New research from MIT shows that it’s possible, with a technology called semi-solid flow cells, to recharge a battery-powered car in the same way that you refill a gas tank. In semi-solid flow batteries, the positive and negative electrodes, or cathodes and anodes if you recall high school chemistry, are solid particles suspended in a gooey liquid rather than molded in place as in traditional batteries. Ergo, you could pump in fresh goo — battery power — rather than wait a couple hours, minimum, for your car to recharge. What’s more, the technology might halve the size and cost of a battery system.

According to a paper published in the May 20, 2011 journal Advanced Energy Materials, the battery is also unique in separating the battery’s two functions: storing energy and discharging energy. That’s what allows for a smaller, lighter battery pack. The two suspensions (anode and cathode) are pumped through a thin porous membrane, or filter, when it’s time to wring electricity out of them.

The research was done by MIT then-undergrad Mihai Duduta and graduate student Bryan Ho, under the professors of materials science W. Craig Carter and Yet-Ming Chiang. Flow batteries have been around for a while, but they had low energy density and took up more, not less, space than conventional batteries. MIT says the semi-solid flow technology represents a 10X improvement in energy density — and it can work with many battery chemistry combinations.

Electric and plug-in hybrids such as the Chevrolet Volt Cars are an obvious use of the technology. It could also be used to store electricity on a large scale: Make electricity at night when there’s less demand, deliver it the next day during peak periods. Small devices (power tools, iPods) would be less likely candidates because the technology doesn’t scale down. When would you see the battery in an electric car? The anode and cathode materials need more work to improve efficiency and output, so it could sadly be a number of years yet. The technology has been licensed, however — to 24M Technologies, a startup founded by Chiang and Carter. 24M has already secured $16 million in venture funding and federal research money, too.

Read more at MIT