Redox Flow Batteries for Grid Scale Energy Storage.

By Vincent Sprenkle for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Challenge for Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Improving the cost-benefit relationship of energy storage

  • The ownership cost of the energy storage system over its lifetime
  • The value(s) energy storage provides

Challenge 1: Reduce Energy Storage Cost

Challenge 2: Monetizing Energy Storage Benefits for Multiple Grid Applications

All-Vanadium Flow Battery

 

 

Summary:

  • The flexibility of redox flow battery technology offers the potential to capture multiple value streams from a single storage device.
  • Current research has demonstrated high power conditions can be achieved with minimal impact in stack efficiency.
  • Next generation RFB technology based on Aqueous Soluble Organics (ASO) being developed to replace vanadium species.
  • Continued cost reductions in Li-ion technology will be driven by EV/PHEV deployments. RFB may be able to achieve similar cost targets at ~ 100X lower production volume.

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