A 2026 study in Nature Energy reports a flowing zinc slurry (FZS) battery containing nanoscale zinc particles dispersed through a conductive network. The researchers tested several cell configurations in the laboratory. This article focuses on the reported cell results and their stated test conditions.
What makes the zinc slurry flow?
In the reported design, zinc nanoparticles undergo reversible conversion between zinc metal and zinc ions. The authors use ligand-assisted confinement at particle surfaces to influence zinc growth and reduce parasitic reactions. The authors report that the approach limits excessive zinc growth and parasitic reactions.
Different tests, different metrics
In an asymmetric FZS||Cu cell, the paper reports a Coulombic efficiency of 99.94% at a current density of 8 mA cm−2.
In a separate symmetric-cell test, the researchers report reversible operation for 5,128 hours under continuous flow, at 22.5 mA cm−2 and an areal capacity of 135 mAh cm−2. That is a long cell-level run under stated conditions.
The paper also reports two full-cell configurations. FZS||MnO2 cells retained 81.1% capacity after 5,500 cycles at 10 A g−1. FZS||O2 cells delivered 1.65 Ah over 100 hours at 1.35 mA cm−2. The different chemistries and test conditions matter: these figures are not interchangeable measures of one commercial battery’s performance. The asymmetric FZS||Cu result, the symmetric-cell run, and the two full-cell configurations are separate experiments. Their current densities, capacities, and cycling conditions describe each setup; they do not combine into a single performance score. Keeping those configurations distinct is essential when comparing what the paper actually measured.
What the experiment has not established
The reported measurements use different cell configurations and test conditions, so each figure should be read with its own setup.
The paper lists research funding and states that its authors have no competing interests. Its reported findings are a step in studying flowing zinc-based storage. The results provide cell-level evidence for further research on flowing zinc-slurry storage.
Source: Wenyong Chen et al., “Flowing zinc slurry for long-duration energy storage”, Nature Energy (2026), DOI 10.1038/s41560-026-02091-w.