New energy storage explosion! The up-and-coming vanadium flow battery has extraordinary potential

　　2023 is the "explosive year" of new energy storage. According to statistics, in 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage in mainland China will exceed 30 GW for the first time, and the power scale and energy scale will both increase by more than 150% year-on-year. This year's "Government Work Report" for the first time included the "development of new energy storage", which undoubtedly added another fire to the development of the industry.

　　As a "rising star" in the field of new energy storage, many companies are actively deploying, so that vanadium batteries are on the big stage. Recently, industry experts said in an interview with the reporter of China Chemical Industry News that vanadium batteries have the characteristics of long time, high safety and long life, and will usher in major market opportunities with the increase in the proportion of new energy.

　　Long-term, high-safety features are valued Vanadium batteries welcome breakthrough opportunities

　　"As one of the most important energy storage technology routes for the construction of a new power system in the mainland, the most obvious characteristics of all-vanadium flow batteries are long-term, large-scale, safe and recyclable." Yan Chuanwei, a researcher at the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and chief scientist of Liaoning Kejing New Materials Co., Ltd., said.

　　He said that vanadium batteries are water-based batteries, which operate at room temperature and pressure, without the risk of thermal runaway, and have the outstanding characteristics of intrinsic safety; It has a long life and can operate stably for more than 20 years; It can achieve 100% energy retention and low energy recovery cost; At the same time, because its electrolyte can be recycled permanently, it is also environmentally friendly. In the context of the "dual carbon" goal, breakthrough opportunities will surely be ushered in.

　　Wang Xiaoli, general manager of Dalian Rongke Energy Storage Technology Development Co., Ltd., said that the longest running vanadium battery energy storage project in the world is the 5 MW/10 MWh all-vanadium flow battery energy storage system built by Dalian Rongke in Shenyang Faku Guodian Longyuan Wind Farm in 2012, with a calendar life of more than 11 years. The success of this project has verified the ultra-long life and high stability characteristics of vanadium batteries.

　　Wang Xiaoli emphasized the "long-term" characteristics of vanadium batteries. "Flow batteries are one of the few long-term energy storage technology routes in the industry with industrialization capabilities. Both at home and abroad are now talking about increasing the proportion of new energy, or even completely moving away from fossil fuels. At that time, the urgency and necessity of long-term energy storage demand will be highlighted. She said.

　　The "High-quality Development of Energy Storage: Market Mechanism and Business Model Innovation" released by the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance (CNESA) pointed out that the storage time of lithium battery energy storage projects that have been put into operation is generally not more than 4 hours. In the future, with the frequent occurrence of extreme weather, the retirement of conventional thermal power units and the large-scale integration of new energy into the grid, energy storage technology with a longer duration will be required. Wang Xiaoli told reporters that medium and long-term energy storage of more than 4 hours is the target market of the vanadium battery industry.

　　The upstream and downstream industry chains have joined hands to "solve the problem" and reduce the potential for cost reduction

　　According to the CNESA Global Energy Storage Database, by the end of 2023, flow batteries, including vanadium batteries, accounted for about 0.6% of the cumulative installed capacity of the new power energy storage market in China.

　　"The main difficulty in opening the market for vanadium batteries lies in economic issues, and the initial investment cost of vanadium battery energy storage is currently high." Wang Xiaoli said, "The cost of vanadium batteries is closely related to the cost of key materials, stacks, and vanadium raw materials. Therefore, it is necessary not only to promote the technical research of membrane, electrode and bipolar plate materials and core component stacks, improve the utilization rate of electrolyte, but also to promote the in-depth cooperation and integrated development of upstream and downstream industrial chains to ensure the supply of raw materials and price stability. ”

　　Large-scale application is also crucial to reduce costs, Wang Xiaoli said that in the face of major market opportunities, the industry should focus on promoting the construction of high-quality projects to increase the proportion of vanadium batteries in the energy storage market.

　　"Dalian Rongke has been developing vanadium flow battery technology since 2008, and has achieved technological breakthroughs and the construction of major engineering projects through long-term in-depth industry-university-research cooperation with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and has a complete property rights system from battery materials, stacks, battery systems, management control to application technology." "In 2016, we built the world's largest vanadium battery energy storage equipment production base and vanadium electrolyte production base, with a total of more than 720 MWh of vanadium battery energy storage systems in operation. ”

　　Yan Chuanwei believes that the reason for the high cost is that the technology and industrial chain are not "mature enough". "In order to support the strategic transformation of the mainland's energy, vanadium battery energy storage technology must achieve low cost, otherwise the cost will be passed on to the electricity price." "But in the long run, vanadium battery energy storage has full cost reduction potential, and the construction cost of lithium battery energy storage, or even pumped hydro, is comparable." ”

　　According to the CNESA report, long-term energy storage technologies such as flow batteries are expected to mature by 2030, with the potential to achieve the same or lower cost as lithium-ion batteries.

　　Many enterprises are entering the new "outlet", especially in need of healthy development

　　In recent years, policies related to flow batteries have been frequently introduced. According to statistics, since 2023, there have been more than 40 policies, including at the national and local levels, which clearly propose to provide support for the technology research and development and project development of flow batteries.

　　With the support of policies, the scale of vanadium batteries is steadily expanding, attracting many enterprises in the energy industry and chemical industry to enter the vanadium battery industry, and vanadium batteries have become the next "outlet".

　　In October 2022, Pangang Vanadium & Titanium Co., Ltd., the world's largest vanadium company, established a joint venture with Dalian Rongke to jointly commit to the large-scale production of vanadium electrolyte. The development of vanadium batteries has also led to the rapid rise of vanadium in the non-steel field of Pangang Vanadium and Titanium Co., Ltd.

　　On March 20, Longbai Group, a leading enterprise in the titanium dioxide industry, said that the company has begun to develop vanadium materials used in vanadium flow batteries and short-process preparation of all-vanadium flow battery electrolyte and reserve related technologies, and the vanadium ilmenite concentrate alkaline pellet wet process with an annual output of 30,000 tons of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) innovation demonstration project is currently being promoted.

　　"As a business, we need to be confident. Energy transition is an inevitable trend, and the country's demand for long-term energy storage is very clear. Wang Xiaoli said, "While strengthening confidence, we must also be in awe of the market, quit the 'speculation' mentality, and conscientiously do a good job in technology research and development and product quality, so that the industry can achieve healthy development." ”

　　"That's a good thing. The pursuit of profit in the commercial market will promote the development of our industry, which in turn will benefit society as a whole. Yan Chuanwei said, "Now vanadium batteries have reached the level of industrial operation, and in recent years, there have been many 100-megawatt projects landed, I believe that in the future, the potential of vanadium batteries can truly become a reality." ”

　　He further pointed out that at present, 90%~95% of the consumption of vanadium in mainland China is used in the steel industry; With the rapid development of the energy storage industry, it is expected that in the next 3~5 years, the application of vanadium in the field of energy storage will surpass its application in the field of steel.

Author: Zhao Ruoyi