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Vanadium electrolyte batteries are a mature technology. Vanadium is plentiful, cheap and (comparatively) non-toxic, and an accumulator can be built arbitrarily

Vanadium electrolyte batteries are a mature technology. Vanadium is plentiful, cheap and (comparatively) non-toxic, and an accumulator can be built arbitrarily large (just add another electrolyte tank). The disadvantage is the energy density, but for grid storage other considerations, such as long-term stability) are more important. Whoever wants to sell you lithium accumulators for grid storage probably owns a lithium battery factory.

woodandsteel 9y ago
Sounds good, but that makes me ask, so why aren't they already widely deployed? Makes me think there is some problem you aren't mentioning.
- ethbro 9y ago
  Per Wikipedia, flow batteries aren't as far along the research-production timeline as Lithium batteries. That + grid-scale customers being extremely conservative = gradual uptake.
- Brajeshwar 9y ago
  Actually, there are indeed at-least 5 big and established companies with finished products operating right now. I was talking to a cousin at the World Bank and got connected to a battery expert at the IFC. He calms me down that Vanadium Redox batteries are well proven and are being used now. Improvements are being advanced and announced regularly. In the next few years, I believe this will become common terms, as another means of storage. Some of the "problems" are huge initial capital investment required to start up, the battery sizes start as big as (approx) 5x5x5 ft to get a 5kW output. The recent bad news in the Vanadium Redox Battery is that of Imergy Energy shutting down[1] and their assets liquidated (I read somewhere, Sherwood Partners managed their liquidation). For those interested, IFC recently released a 50+ paged Report on Energy Storage[2]. 1. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/flow-battery-aspirant-imergy-has-let-go-its-staff-and-is-selling-its-assets https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/flow-battery-as... 2. https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/ed6f9f7f-f197-4915-8ab6-56b92d50865d/7151-IFC-EnergyStorage-report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/ed6f9f7f-f197-4915-8ab6-...

woodandsteel 9y ago

Sounds good, but that makes me ask, so why aren't they already widely deployed? Makes me think there is some problem you aren't mentioning.

ethbro 9y ago
Per Wikipedia, flow batteries aren't as far along the research-production timeline as Lithium batteries. That + grid-scale customers being extremely conservative = gradual uptake.
Brajeshwar 9y ago
Actually, there are indeed at-least 5 big and established companies with finished products operating right now. I was talking to a cousin at the World Bank and got connected to a battery expert at the IFC. He calms me down that Vanadium Redox batteries are well proven and are being used now. Improvements are being advanced and announced regularly. In the next few years, I believe this will become common terms, as another means of storage. Some of the "problems" are huge initial capital investment required to start up, the battery sizes start as big as (approx) 5x5x5 ft to get a 5kW output. The recent bad news in the Vanadium Redox Battery is that of Imergy Energy shutting down[1] and their assets liquidated (I read somewhere, Sherwood Partners managed their liquidation). For those interested, IFC recently released a 50+ paged Report on Energy Storage[2]. 1. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/flow-battery-aspirant-imergy-has-let-go-its-staff-and-is-selling-its-assets https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/flow-battery-as... 2. https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/ed6f9f7f-f197-4915-8ab6-56b92d50865d/7151-IFC-EnergyStorage-report.pdf?MOD=AJPERES https://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/ed6f9f7f-f197-4915-8ab6-...