Fig. 2.

Dynamics of energy storage. The system is initially prepared at thermodynamic equilibrium where ${\left[\mathrm{M}\right]}_{\mathrm{eq}}\gg {\left[{\mathrm{A}}_2\right]}_{\mathrm{eq}}$. At time t = 0, the chemical potential difference between fuel and waste is turned on at ${\mathcal{F}}_{\mathrm{fuel}}=7.5\cdot RT$ and drives the system away from equilibrium. After a transient (charging phase), the system eventually settles into a nonequilibrium steady state (maintenance phase). a Species abundances. b Energy stored, work and efficiency (right axis, adimensional units). Kinetic constants ({k_±ρ}) and chemical potentials used for simulations are given in Supplementary Table 1