Translucent green glass ribbon representing energy-bearing material in motion

SuperFuel chemistry

Energy held
in the material.

A reversible sodium nitrite chemistry designed to separate, store, and return energy through a closed material cycle.

NaNO₂ combined stateNa + NO₂ charged stateReversible electrochemistry

1,450 Wh/L · active-material energy density

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Reaction mechanics

One reaction.
Two directions.

Applied electricity moves ions through one planar cell, producing separated sodium and nitrogen dioxide.

Inside one planar cell

Ions become stored reagents.

Molten sodium nitrite contains Na⁺ and NO₂⁻ ions. Applied DC power reduces Na⁺ to liquid sodium and oxidizes NO₂⁻ to neutral nitrogen dioxide.

Cathode/anode names follow the reaction and swap by mode · conceptual · not to scale

Same energy.
Less material.

A smaller material inventory can hold the same stored energy.

SuperFuel1 liter
Vanadium flow-battery
electrolyteAbout 36 liters
Both hold the same energy.

Illustrative comparison using 1,450 Wh/L and approximately 40 Wh/L.
Active materials and electrolyte only—not complete battery systems or installation footprints.

Using these assumptions, 1 liter of SuperFuel active material holds 1,450 Wh. At 40 Wh/L, the equivalent vanadium electrolyte volume is 36.25 liters, rounded here to about 36 liters.

The SuperFuel figure is the active-material value used on this site. The vanadium figure is an illustrative electrolyte assumption, not a value shared by every formulation. Li et al. (2011), Table 3 reports formulation- and test-dependent vanadium electrolyte energy densities around this value.

This is not a like-for-like tested system comparison or a guarantee of delivered energy. Tanks, containment, thermal management, cell stacks, power electronics and other balance-of-plant equipment are excluded. The cubes illustrate relative material volumes; their texture does not depict literal chemical appearance.

Why this chemistry

The material does the storage work.

Separating the energy-bearing compounds from the power-producing stack opens a different design space from a sealed, fixed-format battery.

Illustrative renewable-powered facility preparing SuperFuel material for energy storage

Reversible inventory

The same material changes state through charge and discharge rather than being consumed in a one-way fuel pathway.

Illustrative external energy-material container beside a discharge system and compute campus

External storage

Energy-bearing reagents live outside the cell stack, allowing storage quantity to be designed separately from electrochemical power hardware.

Illustrative train transporting sealed SuperFuel energy-material containers through a mountain corridor

Transportable energy

In distributed configurations, charged-state material can connect abundant generation with distant, continuous demand.

Illustrative combined-state material container returning to a renewable-powered receiving facility

Closed-loop potential

The combined material can return to renewable generation and begin another engineered cycle.

Illustrative distributed configuration · system details subject to engineering

Next / SuperFuel systems

Chemistry becomes
a battery system.

See how reagent vessels, planar cells, thermal management, controls, and power electronics turn the material cycle into configurable hardware.

Explore the systems

Energy heldin the material.

One reaction.Two directions.