Electrochemistry |
Chiral Energy’s new spin on improving electrochemical efficiencies
Israel-based start-up, Chiral Energy, is developing electrode nano-coatings derived from quantum chemistry that can significantly boost the efficiency of batteries, electrolysers and fuel cells by aligning electron spin. The technology employs ‘chiral’ molecules, which exhibit ‘handedness’ and can influence the direction of electron spin, making use of the CISS (Chiral Induced Spin Selectivity) effect. The molecules act as spin filters, with electrons having one spin direction passing through ‘left-handed’ chiral molecules and electrons with the opposite spin passing through ‘right-handed’ molecules
Stephen B. Harrison sbh4 consulting, Germany
Improving the efficiency of electrochemical processes is one of the strongest levers to increase the efficiency of battery electricity storage system (BESS) technology. In turn, battery electricity storage is an essential link in the chain between non-programmable renewable power generation and a stable grid. Better BESS efficiency means better economics. More of the generated electricity is stored and released. Systems either shrink in size for the same capacity, or provide more capacity from a given unit.
The end-to-end system benefits from improved battery efficiency. Less power is wasted during battery charging and discharging, meaning fewer wind turbines, solar panels and inverters are required. Less land is used. Capital costs are reduced through the entire value chain.
Spin alignment drives economics In support of this energy efficiency improvement imperative, Chiral Energy has unveiled a technology which aligns electron spin to improve the performance of battery anodes and cathodes. It reduces the resistive losses of these battery components using a nano-coating of a chiral-spin-inducing particle, thereby creating an orderly flow of electrons.
And, there is meaningful scope for improvement. State-of-the-art lithium ion batteries (LIBs) convert around 5% of their electricity input into heat, not released power. When considering the inverter and rectifier losses, the battery is generally responsible for between 30 and 50% of the BESS energy loss. Whilst the percentages are small, the monetary value is huge. A utility scale BESS with
240 MWh of storage capacity would lose 12 MWh of power due to battery inefficiencies per cycle. At a discharge value of €200 per MWh, that represents €2 400 per cycle which would be more than €800 000 per year, based on one full cycle per day. Reducing this waste is essential to reduce the levelised cost of storage (LCoS).
Understanding chirality
The term chirality is used to describe two physical manifestations of a molecule such that each has the same number of chemical atoms connected in the same way, but where the shapes of the two molecules are mirror images of each other, which cannot be superimposed onto each other. “A left glove and a right glove are mirror images, but you can’t put the left glove on your right hand comfortably”, says Nir Marom, CEO of Chiral Energy. This analogy explains the origins of the word “chiral”. Its roots are in the Greek word “cheir”, which means “hand”.
Often, large chiral molecules have helical shapes, like a bolt. The bolt can only work when turned in the correct direction. A right handed bolt thread can only fit into a right handed nut thread. And rotating the bolt in the wrong direction will not allow it to marry with the nut. An analogy from power management systems would be to consider the two helical screws of a screw compressor.
Their shapes are similar but they rotate in opposing directions to compress natural gas or instrumentation air.
“In the field of electrochemistry,” continues Marom, “it can be understood that the direction of electron spin is a particle-scale manifestation of larger chiral objects. Aligning the direction of spin of electrons is the key to efficient electrochemical processes. And it has its roots in energy-efficient bio-processes.”
Natural efficiency Uncoated (left) and chiral coated (right) electrolyser electrodes. © Chiral Energy 36 | October 2025|
www.modernpowersystems.com
The technology that Chiral Energy has introduced to batteries is grounded in biochemistry and life sciences. It exploits what nature has been doing for millennia.
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