https://stockhead.com.au/energy/the-world-is-switching-on-to-alternative-battery-technologies/
The world is switching on to alternative battery technologies
23 hours ago | Bevis Yeo
Excerpt
Vanadium redox flow batteries
The other major battery technology that’s poised to make waves in grid (and potentially home) storage is vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs).
VRFBs use vanadium in the electrolyte solution and do not require critical minerals such as nickel or cobalt that could be expensive or have constrained supply chains.
They are considered to be safer, more scalable, and longer lasting than their lithium counterparts with a lifespan of more than 20 years, or up to 25,000 cycles.
These are far safer than lithium-ion batteries and have a broad range of operating temperatures.
They can also be discharged completely – that is to be completely drained of energy – and store energy for long periods of time with no ill effects, which is not the case for lithium batteries.
VRFBs are already starting to be rolled out commercially, a prime example being China’s Rongke Power in Dalian province, which connected its first phase 100MW/400MWh system in 2022.
Rongke recently conducted the world’s first black start – restoring a power plant to operation without relying on external power – of a large-scale thermal power unit using its VRFB technology.