Latest vanadium energy storage projects

Could a vanadium redox flow battery solve storage problems?

A type of battery invented by an Australian professor in the 1980s has been growing in prominence, and is now being touted as part of the solution to this storage problem. Called a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), it's cheaper, safer and longer-lasting than lithium-ion cells.

Does vanadium degrade?

First, vanadium doesn’t degrade. “If you put 100 grams of vanadium into your battery and you come back in 100 years, you should be able to recover 100 grams of that vanadium — as long as the battery doesn’t have some sort of a physical leak,” says Brushett.

Does VRB energy have a vanadium redox flow battery?

In mid-July, China's National Photovoltaic and Energy Demonstration Experimental Center began testing VRB Energy's vanadium redox flow batteries at its Daqing facility in northeastern China. VRB Energy claims its vanadium redox flow storage systems rely on low-cost ion-exchange membrane and bipole material, and long-life electrolyte formulation.

Why is vanadium more expensive than lithium?

And although vanadium is more abundant than lithium, it's expensive to extract. Most of the world's supply is used in refining steel, so its price tends to be volatile, increasing in response to demand for steel. As a result, vanadium batteries currently have a higher upfront cost than lithium-ion batteries with the same capacity.

Is lithium-ion the future of grid energy storage?

And so, almost by default, lithium-ion became the technology of choice for grid energy storage. Now, however, that's begun to change. When a commercial district in Trondheim, Norway, recently commissioned battery energy storage, it made an unusual choice. Instead of ordering lithium-ion, it went with VRFB.

Are chemistries more expensive than vanadium?

Researchers worldwide are trying to answer that question, and many are focusing on promising chemistries using materials that are more abundant and less expensive than vanadium. But it’s not that easy, notes Rodby. While other chemistries may offer lower initial capital costs, they may be more expensive to operate over time.