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APPLICATIONS

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UNLOCK THE REAL POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLES

Redox Flow Battery (RFB) is the most promising solution for LDES.

The RFB technology is a key asset to unlock the real potential of renewables: they can store large amount of energy in a safely manner and with an unlimited lifetime, from few to tens of hours.

A flow battery is a rechargeable battery in which electrolyte flows

through one or more electrochemical cells from one or more tanks. With a simple flow battery, it is straightforward to increase the energy storage capacity by increasing the quantity of electrolyte stored in the tanks. The electrochemical cells can be electrically connected in series or parallel, so determining the power of the flow battery system.

This decoupling of energy rating and power rating is an important feature of flow battery systems. A flow battery is a variation of the rechargeable battery but is more scalable. Furthermore, unlike the latter, flow batteries have a very low self-discharge quotient, which means more energy is saved.

Because of the specific technology, stored energy in and power supplied by flow batteries are not intrinsically linked. This feature makes them especially suitable for storage systems for renewables, especially for uses with long discharge times.

 

 

A scheme of the redox flow battery cell.

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The global Flow Battery Market size is expected to grow from USD 289 Million in 2023 to USD 805 Million by 2028, at a CAGR of 22,8%. (source Markets and Markets). Flow batteries are currently being adopted in utilities, industrial, commercial and residential application.

 

Storing renewable energy is one of a major application of a flow battery. And renewable sources have become the preferred choice for expanding, upgrading and modernizing power systems worldwide.

 

The main advantages of REDOX FLOW BATTERIES

  • Long life cycles, estimated at 30 years or more

  • Energy and power could be sized independently

  • Most electrolytes do not rapidly degrade

  • No harmful emissions are released

  • Electrolytes are often 100% recyclable

  • They are not typically flammable

  • Little maintenance is required

  • They are tolerant of overcharging and over-discharging

  • They can operate at a wide range of temperatures

  • Installation cost is similar to lithium-ion batteries, but storage cost is lower

  • Redox flow batteries have a rapid response time, typically around 110 milliseconds

 

Redox flow batteries have many possible uses:

  • Power storage, for example, storage of solar power generated during the day for use at night

  • Load balancing where there are peaks and troughs in demand. The batteries can give short term boost to power supplies

  • Uninterruptible power sources to supply continuous power to facilities such as data servers to ensure no data is ever lost when mains power fails

  • Electric vehicles – rapid charging, allowing refueling times similar to those experienced by combustion engines

  • Stand-alone power systems, for example, remote mobile phone masts, can be fueled by solar power and batteries alone

Flow batteries will become more attractive for energy storage as power generation moves away from combustion-based technology.

Vanadium flow batteries are one of the most common flow batteries deployed at present

but more redox-active inorganic and organic electrolytes for redox flow batteries are arising.

 

The development of new inorganic and organic chemistries for redox flow will help to increase the size range and diversity of applications for redox flow batteries and make them even more benign for our environment.

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