A Stable Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery with High Energy Density for Large-Scale Energy Storage

The all-vanadium redox flow battery is a promising technology for large-scale renewable and grid energy storage, but is limited by the low energy density and poor stability of the vanadium electrolyte solutions. A new vanadium redox flow battery with a significant improvement over the current technology is reported in this paper. This battery uses sulfate-chloride mixed electrolytes, which are capable of dissolving 2.5 M vanadium, representing about a 70% increase in energy capacity over the current sulfate system. More importantly, the new electrolyte remains stable over a wide temperature range of -5 to 50 C, potentially eliminating the need for electrolyte temperature control in practical applications. This development would lead to a significant reduction in the cost of energy storage, thus accelerating its market penetration.