The report discusses the advancements and market potential of redox flow batteries (RFB), emphasizing their modular design, rapid response, and environmental benefits compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. It highlights the growing global demand for RFBs, particularly in regions like Japan, China, and the US, and predicts a significant increase in market share and applications by 2025. Various projects and technological innovations are detailed, showcasing RFBs' role in energy storage systems, particularly for renewable energy sources.

1. Report on Redox Flow Batteries – Power sector
June 2014
Future demand assesment & emerging trends
Report by Mr. Irish Pereira

2.  Redox Flow Battery – Brief introduction
 Global demand for Redox Flow Batteries - Snapshot
 RFB in Power sector - Region wise demand -Japan, China, US & EuropeS
 Way forward…
 Bibliography
Table of Contents
2

3. RFB being a modular and highly flexible technology with very rapid
response, little environmental impact…
3
 A flow battery is an electrochemical device that
converts the chemical energy in the electro-active
materials directly to electrical energy and is similar to a
conventional battery and fuel cells
 The electro-active materials in a flow battery however
are stored mostly externally in an electrolyte and are
introduced into the device only during operation
 Flow batteries are classified into redox flow batteries
and hybrid flow batteries
 In Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) - two liquid electrolyte
dissolutions containing dissolved metal ions as active
masses are pumped to the opposite sides of the
electrochemical cell e.g. Vanadium-vanadium,
Vanadium-bromine, Polysulfid-bromine, Iron-chrome
 In a hybrid flow battery (HFB) - one of the active
masses is internally stored within the electrochemical
cell, whereas the other remains in the liquid electrolyte
and is stored externally in a tank. E.g. Zinc-bromine,
Zinc-cerium, Lead-acid
 Of various types of flow batteries, Vanadium and zinc
flow batteries are mostly adopted technologies
Source: Flow Batteries report by by Trung Nguyen and Robert F. Savinell &
Redox Flow Battery by FRAUNHoFER-INSTITUT FÜR CHEmISCHE TECHNologIE ICT Report tIled „Status and Potential of Redox Flow Batteries”
Schematic of a redox flow battery system

4. … huge potential for cutting costs and hence are emerging as a very
promising option for stationary storage in general…
4
Vanadium redox battery (VRB) offers significant
benefits over Lithium-ion battery which is currently
the most used storage battery worldwide
 Independent system design for power and capacity
 Output Power Range: kW -- MW;
 Energy Storage Capacity : kWh -- 10MWh
 High efficiency (>75%)
 Long lifetime
 Deep discharge ability, Low self-- discharge, fast
response
 Environmental friendly
 Operation safety
Advantages of Redox Flow Battery
Source: DICP CAS report titled “Redox Flow Battery Technology for Electricity Storage “ &
Energy & Capital report
 Poor electrolyte stability and less solubility lead to low
energy density
 Low selectivity to the vanadium ions lead to the
Unbalance of vanadium ions and water , and the
capacity degradation after long operation time
 Low rated operation current density lead to high
material cost
 High cost of the ion exchange membrane
Challenges of VRB for commercialization

5. …and for renewable applications in particular
55
UPS
Load
balancing
Power
conversion
Stand-alone
power system
Electric
vehicles
Major
Applicatons –
Redox Flow
Battery
 Where the battery is
connected to an electrical
grid to store excess electrical
power during off-peak hours
and release electrical power
during peak demand
periods.
 Storing energy from
renewable sources such as
wind or solar for discharge
during periods of peak
demand
 As flow batteries can be
rapidly "recharged" by
replacing the electrolyte,
they can be used for
applications where the
vehicle needs to take on
energy as fast as a
combustion engine vehicle
 Currently used in telecom
industry for use in cellphone
base stations where there is
no grid power available.
 The battery can be used
alongside solar or wind
power sources to
compensate for their
fluctuating power levels and
alongside a generator to
make the most efficient use
of it to save fuel
 As the voltage of the battery
is proportional to the
number of cells used the
battery can therefore act as a
very powerful DC/DC
converter. In addition, if the
number of cells is
continuously changed (on
the input and/or output side)
power conversion can also
be AC/DC, AC/AC, or DC/AC
with the frequency limited
by that of the switching gear
Source: Wikipedia and others
 where the battery is used if the main power fails to provide an uninterrupted supply

6.  Redox Flow Battery – Brief introduction
 Global demand for Redox Flow Batteries - Snapshot
 RFB in Power sector - Region wise demand -Japan, China, US & Europe
 Way forward…
 Bibliography
Table of Contents
6

7. With a humble beginning of adoption since late 2000’s, the flow
battery technology…
Source: International Energy Agency Report titled “Energy Storage Technology Roadmap - Technology Annex ” dated 19 March 2014
International Energy Agency (IEA) positions the Flow Battery Technology at Early “Demonstration to
deployment” phase in their Energy Storage technology maturity curve
Maturityofenergystoragetechnologies

8. … is expected to be significantly adopted technology by 2025
8
In ESS (Energy Storage System) technologies, flow battery technology shows high potential and is expected to
be applied in various application markets in the future
Source: Sino-report ESS market Research Center Report titled “Analysis of ESS Business - Flow Battery Tech. & Market” dated May 2014
 About 85 flow batteries (small-scale
batteries excluded) were installed in the
world until 2012 which is above 343MWh
in capacity
 The installation market for flow battery is
becoming more active in recent years.
Flow batteries are mainly used for
 Load levelling,
 Renewable capacity firming,
 Micro grid system,
 UPS
 Frequency regulation
 In 2012 the flow battery (redox flow
batteries and hybrid flow batteries)
occupied approximately 0.5% of the ESS
market however Sino-report expects the
market to increase to 25% by 2020
Flow Battery Market Demand Forecast (MWh)

9.  Redox Flow Battery – Brief introduction
 Global demand for Redox Flow Batteries - Snapshot
 RFB in Power sector -Region wise demand -Japan, China, US & Europe
 Way forward…
 Bibliography
Table of Contents
9

10. Lithium-ion batteries which dominated the power applications
market till 2012…
10
Lux research predicts increased adoption of Redox Flow Batteries in grid-scale energy storage till 2017 namely
vanadium redox batteries (VRB) and zinc bromine flow batteries in particular
Global Grid-scale batteries Market Demand Forecast
33%
19%
15%
19%
13%
1%
Vanadium Redox
Batteries
Sodium Sulfur
Sodium Nickel Chloride
Zinc Bromine Flow
Batteries
Li- ion Batteries
Flywheel Batteries
 Lux Research report predicts that annual
global demand for grid-scale energy
storage will reach an astounding 185.4
gigawatt- hours (GWh) by 2017 and
represent a $113.5 billion market
 Li-ion batteries for power applications
account for around 80% of the market in
2012 are expected to quickly fade as
cheaper molten-salt and flow batteries
become available in the ensuing years
 Currently, Li-ion batteries are sought-after
due to their availability and proven
performance.
 Flow batteries and molten salt batteries,
both of which perform well for longer
discharge applications, have shown
comparable performance to Li-ion
batteries at a fraction of the cost and are
currently limited by their availability and
proven reliability
Source: Lux Research Report titled “"Grid Storage under the Microscope: Using Local Knowledge to Forecast Global Demand” dated 2012

11. …is expected to lose its share to Vanadium Redox Batteries till 2017
11
Redox flow battery – Applications in grid-storage (Power sector)
Source: Springer Report titled “Redox flow batteries: a review” dated July 2011
Sumitomo Redox battery - Japan
Enervault Redox battery - US

12.  Redox Flow Battery – Brief introduction
 Global demand for Redox Flow Batteries - Snapshot
 RFB in Power sector -Region wise demand -Japan, China, US & Europe
 Way forward…
 Bibliography
Table of Contents
12

13. Lux Research report 2012 states that Japan, China…
13
Japan – Current & Planned Redox Flow Batteries
China – Current & Planned Redox Flow Batteries
Sr. No Project Name Technology Type
Rated Power
(kW)
Status Application/ Usage City State/Province Ownership Model
1
Sumitomo Densetsu
Office
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery 3000 Operational Electric Bill Management
Osaka Kansai Customer-Owned
2 Yokohama Works Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery 1000 Operational
Onsite Renewable Generation
Shifting, Electric Supply
Capacity
Yokohama Kanagawa Customer-Owned
3 Tomamae Wind Farm Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery 4000 Operational Electric Energy Time Shift
Totomamae Hokkaido Prefecture Utility-Owned
4
Minami Hayakita
Substation Vanadium
Redox Flow Battery
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery 15000 Announced
Renewables Capacity Firming,
Renewables Energy Time Shift,
Voltage Support
Abira Hokkaido Utility-Owned
Sr. No Project Name Technology Type
Rated
Power (kW)
Status Application/ Usage City State/Province Ownership Model
1
Zhangbei National
Wind and Solar Energy
Storage and
Transmission
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery
2000 Operational Renewables Energy Time Shift,
Renewables Capacity Firming,
Frequency Regulation, Ramping
Zhangbei Hebei Utility-Owned
2
Prudent Energy
Corporation/CEPRI
Vanadium Redox
Battery Energy Storage
System
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery
500 Operational
Renewables Energy Time Shift,
Renewables Capacity Firming,
Load Following (Tertiary
Balancing), Voltage Support
Zhangbei Hebei Utility-Owned
Source: DOE Global Energy Storage Database

14. …State of Arizona – United States along with the United Kingdom…
14
US – Current & Planned Redox Flow Batteries
Sr. No Project Name Technology Type
Rated Power
(kW)
Status Application/ Usage City State/Province Ownership Model
1 Prudent Energy VRB-ESS®
- Gills Onions, California
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery
600 Operational Grid-Connected Commercial
(Reliability & Quality)
Oxnard California Third-Party-Owned
2
Primus Power
Corporation Wind Firming
EnergyFarm™
Zinc Chlorine
Redox Flow
Battery
25000
Under
Construction
Renewables Capacity Firming
Modesto California Utility-Owned
3
National Grid Distributed
Energy Storage Systems
Demonstration, Everette,
MA
Zinc Bromine
Redox Flow
Battery
500 Contracted
Electric Energy Time Shift
Everett Massachusetts Utility-Owned
4
City of Painesville
Municipal Power
Vanadium Redox Battery
Demonstration
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery
1080 Contracted
Load Following (Tertiary
Balancing)
Painesville Ohio Utility-Owned
5
Fort Sill - U.S. Army
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
250 De-Commissioned
Renewables Capacity Firming
Fort Sill Oklahoma Customer-Owned
6
Illinois Institute of
Technology RDSI Perfect
Power Demonstration
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
250
Under
Construction
Black Start
Chicago Illinois Customer-Owned
7
Port Hueneme Naval
Facility
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
25
Under
Construction Renewables Capacity Firming
Port Hueneme California Customer-Owned
8
Pualani Manor
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
60 Operational
Renewables Capacity Firming
Honolulu Hawaii Customer-Owned
9
San Nicholas Island Naval
Facility
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
500
Under
Construction Renewables Capacity Firming
San Nicholas
Island
California Customer-Owned
10
St. Petersburg Solar Parks
Project
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
25
Under
Construction
Electric Bill Management with
Renewables
St. Petersburg Florida Customer-Owned
11 EnerVault Redox Flow
Battery Demo Project
Iron Chromium
Redox Flow
Battery
250 Operational
Electric Energy Time Shift
Turlock California Third-Party-Owned
12
UC San Diego ZBB /
Sunpower Energy Storage
CSI 2
Zinc Bromide
Flow Battery
100
Under
Construction
Electric Bill Management
San Diego California Customer-Owned
Source: DOE Global Energy Storage Database

15. …and Germany will be the top five regions for grid storage and…
15
US Continued…
13
Premium Power DESS,
SMUD HQ
Zinc Bromine Redox
Flow Battery
500
Under
Construction Electric Supply Capacity
Sacramento California Utility-Owned
14
National Grid
Distributed Energy
Storage Systems
Demonstration,
Worcester, MA
Zinc Bromine Redox
Flow Battery
500 Contracted
Renewables Energy Time Shift
Worcester Massachusetts Utility-Owned
15
UEP CCNY
Demonstration
Zinc-Nickel Oxide
Redox Flow Battery
100 Operational
Electric Bill Management
New York New York Third-Party-Owned
16
DOD Marine Corps Air
Station Miramar
Microgrid Energy
Storage System
Zinc Bromine Redox
Flow Battery
250
Under
Construction
Renewables Capacity Firming
San Diego California Customer-Owned
17
Crescent Valley
Project
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery
250 Operational
Electric Energy Time Shift
Moab Utah Utility-Owned
18
PV and EV Charging
Systems at Sporting
Venue
Zinc Bromide Flow
Battery
25
Under
Construction
Onsite Renewable Generation
Shifting
Phoenix Arizona Customer-Owned
19
Joint Base Pearl
Harbor Hickam
(JBPHH) U.S. Military
Base
Zinc Bromide Flow
Battery
125
Under
Construction
Black Start
Honolulu Hawaii Customer-Owned
20
VISA (Data Processing
Center)
Zinc Bromide Flow
Battery
25 Operational
On-Site Power
Ashburg Virginia Customer-Owned
21 Bainbridge Island
Storage Project
Zinc Bromine Redox
Flow Battery
500 Contracted
Stationary
Transmission/Distribution
Upgrade Deferral
Bainbridge Island Washington Utility-Owned
22
MCAS Miramar
Microgrid
Zinc Bromide Redox
Flow Battery
250 Announced
Electric Bill Management with
Renewables
San Diego California Third-Party-Owned
23
Wind-Firming Energy
Farm
Zinc Bromide Redox
Flow Battery
28000 Announced
Renewables Capacity Firming
Modesto California Third-Party-Owned
24
Energy Storage for
Demand Response
(Seattle)
Zinc Bromide Redox
Flow Battery
500 Announced
Transportable
Transmission/Distribution
Upgrade Deferral
Seattle Washington Utility-Owned
Source: DOE Global Energy Storage Database

16. …collectively account for about 58% of global demand in 2017
16
US Continued…
Europe – Current & Planned Redox Flow Batteries
25
American Vanadium
Corp. MTA CellCube
Installation
Vanadium Redox
Flow Battery
90
Under
Construction
Grid-Connected Commercial
(Reliability & Quality)
New York New York Customer-Owned
26
Premium Power DESS,
SMUD Anatolia
SolarSmart Homes
Project
Zinc Bromide Redox
Flow Battery
500
Under
Construction
Renewables Energy Time Shift
Rancho Cordova California Utility-Owned
Sr. No Project Name Technology Type
Rated
Power
(kW)
Status Application/ Usage City Country Ownership Model
1
CENER VRB
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
50 Operational
Electric Energy Time Shift
Sarriguren Spain Customer-Owned
2
RISO Syslab Redox Flow
Battery
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
15 Operational
Renewables Capacity Firming
Kongens Lyngby Denmark Third-Party-Owned
3
PVCROPS Evora
Demonstration Flow
Battery Project
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
5 Operational
Renewables Capacity Firming
Valverde Portugal Customer-Owned
4
Gigha Wind Farm Battery
Project
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
100 Announced
Renewables Energy Time Shift
Gigha United Kingdom Customer-Owned
5
ENEL Vanadium Redox
Battery Testing Station
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
10 Operational
Renewables Capacity Firming
Livorno Italy Third-Party-Owned
6
Tetiaroa Brando Resort
Zinc Bromide Flow
Battery
1000
Under
Construction Renewables Capacity Firming
Tetiaroa French Polynesia Customer-Owned
7
SmartRegion Pellworm
(Vanadium Redox Flow)
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
200 Operational
Renewables Energy Time Shift
Island Pellworm Germany Utility-Owned
8
Fotonenboer 't Spieker
Dairy Farm
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
10 Operational
On-Site Power
Vierakker Netherlands Customer-Owned
9
Swiss Dual-Circuit Redox
Flow Battery
Vanadium Redox Flow
Battery
10
Under
Construction Renewables Energy Time Shift
Martigny Switzerland Customer-Owned
Source: DOE Global Energy Storage Database

17.  Redox Flow Battery – Brief introduction
 Global demand for Redox Flow Batteries - Snapshot
 RFB in Power sector - Region wise demand -Japan, China, US & EuropeS
 Way forward…
 Bibliography
Table of Contents
17

18. Innovations in chemistry, design and engineering could decrease costs
further making all future grid-scale energy storage to adopt redox flow
18
The redox flow batteries market is currently dominated by vanadium
redox flow batteries
US based Prudent Energy dominates the redox flow battery field for
larger projects and largest operational facility is currently a mere
4MW
The Redox flow projects are getting ambitious in terms of capacity and
chemistry. Two large projects -28MW project has been announced in
Modesto California US & Minami Hayakita Hokkaido Japan is planning
15MW storage. Both projects are using Zinc as key electrolyte
Focus is on developing alternative to Vanadium due scarce supply and
monopolistic ownership with China
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a battery
that used laminar flow to keep its electrolytes separate, thus avoiding
the need for a membrane, which is often the most costly part of a
redox flow system thereby increasing its adoption
Vanadium
dominates Redox
Batteries currently
Key Technology
Vendor
Increasing Redox
flow batteries
capacities
Alternative to
Vanadium
Membrane Free
system to avoid
cost
Redoxflowbatteriesforenergystorage
Source: Energy Storage Report dated 11 June 2014

19.  Redox Flow Battery – Brief introduction
 Global demand for Redox Flow Batteries - Snapshot
 RFB in Power sector - Region wise demand -Japan, China, US & EuropeS
 Way forward…
 Bibliography
Table of Contents
19

20. Bibliography
Databases/Reports
 Flow Batteries report- https://www.electrochem.org/dl/interface/fal/fal10/fal10_p054-056.pdf
 FRAUNHOFER-INSTITUTE - http://www.ict.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ict/en/documents/brochures/Redox-flow-battery.pdf
 Energy & Capital website - http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/the-best-thing-since-lithium/1531
 DICP CAS report - http://www.raeng.org.uk/news/releases/pdf/Chinese_Academy_of_Sciences/Huamin_Zhang.pdf
 Sino – Report - http://www.sino-report.com/b/dianzi/dianchijiyuanliao/20130407/1236.html
 IEA Report - http://www.iea.org/media/freepublications/technologyroadmaps/AnnexA_TechnologyAnnexforweb.pdf
 Energy Storage Report - http://energystoragereport.info/redox-flow-batteries-for-energy-storage/
 Springer report - http://ecpower.utk.edu/Publications/docs/Redox%20flow%20batteries%20a%20review.pdf
Websites
 Lux Research -
http://www.altenergystocks.com/archives/2012/04/gridscale_energy_storage_lux_predicts_1135_billion_in_global_demand_by_2017.html
 DOE Global Energy Storage Database http://www.energystorageexchange.org/
 Enervault - http://www.nanalyze.com/2014/06/worlds-largest-iron-chromium-flow-battery-from-enervault/
 Sumitomo - http://global-sei.com/president_blog/2012/08/completion_of_demonstration_fa.html
20