In many flow batteries, the liquid electrolyte is the single biggest cost. Quino Energy is changing that with a lower-cost alternative designed to make long-duration energy storage more affordable.
The missing part of the energy transition
As renewable energy grows, storing electricity safely, reliably and affordably is becoming just as important as generating it. Making long-duration energy storage more affordable will be critical to building a cleaner, more resilient energy system.
Chasing the problem in the tank
Eugene Beh, CEO and co-founder of Quino Energy, has been fascinated by solving problems since childhood.
“I loved having an idea, testing it, and seeing it work. It’s the best feeling in the world,” he says.
That curiosity eventually led him into chemistry and to one of renewable energy’s biggest challenges: long-duration energy storage.
Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which store energy inside solid cells, flow batteries store energy in liquid electrolytes held in external tanks. They are non-flammable, can store energy for much longer periods, and are well suited to supporting renewable electricity grids.
The bigger the tanks, the longer the storage. But there has been one major obstacle: the electrolyte has historically been one of the most expensive components of the system, limiting the widespread adoption of flow batteries.
A lower-cost chemistry
Quino replaces the traditional vanadium electrolyte, a costly critical mineral with organic quinones made from abundant, lower-cost materials, while leaving the rest of the battery system largely unchanged.
The result is a lower-cost electrolyte that works with existing flow battery systems, helping reduce one of the biggest barriers to large-scale deployment.
Think of it like a car: if you want to drive further, you don’t buy a second car, you fit a bigger fuel tank.
Flow batteries work in much the same way. Because energy is stored in external tanks, increasing storage capacity is simply a matter of using larger tanks. By making the electrolyte significantly cheaper, Quino helps make long-duration energy storage more affordable and scalable.
A solution that can work almost anywhere
The need for affordable long-duration energy storage extends far beyond major infrastructure.
With support from Tencent’s CarbonX Program 2.0, Quino is now preparing its first commercial deployment: a 100% renewable microgrid serving Himandhoo Island, a residential community in the Maldives, working alongside the Asian Development Bank and a local construction partner.
“If we can make this work in the Maldives,” says Beh, “we can make it work anywhere.”
From island communities to critical infrastructure, Quino believes affordable long-duration energy storage can help make renewable power more reliable wherever it is needed. If successful, its technology could help remove one of the biggest barriers to accelerating the global energy transition.
