The use of water is also great news for both the environment and your bank account. As it's not corrosive or toxic, you don't have to worry about wrecking your home if the battery leaks -- you might just need a mop. The safer materials are also less expensive than the polymers you usually need in flow batteries, and wouldn't require exotic pumps and tanks to withstand harsher chemicals. It needs less maintenance than other flow designs, too.

There's no concrete roadmap for bringing this battery tech to the real world. There's definitely a market for it, though. Renewable energy is becoming increasingly cost-effective, and inexpensive, long-lasting batteries would only help that. You could install solar power at home knowing that the cost of energy storage won't wipe out the money you save on your electricity bill.