Structured around manufacturer of ultra-low cost, high-performance ion exchange membranes for industrial wastewater: ceramic desalinization membranes that can be used to treat wastewater from toxic manufacturing processes, removing salt and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic and copper, Membrion, Inc. (formally dba Ionic Windows) is developing further technology originated in the Chemistry Lab of the University of Washington in Seattle. Headed up by alumnus of that department, Membrion makes high performance membranes that can lower the cost and improve the performance of flow batteries. Flow batteries are typically considered the ideal choice for grid-scale energy storage. However, they remain expensive because of a single component: the ion exchange membrane. Addressing development of high-performance, low-cost membranes, Membrion has developed a novel low-cost molecular filter for use in harsh environments. Made from commodity silica gel, commonly found as a desiccant in food packing, with pores as small as a few molecules wide, these cost molecular filters also have commercial upside with the potential to capture large markets spanning applications in water purification, pharmaceutical development, gas separations, batteries, fuel cells and food processing. A promising initial application for these molecular filters is use in grid-scale energy storage. Flow batteries have the ability to store city-sized quantities of renewable energy. However, they require the use of expensive molecular filters that are not easily replaced due to the harsh battery environments. The low-cost filters being developed by Membrion have the potential to reduce the cost of flow batteries by as much as 30%. Lower cost grid-scale storage means that more renewable energy generation (e.g., solar & wind) can be added without overwhelming the grid.
