All-vanadium liquid flow energy storage cabinet export

Are vanadium redox flow batteries suitable for stationary energy storage?

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) can effectively solve the intermittent renewable energy issues and gradually become the most attractive candidate for large-scale stationary energy storage. However, their low energy density and high cost still bring challenges to the widespread use of VRFBs.

Can vanadium flow batteries decarbonize the power sector?

Vanadium flow batteries show technical promise for decarbonizing the power sector. High and volatile vanadium prices limit deployment of vanadium flow batteries. Vanadium is globally abundant but in low grades, hindering economic extraction. Vanadium's supply is highly concentrated as co-/by-product production.

Where is the vanadium co-/by-product supply distribution?

Further inspection of the vanadium co-/by-product supply distribution reveals more causes for concern: while co-/by-product production represents the majority (75%) of the global vanadium supply, conversations with industry experts revealed that this stream is concentrated around ∼10 steel mills, primarily in China and Russia.

Why is the vanadium market so volatile?

We found that the vast majority of vanadium is produced as a co-/by-product in a highly concentrated supply chain, which helps explain the extreme volatility in supply and price witnessed in the vanadium market. These factors also cause concern for the upper bound of the rates at which annual supply can feasibly grow.

Is the prohibitive price of vanadium a supply chain problem?

Thus, the prohibitive price of vanadium may remain a separate issue from the supply chain challenges discussed here. One method to reduce the burden of the vanadium price does exist via a new market of electrolyte leasing, where a third-party company leases the vanadium – usually in the form of VRFB electrolyte – to a battery vendor or end-user.

Is vanadium redox chemistry a good choice for a battery?

While the battery architecture can host many different redox chemistries, the vanadium RFB (VRFB) represents the current state-of-the-art due to its favorable combination of performance and longevity. However, the relatively high and volatile price of vanadium has hindered VRFB financing and deployment opportunities.