312 determine the direction of current flow 303 of the electrons and the ions.

[H29] The following elements are shown in the figure:

♦ 301 Positive Electrode Contact

♦ 302 Negative Electrode Contact

♦ 303 Current

♦ 304 Charging Power source

♦ 305 Electron

♦ 306 Lithium Ion

♦ 307 Conductor

♦ 308 Positive Electrode Material - example LiFeP04

♦ 309 Negative Electrode Material - example Graphite

♦ 310 Electrolyte

♦ 311 Separator

♦ 312 Load

[H30] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating the flow of ions and electrons in a lithium ion particle fuel cell, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H31] In some embodiments, the LIMPFC micro-particles 410 and 411, illustrated in Figure 4, satisfy charge-neutrality requirements, in that each particle remains charge neutral before and after passing through the ion transfer cell (ITC).

[H32] Each micro-particle passing through the cell either accepts or deploys an electron 406 when accepting or deploying a lithium ion 407. Thus, in some embodiments, the particles make electrical contact with the cell electrodes 408 or 409 to transfer an electron when receiving or deploying a Lithium Ion as the particle slurries 405 flow through the ITC.

[H33] In some embodiments, by separating the functions of energy storage and energy

conversion in the same volume in a fuel cell configuration, several limitations may be overcome. The LIMPFC may reduce the energy loss due to electron and ion diffusion through energy storage materials to enable increased charge and discharge rates and thus enable continuous operation at high average powers due to cooling of the slurry. Furthermore, the LIMPFC may increase the energy storage density in large systems due to the absence of a structure, which is replaced with tanks of active material slurries. The size of the tanks determines the quantity of energy stored. The LIMPFC is inherently safe due to the separate storage of the two types of active materials that can interact only within the cell. In addition, the charge neutrality of the microparticles before and after passing through the ITC may result in storage with long duration in the isolated tanks.

[H34] In some embodiments, in the LIMPFC each micro particle flowing through both sides of the cell need to contact the electrode during transit to function properly and maintain charge neutrality. The following elements are shown in the figure:

♦ 401 Positive Electrode

♦ 402 Negative Electrode

♦ 403 Current

♦ 404 Charging Source

♦ 405 Slurry flow direction

♦ 406 Electron

♦ 407 Lithium Ion

♦ 408 Positive Electrode

♦ 409 Negative Electrode

♦ 410 Positive "P" Micro Particle ♦ 411 Negative "N" Micro Particle

♦ 412 Electrolyte

♦ 413 Separator

♦ 414 Load

[H35] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating the construction of a lithium ion micro particle, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H36] Microparticles with a magnetic component (that are to be used in the MPFC slurries) may be fabricated in a number of ways. One configuration for Lithium Ion microparticles with a magnetic susceptible component is illustrated in Figure 5. In some embodiments, the center 504 of the micro particle may be a ferromagnetic material, such as Iron Oxide ceramic. The positive electrode/anode "P" of the micro particle 501 may have an outer shell 503 of LiFeP0₄ while the negative electrode/cathode "N" micro particles 502 may have an outer shell 505 of Graphite. The micro-particle dimensions, are further designed to provide maximum surface area for ion transport. The magnetic core radius 506 may be designed such that the majority of the particle volume is active material, while the active material radius 507 is designed to be sufficiently small to enable Lithium Ion diffusion throughout the particle volume during the transit through the cell. In some embodiments, the micro particles may be fabricated with an ion-permeable binder material.

[H37] In various embodiments, a number of micro-particle structures are possible in addition to the examples shown in Figure 5. In some embodiments, the micro-particle structure is a mixture of magnetic materials, such as Iron Oxide, and the active battery materials.

[H38] 501 "P" positive terminal micro particle

[H39] 502 "N" negative terminal micro particle

[H40] 503 "P" positive micro particle active material - for example, LiFeP04 [H41] 504 Ferromagnetic core

[H42] 505 "N" negative micro particle active material - for example, Graphite

[H43] 506 Core Radius

[H44] 507 Particle Radius

[HI] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating particle flows in a MPFC cell, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H2] The cross section of an MPFC ion transfer cell is illustrated in Figure 6, with the micro particle slurry flowing into and out of the plane of the page. In some embodiments, permanent magnets 708 are placed within the electrodes 701 and 702 to provide one arrangement of the permanent magnetic field that is used in the ITC.

[H3] Micro particle slurries are flowing through the magnetic field as shown. The flow cross section for the "N" particle slurry 711 is determined by flow height 709 and flow width 705. The flow cross section for the "P" slurry is determined by flow height 710 and flow width 706.

[H4] In some embodiments, the micro particle flows are separated by the magnetic flow assist 703 in the center of the electrodes that permits Lithium ion flow 704 through apertures 714 between the two micro particle flows. In some embodiments, the flow heights of the "P" and "N" slurries may be different to match the charge density on each side of the cell. If the charge densities on each side of the cell are matched, the flow velocity on each side would be equal.

[H5] In some embodiments, the design of a LI MPFC is based on the following parameter requirements: Output/Input Power may be set equal to the maximum power to be produced or received from the electrical source or load

Current Density in Cell may be determined by the electrolyte and separator conductivity

The cell impedance may be determined by the length of the flow interaction or th< flow length of the ion transfer cell

Micro Particle Slurry Flow Rate may be determined by setting the energy injection (pumping) rate equal to the output/input power

Efficiency may be determined by fully depleting or loading the Lithium Ion density each particle during cell transit

[H6] The cell flow cross sections may be determined by matching the available charge density on each side of the cell and optimizing the thickness of the micro-particle slurries flow with the flow velocity. For example, the charge densities on each side of the cell for a LiFeP04-Graphite micro particle couple may be as in the table below:

[17]

[H8] In some embodiments, to match the charge density on each side of the cell, the LiFeP04 flow height may be 3.31 times that of the Graphite flow height, with the flow widths being equal as is shown in Figure 6. In such embodiments, the flow velocity may be identical on each side of the cell and can either be colinear or counter linear in direction. The performance of such a cell with such parameters may enable current densities of over 0.6 A/cm², for example. In some embodiments, the interaction flow length may be chosen to set the cell internal resistance, which may also affect the average current density.

[H9] In some embodiments, the mass energy density of Lithium Ion Micro Particle materials including electrolyte and magnetic components may be approximately 165 W-hr/kg with a corresponding volume energy density of 385 W-hr/liter. In some embodiments, these values include most of the components that pass through the transfer cell of which only the LiFeP04 or the Graphite is storing Lithium ions. In some embodiments, the implementation shown here does not require an ion-permeable membrane.

[H10] In some embodiments, the energy storage mass density of such a system may approach the theoretical maximum for Lithium Ion chemistry and the output power may be designed to the desired maximum by choosing the cross-sectional area of the converter cell and the micro-particle slurry flow rate.

[Ull] The following elements are shown in the figure:

♦ 701 Negative Electrode

♦ 702 Positive Electrode

♦ 703 Magnetic Slurry Pump Aperture

♦ 704 Lithium flow direction

♦ 705 "P" slurry flow width - Wp

♦ 706 "N" slurry flow width - Wn

♦ 708 Permanent magnet Bar

♦ 709 "N" slurry flow height - hn

♦ 710 "P" slurry flow height - hp

♦ 711 "N" micro particle slurry ♦ 712 "P" micro particle slurry

♦ 713 Cell height - hcell

♦ 714 Aperture in Magnetic pump plate

[H12] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a Li-MPFC system, in accordance with some

embodiments.

[H13] In some embodiments, a single LI-MPFC ITC cell may generate an open circuit voltage of about 3 volts as per cell. The LIMPFC system may store two types of slurries in two different charge states in four tanks as shown in Figure 7. "?+" LiFeP04 micro particle slurry tank 803 and Lithium Ions and "N" Graphite micro particle slurry tank 804 represent the depleted or discharged state 801. Pumps 807 may be used to transport the slurries to and from each ITC cell 810 in the stack. To charge the system, electrical energy from a charging source is supplied through terminals 809 as the slurries are moved through the ITC cell. If the charge source potential is greater than the Lithium Ion electrochemical cell potential, the lithium ions are transferred from the "?+" micro particles to the "N" which become "N+" micro particles that are stored in a separate tank 806. The "?+" micro particles lose Lithium ions to become "P" micro particles which are stored in a separate tank 805. The micro particles in tanks 805 and 806 represent the charged state of the system 802. In some embodiments, the system may operate continually by controlling the temperature of the slurry flows before and after interaction in the ITC with optional inline heat exchangers 808.

[H14] In some embodiments, the pumps are bidirectional such that flow through the ITC is reversible, the direction being dependent on whether energy is stored or recovered. Multiple ITCs may be used to add charged micro particles to the storage tanks and similarly recover energy from the storage tanks using multiple slurry flow paths.

[H15] The following elements are shown the figure:

♦ 801 Discharged or Depleted Micro Particle state ♦ 802 Charged or Stored Micro Particle state

♦ 803 "P" micro particles with Lithium Ions on board = P+

♦ 804 "N" mico particles without Lithium Ions

♦ 805 "P" micro particles without Lithium Ions

♦ 806 "N" micro particles with Lithium Ions on board = N+

♦ 807 Bi-Directional pumps

♦ 808 Heat Exchangers

♦ 809 Electrical input and output terminals

♦ 810 Ion Transfer Cell - Interaction region

[HI] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating the bidirectional flow of an electromagnetic induction pump slurry, in accordance with some embodiments.

[H2] In some embodiments, "?+" Micro particle slurry 906 is transferred from the P+ slurry tank 903 and "N" micro particle slurry 904 are transferred from the "N" slurry tank 903 within the one or more cells. The respective slurries are moved into the ITC magnetic field 912, which is produced by the permanent magnets 902. In some embodiments, the permanent magnets 902 are placed in between the positive electrode 901 and the negative electrode 907. The partially ferromagnetic micro particles enter the magnetic field at the entrance to the cell and drift due to the spatial gradient in the magnetic field toward their respective electrodes 901 and 907.

[H3] In some embodiments, the magnetic bar pump 910 in the center of the ITC may be configured with equally spaced insulated conductors 911 and apertures 914 that allow ion transport (913) between the two slurries. In some embodiments, pulses of current injected into the magnetic bar pump conductors distort the magnetic field gradients to move the micro particles along the path through the ITC and serve to stir the micro particle locations with respect to the electrodes so that each micro particle can contact their respective electrode. In some embodiments, the conductors in the magnetic pump bar outside the

permanent magnetic field serve to extract the microparticles from the field at the end of their travel through the magnetic field. In some embodiments, the flow direction of the micro particles can be reversed by changing the direction of the current pulses in the magnetic bar pump. In the embodiment shown in Figure 8, the directions of the permanent magnetic field in the top and bottom electrode are the same. If the magnetic field in the top and bottom electrode were oriented in the opposite direction, the flow directions would be in opposite relative directions.

In some embodiments, such an MPFC may provide an energy storage system than can provide high-energy density and high-power density simultaneously as well as an efficient system for storing and recovering electrical energy. The specially fabricated micro particles and the specially fabricated Ion Transfer Cell (ITC) facilitate storing energy in micro particle slurries. The specially fabricated magnetic pump 910

construction is configured to move micro particle slurries through an ITC in a manner that facilitates micro particle contact with the ITC electrodes.

In some embodiments, a permanent magnetic field in the Ion Transfer Cell (ITC) facilitates the microparticles in the ion conducting electrolyte contact the electrodes during their transit through the cell. In some embodiments, the permanent magnetic field may be provided by permanent magnets within the electrodes. The micro-particles are fabricated with a magnetic material component that is attracted to the electrode during transit through the cell. Note that the force on a micro-particle with a magnetic component in a permanent magnetic field is determined by the gradient in the permanent magnetic field.

♦ 901 Negative Electrode

♦ 902 Permanent Magnet

♦ 903 "N" Micro particle Tank

♦ 904 "N" micro particle slurry ♦ 905 "P" micro particle Tank

♦ 906 "P" micro Particle slurry

♦ 907 Positive Electrode

♦ 908 "N" micro particles with Lithium Ions on board - "N+"

♦ 909 "P" micro particles with Lithium Ions on board - P+'

♦ 910 Magnetic Slurry Pump

♦ 911 Current conductor array in Magnetic Slurry Pump

♦ 912 Permanent magnetic Field Line

♦ 913 Lithium Ion flow direction

♦ 914 Aperture in Magnetic slurry pump layer for Ion conduction

[H7] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating a Li-MPFC, in accordance with some

embodiments.

[H8] In some embodiments, an Ion Transfer Cell (ITC) is presented with innovative, magnetic- susceptible, LIFeP04 and Graphite micro particles incorporated in an electrolyte slurry as well as with its associated pumps and tanks. One embodiment of a single ITC cell is shown in Figure 9. In other embodiments, multiple ITC cells may be coupled in series or may be stacked to obtain the desired system voltage.

[H9] In some embodiments, a system is provided that encompasses the Bi-Directional

Electromagnetic Slurry Pump (as was described in the description for Figure 8) as well as additional system components. A charging source 1005 and a load 1006 are added to the ITC cell or cell stack. The charging source is connected to the stack via a switch 1009 when the stack is storing energy and the load is connected to the stack via switch 1010 when the ITC stack is outputting energy. The charging source 1005 produces charge current 1007 when the source potential is larger than the ITC stack potential and the charging switch 1009 is closed. When the load 1006 is connected to the ITC cell stack, the electrochemical potential of the stack produces load current 1008 when the load switch 1010 is closed. [H10] Bi-directional slurry pumps 1004, 1003, 1001, and 1002 transport their respective slurries to and from the ITC cell stack depending on whether the cells are providing or storing energy.

[Ull] The following elements are shown in the figure:

♦ 901 Negative Electrode

♦ 902 Permanent Magnet

♦ 903 "N" Micro particle Tank

♦ 904 "N" micro particle slurry

♦ 905 "P" micro particle Tank

♦ 906 "P" micro Particle slurry

♦ 907 Positive Electrode

♦ 908 "N" micro particles with Lithium Ions on board - "N+"

♦ 909 "P" micro particles with Lithium Ions on board - P+'

♦ 910 Magnetic Slurry Pum

♦ 911 Current conductor array in Magnetic Slurry Pump

♦ 912 Permanent magnetic Field Line

♦ 913 Lithium Ion flow direction

♦ 914 Aperture in Magnetic slurry pump layer for Ion conduction

♦ 1001 Bidirectional Pump for "N" micro particles

♦ 1002 Bidirectional Pump for "N+" micro particles

♦ 1003 Bidirectional Pump for "?" micro particles

♦ 1004 Bidirectional Pump for "P+" micro particles

♦ 1005 ITC stack charging source

♦ 1006 ITC stack load

♦ 1007 Charging Current

♦ 1008 Load Current

♦ 1009 Charge Switch

♦ 1010 Load Switch [H12] It is understood that the implementation of other variations and modifications of the present invention in its various aspects will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and that the invention is not limited by the specific embodiments described. It is therefore contemplated to cover by the present invention any and all modifications, variations or equivalents that fall within the spirit and scope of the basic underlying principles disclosed and claimed herein.

[H13] One or more embodiments of the invention are described above. It should be noted that these and any other embodiments are exemplary and are intended to be illustrative of the invention rather than limiting. While the invention is widely applicable to various types of systems, a skilled person will recognize that it is impossible to include all of the possible embodiments and contexts of the invention in this disclosure. Upon reading this disclosure, many alternative embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art.

[H14] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[H15] The benefits and advantages that may be provided by the present invention have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. These benefits and advantages, and any elements or limitations that may cause them to occur or to become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features of any or all of the claims. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof, are intended to be interpreted as non-exclusively including the elements or limitations that follow those terms. Accordingly, a system, method, or other embodiment that comprises a set of elements is not limited to only those elements and may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to the claimed

embodiment. While the present invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments are illustrative and that the scope of the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Many variations, modifications, additions and improvements to the embodiments described above are possible. It is contemplated that these variations, modifications, additions and improvements fall within the scope of the invention as detailed within the following claims.

Claims

1. An electrochemical battery system comprising: at least one ion transfer cell container comprising an anode compartment and a cathode compartment; an anode electrode coupled to the anode compartment, and a cathode electrode coupled to the cathode compartment, wherein the anode electrode and the cathode electrode are configured to be coupled to an electrical load or to an electrical power source based at least in part on whether energy is being stored or released from the system; an anode bidirectional pump configured to pump an anode liquid electrolyte selectively in one of two opposite anode directions through the anode compartment based at least in part on whether energy is being stored or released from the system, causing the anode liquid to come into electrical contact with the anode electrode,

wherein the anode liquid electrolyte comprises positive anode micro particles, wherein the positive anode micro particles comprise magnetic materials and active materials configured to transport ions; and a cathode bidirectional pump configured to pump a cathode liquid electrolyte selectively in one of two opposite cathode directions through the cathode compartment based at least in part on whether energy is being stored or released from the system, causing the cathode liquid to come into electrical contact with the cathode electrode,

wherein the cathode liquid electrolyte comprises negative anode micro particles, wherein the negative anode micro particles comprise magnetic materials and active materials configured to transport ions.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more permanent magnets configured to create a permanent magnetic field across the anode compartment and the cathode compartment, and wherein the permanent magnetic field is configured to cause the anode and the cathode liquid electrolytes respectively to move toward the anode and the cathode electrodes.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a magnetic bar pump between the anode compartment and the cathode compartment, wherein the magnetic bar pump comprises one or more insulated conductors configured to receive electrical current pulses to generate conductor magnetic fields, wherein ions are caused to move between the anode liquid electrolyte and the cathode liquid electrolyte through the magnetic bar pump based at least upon ions interacting with the conductor magnetic fields and with the permanent magnetic field.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least two anode tanks for storing the anode liquid electrolyte in each of the two anode directions and at least two cathode tanks for storing the cathode liquid electrolyte in each of the two cathode directions.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one anode heat exchanger coupled to a flow of the anode liquid electrolyte and at least one cathode heat exchanger coupled to a flow of the cathode liquid electrolyte, wherein the anode and cathode heat exchangers are configured to remove heat from the anode and cathode liquid electrolytes.

6. A method comprising: selectively pumping in one of two opposite anode directions an anode liquid electrolyte through an anode compartment of an ion transfer cell; selectively pumping in one of two opposite cathode directions a cathode liquid electrolyte through a cathode compartment of the ion transfer cell; selectively coupling an electrical load or to an electrical power source to an anode electrode and to a cathode electrode, wherein the anode and the cathode electrodes are coupled to the anode and cathode compartments, wherein:

the selectively pumping and coupling are based at least upon whether energy is received by the electrical power source and stored or energy is supplied to the electrical load and depleted,

the anode liquid electrolyte comprises positive anode micro particles, wherein the positive anode micro particles comprise magnetic materials and active materials configured to transport ions,

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising creating a permanent magnetic field across the anode compartment and the cathode compartment, and wherein the permanent magnetic field is configured to cause the anode and the cathode liquid electrolytes respectively to move toward the anode and the cathode electrodes.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising creating an additional magnetic field between the anode compartment and the cathode compartment, wherein ions are caused to move between the anode liquid electrolyte and the cathode liquid electrolyte based at least upon the ions interacting with the additional magnetic field and with the permanent magnetic field.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising storing the anode liquid electrolyte in at least two anode tanks in each of the two anode directions, and storing the cathode liquid electrolyte in at least two cathode tanks in each of the two cathode directions

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising cooling the anode liquid electrolyte and the cathode liquid electrolyte during the selective pumping of the anode liquid electrolyte and the cathode liquid electrolyte.