Can all-vanadium redox flow batteries break through cost constraints?

　　The cost of energy storage technology has exceeded the industry turning point, and 2019 will be an exciting year: we see continuous breakthroughs in multiple technical routes, various application scenarios continue to be implemented, and energy storage is demonstrating its value. During the "Energy Storage International Summit and Exhibition 2019", leaders of government departments, experts and scholars, top corporate executives in the industry, and power energy group audiences gathered together to gain insight into the future of energy storage. Polaris Energy Storage Network, as the strategic cooperation media of the summit, has dialogues with many experts, scholars, and corporate executives on energy storage policies, technologies, applications, etc. We will compile what we see and hear into text and publish it in the column "Storage Capacity "Quantity", we look forward to working with colleagues in all aspects of the energy storage industry to explore opportunities, overcome difficulties, create the future, and welcome glory together! [Energy Storage Power] Chapter 4 We have a meeting with Huang Mianyan, President of Beijing Puneng Century Technology Co., Ltd. Doctors shared the market application prospects of all-vanadium redox flow batteries. In the field of electrochemical energy storage, in addition to lithium batteries that dominate the market and occupy the largest share of the market, "niche" technologies such as all-vanadium flow batteries also have strong market competitiveness with decades of research and development results. So, how can the all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage technology catch up and return to the mainstream status? 1 After 30 years of accumulation, the long-term performance advantages are obvious. “The all-vanadium redox flow battery is not a new energy storage technology. It has already More than 30 years of history." Dr. Huang Mianyan, President of Beijing Puneng Century Technology Co., Ltd., introduced to Polaris Energy Storage Network. First of all, from the perspective of battery structure, the biggest feature of the flow battery is its electrolyte "extracorporeal circulation" operation mode. Operation at low temperature and low pressure is more conducive to heat dissipation, and avoids the hidden dangers of fire and explosion caused by thermal runaway that lithium-ion batteries face. . In addition, the non-flammability of the vanadium battery electrolyte itself further improves its safety. In terms of operating effects, all-vanadium flow batteries are particularly suitable for long-term electric energy storage. Most of the electrochemical energy storage systems commonly used in the current peak-shaving field have an energy storage time of 2 hours or 4 hours, while flow batteries can do this. 6 hours, 8 hours or even more than 10 hours, it can be used with photovoltaic power generation to meet nighttime electricity needs. In addition, the most outstanding feature of the all-vanadium redox flow battery is its extremely long cycle life. It is generally believed that lithium batteries can be used for about 8 to 10 years, while flow batteries have a lifespan of up to 25 years. From the perspective of the entire life cycle, the full life cycle cost of electricity of flow batteries is lower than other energy storage technologies. In addition, judging from the main material of the all-vanadium redox flow battery, vanadium, the core material element of the electrolyte, is abundant on the earth, and there is no resource bottleneck problem. Moreover, vanadium will never be lost during battery operation. After the energy storage system is deactivated, the electrolyte can be easily recycled, and there will be no problem in disposal of decommissioned batteries that other energy storage technologies face. The advantages of all-vanadium flow battery technology are obvious. Its technological maturity level is not much different from that of lithium-ion batteries. Why is it so late in its promotion and application? This still has to go back to the eternal topic of commercialization - storage. The cost of energy is relatively high. 2 Innovate business models and break through cost constraints In 2018, various reasons led to an imbalance in the supply and demand of vanadium resources, and the price of vanadium raw materials for all-vanadium redox flow batteries skyrocketed. According to Huang Mianyan, "The price of vanadium pentoxide has increased four or five times from 120,000 yuan/ton in 2017 to 40,000 to 500,000 yuan/ton at the end of 2018." Cost reduction is an eternal topic in various industries. , and such market prices directly push the all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage technology to a point where commercialization is unacceptable. While improving the power density and reducing costs of batteries through technological advancement and the use of more cost-effective key battery materials, since the electrolyte accounts for 60~70% of the total cost of flow batteries, one of its main constituent materials, vanadium material, also The focus of cost control. Its high price and volatility affect investor confidence and customer acceptance, and naturally become one of the keys to the commercialization of all-vanadium flow energy storage technology. In addition to long-term strategic cooperation to ensure stable supply of raw materials and reduce procurement costs, which is a common model in the capital market, for the application market, Puneng Company uses the characteristics of non-consumption of vanadium electrolyte, high residual value, and recyclability to innovatively An electrolyte leasing solution is proposed. The owner does not need to consider the price of vanadium and only needs to bear the initial investment and regular leasing costs of the electrolyte. Dr. Huang Mianyan said: "Our cost goal is to reduce the investment cost to 2,000-2,500 yuan/kWh in the next 2 to 3 years. If the electrolyte is rented, the investment cost may only be about 1,000 yuan/kWh. ." Under this business model, the return on investment calculation of energy storage projects finally made it possible to increase profits, and the first commercial project of all-vanadium redox flow batteries came into being in Zaoyang, Hubei. 3. Multiple application prospects are promising. In various application fields, since user-side energy storage has clearer requirements for profitability, peak-to-valley price difference, battery cost, life cycle and one-time investment cost, flow batteries are based on existing It is still very difficult to promote the conditions on the user side in large quantities. However, Huang Mianyan said: “In the past few years, this industry has been doing demonstration projects. Now investors and owners have gradually advanced the projects from scientific research demonstrations to early commercial applications. For example, this project in Zaoyang, Hubei Province is moving from demonstrations to early commercial applications. An application in the commercialization transition stage." On January 5, 2019, Hubei Zaoyang 10MW photovoltaic + 3MW/12MWh all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage project was successfully put into operation. The overall energy storage system will help park enterprises consume photovoltaic surplus electricity. , Utilize the peak-valley price difference to arbitrage peak-cutting and valley-filling to reduce electricity bills for enterprises. This project is the first user-side all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage project in China, the first domestic all-vanadium redox flow battery photo-storage integration project, and the largest all-vanadium redox flow battery photo-storage project that has been put into operation in China. Exploring the commercialization of all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage technology in the domestic user-side energy storage market. At present, there are not many flow batteries used in grid side storage projects that are under construction in China. Although Dalian, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Hubei and other places have planned hundreds of megawatt-level all-vanadium flow battery energy storage projects, they have not yet been successfully implemented. , the main reason is that profitability is difficult to calculate. Huang Mianyan believes, “This is a very big market. In the future, as the cost of electricity decreases, opportunities for all-vanadium flow batteries to store energy on the grid side will also arise, and can even replace peak-shaving methods such as coal-fired power generation and pumped hydro storage. ." In addition, there is a huge market demand for photovoltaic and wind power energy storage both at home and abroad, and all-vanadium redox flow batteries have the characteristics of long life, safety and reliability, and long energy storage time, which are particularly suitable for this application scenario. All-vanadium flow batteries should have a place in the field of energy storage on the new energy power generation side. In addition, the increasingly demanding data centers also require long-term and safe power supply. This is also one of the scenarios that Puneng will focus on in 2019. Off-grid islands also require long-term energy storage technology. In the past ten years, all-vanadium redox flow batteries have done more than 20 projects in this application field. The pioneering electrolyte leasing business model, coupled with the growing demand for energy storage markets, has enhanced confidence in the future development of flow batteries, a niche energy storage technology. “Although there are only a few dozen flow battery companies in the world, and they are relatively small in scale and have poor financing channels, with the implementation of these representative projects and achieving good operating results, I believe that the scale of the project will It should rise. As the market increases, investors and suppliers will have more confidence to invest resources, and technology costs will drop rapidly, which can advance megawatt-level demonstrations to hundreds of megawatt-level commercial applications. "We also look forward to continued progress in all-vanadium redox flow battery technology and creating more practical application value.

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