One of the best articlesI have ever read.
The Chinese have always preferred the VRFB over lithium.
It has not always been easy to gather information on the subject of VRFBs and vanadium mining in China, but this article covers a lot of ground on the subject.
Here are a few clips from the article. and there are many more gems which are extremely informative. It is quite a long read but I believe you will all find it worth while.
The link to the article is at the bottom of the page.
China still relies heavily on thermal power. In 2020, China's thermal power generation will generate 5.33 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh), accounting for 71.2%, while wind energy and photovoltaic power generation account for only 7.51%. In April 2021, the General Department of the National Energy Administration issued the "Notice on Matters Related to the Development and Construction of Wind Power and Photovoltaic Power Generation in 2021 (Draft for Comment)", stating that by 2025, the proportion of wind and solar power generation in China will reach about 16.5%.
At present, lithium iron phosphate batteries account for more than 90% of the installed capacity of electrochemical energy storage in my country, but the safety issues of lithium batteries are becoming increasingly prominent. According to incomplete statistics, in the past 10 years, there have been at least 34 fires and explosions in energy storage power stations around the world. On April 16 last year, a serious fire and explosion occurred in the lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage power station of Beijing Guoxuan Fuweisi Optical Storage and Charging Technology Co., Ltd., causing casualties.
In this context, the all-vanadium redox flow battery is expected to take the lead in becoming the "reserve army" of my country's new power energy storage system. Many industry experts surveyed by Securities Times reporters believe that the active material of vanadium batteries is an aqueous solution of vanadium ions, which operates at room temperature and pressure without combustion and explosion; the charge and discharge cycle life of vanadium batteries can reach more than 15,000 times, and the calendar life can reach 20 years; China is a big country in vanadium resources, with the largest reserves in the world, the national energy security is guaranteed, and the pricing power is in its own hands.
Vanadium battery, the full name of all-vanadium redox flow battery, is a redox battery that uses vanadium as the active material in a circulating flow liquid state. Due to its outstanding safety performance and long cycle life, vanadium batteries are expected to develop into the "successor" of lithium batteries in some fields. Compared with power batteries, energy storage batteries are mostly used in power supply, power grid, user side, base stations, 3C products, etc., and are more closely related to national energy security.
According to the research results of CAPVISION, at present, SPIC, National Energy Group and some local energy groups, China Resources, Shanghai Electric , etc. are all actively deploying vanadium battery production. Start-up companies have been established in Hangzhou, Zhejiang and other places to participate in the R&D and manufacturing of vanadium batteries.
Wang Xiaoli introduced that the 5MW/10MWh all-vanadium flow battery energy storage system constructed by Dalian Rongke was put into operation in December 2012. It was the first 5MW flow battery energy storage system in the world that was actually connected to the grid. Up to now, the power, capacity and efficiency have not declined, and the operation is stable, which effectively verifies the long life, high safety and reliable and stable characteristics of vanadium batteries. In addition, the Dalian constant current 100MW/400MWh vanadium battery energy storage peak-shaving power station national demonstration project currently under construction is also one of the largest vanadium battery energy storage projects in the world.
The Securities Times reporter learned that in 2021, my country's energy storage market has shown signs of inflection points, and vanadium battery manufacturers have received a significant increase in intentional orders.
S&P Global data shows that from the beginning of 2021 to December 14, 2021, the price of lithium carbonate has increased by 413%, the CIF price in North Asia is 32,600 US dollars / metric ton, while the price of lithium hydroxide has climbed 254% in the same period to North America. CIF $31,900/metric ton. Analysts said that the epidemic has exacerbated the shortage of supply, coupled with the global pursuit of green energy, it is expected that the prices of key materials for lithium-ion batteries such as lithium, graphite and cobalt will continue to rise.
China's vanadium mine production accounted for 61.63% of the world's total vanadium mine production.