Chemists are turning their hand to solving the world's electrical energy crisis. Demand for electricity at peak times means that back-up power stations are needed, just in case, but are not used consistently. This is expensive and inefficient. An alternative is to have a bank of batteries that can store surplus electricity until required and Derek Pletcher and colleagues at the University of Southampton, UK, might have found a system that can do just that.

The new system that is being pioneered is a flow battery consisting of a single electrolyte and as such it doesn't need a separator, making the batteries much cheaper. The system is based on the reactions of lead(ii) in methanesulfonic acid. Preliminary tests have been on a small scale but show great promise and Pletcher is hopeful that the system can be scaled up. 'An essential further stage is to test the chemistry and battery performance on a much increased size of battery system' he says.

Katherine Sanderson