Gham Power Nepal has unveiled Nepal’s first Soluble Lead-Flow Battery (SLFB), a technology designed to store electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and hydropower.

The technology was showcased at a press event in Kathmandu on September 4 where Richard Wills, professor at the University of Southampton, led a live demonstration of the battery’s charging and discharging process.

Unlike conventional batteries that rely on newly mined materials, the SLFB uses lead recovered from used lead-acid batteries as its core energy-storage material. This creates a potential pathway for repurposing recycled lead while providing storage capacity for renewable electricity.

During the demonstration, Wills explained how the battery stores and releases electricity, as well as how lead from used batteries can be recovered and reused in the system.

The technology could have applications in renewable-energy integration and longer-duration energy storage particularly as Nepal continues to expand its solar and hydropower capacity.

The SLFB is being developed through a partnership between Gham Power, the University of Southampton, SOLead Energy and Swanbarton.

Gham Power was established in 2010 and has completed more than 4,000 solar projects across Nepal. The company has installed approximately 18 MW of solar capacity to date.

The introduction of the technology comes as Nepal’s growing renewable-energy capacity creates an increasing need for reliable energy-storage systems capable of balancing electricity generation and demand.