Redox flow batteries: costs and capex?
This data-file contains a bottom-up build up of the costs of a Vanadium redox flow battery. Costs, capex, Vanadium usage and tank sizes can all be stress-tested in this model.
Vanadium flow batteries are one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies due to their long cycle life, high recyclability, and safety credentials. However, they have lower energy density compared to ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries, and their uptake is held back by high upfront cost.
Researchers in Italy have estimated the profitability of future vanadium redox flow batteries based on real device and market parameters and found that market evolutions are heading to much more competitive systems, with capital costs down to €260/kWh at a storage duration of 10 hours.
The United States has some vanadium flow battery installations, albeit at a smaller scale. One is a microgrid pilot project in California that was completed in January 2022.
Vanadium makes up a significantly higher percentage of the overall system cost compared with any single metal in other battery technologies and in addition to large fluctuations in price historically, its supply chain is less developed and can be more constrained than that of materials used in other battery technologies.
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