China’s Leading Scientist Predicts Vanadium Flow Batteries to Surpass Lithium-ion Batteries in Storage Capacity within a Decade
Date: 08 Aug 2024 |
8 August 2024 – Prof. Zhang Huamin, Chief Researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced a significant forecast in the energy storage sector. He predicts that in the next 5 to 10 years, the installed capacity of vanadium flow batteries could exceed that of lithium-ion batteries.
This announcement aligns with the recent formation of the Central Enterprise New Energy Storage Innovation Consortium. The consortium has outlined 57 key research and development tasks in four major directions, including "high safety, low-cost chemical energy storage" and "high efficiency, low-cost physical energy storage."
Technological Advancements in Energy Storage
Vanadium flow batteries are currently the most technologically mature flow battery system. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, Vanadium flow batteries store energy in a non-flammable electrolyte solution, which does not degrade with cycling, offering superior economic and safety benefits.
Prof. Zhang highlighted that the practical large-scale energy storage technologies include physical and electrochemical storage. For wind and solar power generation, the main electrochemical storage technologies encompass lithium-ion, flow, lead-carbon, and sodium-ion batteries. Vanadium flow batteries are expected to accelerate rapidly in the coming years, especially as renewable energy generation reaches 60-70% of the power system's market share. Long-term energy storage systems will become the most cost-effective flexible solution.
Renewable Energy Growth and Storage Needs
According to the National Energy Administration, as of the end of June 2024, China's renewable energy installed capacity reached 1.653 billion kilowatts, marking a 25% year-on-year increase. This accounts for 53.8% of the country's total installed power capacity, including 427 million kilowatts of hydropower, 467 million kilowatts of wind power, 714 million kilowatts of solar power, and 45.3 million kilowatts of biomass power. The combined wind and photovoltaic installed capacity has already surpassed that of coal power.
Progress in Vanadium Flow Battery Applications
With the expanding market share of renewable energy, research, development, and engineering demonstrations of vanadium flow battery energy storage systems are continuously advancing. For instance, Wuhan NARI's independently developed vanadium flow battery products have been widely used in various domestic demonstration projects.
Experts emphasize that vanadium flow batteries feature separate and independent charging and discharging processes, providing higher safety. Furthermore, the electrolyte of vanadium flow battery systems retains high residual value after decommissioning and can be easily recycled.
Currently, besides the demonstration projects of the two major power grids, the National Energy Group and several provinces including Jilin, Hebei, Sichuan, Jiangsu, and Shenzhen have issued vanadium flow battery tender projects.