3D-Printed Diamond Electrodes Boost Renewable Energy Storage by 52%

A shape inspired by nature

A team at the University of Waterloo has published a proof-of-concept study showing that 3D-printed electrodes can improve the performance of redox flow batteries by 52 percent. Led by chemical engineering professor Dr. Maxime van der Heijden, the researchers used a digital light-processing 3D printer to create porous carbon electrodes with complex internal geometries based on triply periodic minimal surfaces.

These repeating 3D shapes appear in natural structures, and the team tested several designs before finding a winner. The diamond geometry outperformed the rest, delivering the 52% improvement in laboratory flow-cell tests and in a working vanadium redox flow battery.

Why flow batteries need better electrodes

Redox flow batteries store energy in liquid electrolytes held in external tanks. That separates energy capacity from power output, so utilities can scale storage by adding larger tanks instead of redesigning the battery itself. The catch is efficiency. The liquid electrolyte has to reach the electrode surfaces where the chemical reactions happen. If the flow is uneven, the battery wastes energy.

Conventional manufacturing methods limit the shapes that can be built inside an electrode. Van der Heijden said 3D printing gives researchers much tighter control over the internal structure, letting them design the electrode like an engineered fluid-flow system rather than a passive conductor.

Safer than lithium for grid storage

Redox flow batteries use water-based electrolytes instead of the flammable materials found in lithium-ion cells. That makes them a safer choice for community-scale and grid storage. The catch has always been performance. The Waterloo team's diamond geometry electrodes changed that equation without altering the battery chemistry.

The printed structures were heat-treated to become conductive carbon, then tested inside a functioning vanadium redox flow battery. The study, published September 1, 2026 in the Journal of Energy Storage, is a proof of concept. The researchers plan to increase surface area, refine manufacturing, and explore even more effective geometries.

What it means for wind and solar farms

Solar and wind generation do not match electricity demand. Excess power needs somewhere to go, and it needs to come back when the wind stops or the sun goes down. Flow batteries are well-suited to that role, but only if they are efficient enough to justify the cost. A 52% performance boost from a geometry change alone makes that math easier.

The team's approach treats the electrode as a design problem rather than a materials problem. If future iterations push the geometry further, 3D-printed electrodes could become a standard component in grid-scale renewable energy storage.