Flow battery to boost use of renewable power: Lockheed

WASHINGTON, Apr 29 (Reuters): Lockheed Martin Corp hopes to launch a new 'flow' battery made of inexpensive, nontoxic materials that can help utilities save money and use more renewable energy, company officials have said.

"You open up a chance not only to make renewables more marketable and more useful, you might even change the structure of at least a portion of the utility market," Leo Mackay, a senior vice president for sustainability and ethics at Lockheed, told reporters at the company's Global Vision Center in Virginia.

Lockheed did not have an exact date for introduction of the battery or a cost, but Frank Armijo, vice president for energy initiatives, said the company hopes to introduce it in a "little more than a year."

Flow batteries, which use chemicals dissolved in water, last longer than lithium ion batteries, which are usually solid.