Vanadium Redox Batteries

[Eletruk]

I recently picked up a DiscoverMagazine (October 2008) and they had a little article on these Vanadium Redox batteries. I was very interested in the article for a couple of reasons. First, I had never heard of these things, second, they can scale up. They are flow batteries, so that instead of sitting static in a battery case, you have two tanks of reagents - which are actually simply tanks of Vanadium oxides, only at different levels. The interesting thing is that Vanadium has several different levels of oxidation, and you can identify them by color. VO2 is purple, VO3 is green, VO4 is blue, and VO5 is yellow. So all you need to do to create electron flow is a membrane (similar to Fuel Cell membrane) and Vanadium with two different levels of oxidation on each side. The beauty of the system is there is no cross contamination, it's Vanadium oxide on either side, so in essence, the battery doesn't deteriorate. The system is rechargeable, and one battery system in place has experienced over 16000 cycles. The other cool thing about the system, is that you can "Quick Charge" simply by replaceing the oxide. So this battery has several unique capabilities:
1). Virtually unlimited lifecycles
2). Scalable up to megawatts of power (currently being used in Wind Power farms)
3). Can be "filled up" by simply replacing the oxide.
4). Is benign, not a poisonous metal or oxide.
5). Relatively cheap metal, and huge reserves.
6). potentially high energy density.
7). You can't kill them by overcharging or discharging!

They even have made a portable battery to drive a golf cart as a demonstrator.

The interesting thing is that there really isn't any commercial developement being done on this battery system. Currently most of the work is being done by the University of New South Wales in Australia. So looking into the system a little further, there are articles claiming that the Vanadium battery can potentially have more energy density than gasoline!
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/04/the_vanadium_ba.php
http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/01/vandium_reflux_.html
http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Vanadium_Redox_Batteries

[leitmotif]

Sounds good
BUT look at estimated price

Copied from
http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2006/01/vandium_reflux_.html

The cost is quoted in $/kWh or $/MWh since the VRB is an "Energy Storage System" and should not be considered a UPS or even a generator. Although the VRB provides the full UPS capability, its primary use is for energy storage for long periods, which UPS and conventional technologies cannot provide. As an approximate cost, systems are priced between $350-$600 per kWh, sizes ranging from a few hundred kW's to MW size systems. As the size of the system in kWh increases, the cost per unit decreases significantly. For example, a system rated at 100MWh would have an installed cost of about $325 per kWh. The incremental cost of storage for large systems is approximately $150 per kWh.

Same article stated several companies are working on commercial projects.
VRB Power Systems Inc. of Vancouver, B.C. Canada is an electrochemical energy storage company that is commercializing the patented Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System ("VRB-ESS") and has acquired the intellectual property rights and assets to the Regenesys Energy Storage System.  In May 2005, VRB Power acquired a world-wide license to SEI's patents and technology (excluding Japan).

VRB Power Systems. electric storage systems (VRB-ESS) are intended for applications from 2.5kW's to 10MW's with durations of 2 hours and greater.  VRB's vanadium products are aimed at two markets:

The VRB-ESS is sized for telecom applications (2.5kW's to 10kW's - multiple hours) intended to replace lead acid battery backup systems.
The VRB-ESS is designed for Utility and Remote Area Power Supply systems (less than 25kW's - multiple hours).
Cellennium Company Limited- A team of European scientists created a novel design architecture of the vanadium battery.  This design is said to allow economical production for vanadium batteries in modular sizes as small as 3 to 5 kilowatts, thus potentially enabling wide­ spread use of energy storage for small, distributed applications. The technology of the new vanadium batteries is easily scalable to megawatt sizes.

This novel technology is now owned by Squirrel Holdings Limited; Cellennium Company Limited has acquired from Squirrel the rights of the use and development of the new vanadium batteries in Thailand. The Cellennium Company Limited has recently launched a program to commercialize these batteries. The new vanadium batteries are working successfully in the laboratory, and are giving excellent results. The unique features developed by Squirrel Holdings Limited are as follows:

The electrolytes are fed through a stack of cells in series instead of in parallel as in other designs.
The cells in a stack consist of pairs of high precision molded structural components designed for speedy "LEGO style" error ­free assembly with o­-ring sealing to prevent leaks.
The electrodes, sandwiched between novel glassy carbon bipolar plates and the cell membranes, consist of carbon fiber mats permeated by a system of fine channels to distribute the electrolyte through the whole area with very small flow resistance.
The cells are placed horizontally in a vertical stack to make a compact and structurally stable unit.
A novel hydraulic feature within the system allows the battery to be "black started'' from a state of total inactivity without the need for priming of the electrolytes from outside sources.
Production of the electrolytes can be done modularly and electrochemically, operating at room temperature, without the addition of chemicals.
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (SEI) has been involved in the development of redox flow cells since 1985 in collaboration with Kansai Electric Power. They have successfully built demonstration scale units for grid load leveling applications and have been building and installing commercial scale units in Japan since 2001. 

Applications

SEI has 16 operational VRB systems in Japan, which include peak shaving, utility and renewable energy storage applications, and has developed a 42-kW cell stack.  A 3 MW x 1.5 sec. plus a 1.5 MW x 1 hr system for Tottori Sanyo Electric has been operating since 2001 at a large liquid crystal manufacturing plant as a combination of UPS for voltage sag compensation and a peak shaver to reduce peak load.

The VRB-ESS installation for PacifiCorp in Castle Valley, Utah, was the first large-scale commercial VRB-ESS in North America. The 250kW X 8 hour (2 MWh) unit which is connected to an 209 mile 25kV rural feeder, is being used as a load leveling (peak shaving) device to supply peak power capacity to a remote location in southeast Utah. The VRB-ESS enables PacifiCorp to assure the energy supply, while deferring the need for a new sub-station. The system includes innovative control interface applications and provides considerable impact on local voltage and power factor control. The installation site is in an environmentally sensitive area of national parks in southern Utah, and the VRB-ESS is unobtrusive and flexible.

The VRB-ESS installation for Hydro Tasmania on King Island in Australia was completed in November 2003. King Island is a small remote location off the south coast of Australia that supports and operates 5 wind turbines ranging from 250 - 850kW and Four Diesel generators at 1.5MW each that act as a remote grid to supply power to the local residents. The 200 kW x 4-hour (800 kWh) VRB-ESS installation has been integrated with the wind turbines and diesel generators to form a 3-way hybrid system that improves power supply and quality to the community of King Island.  The VRB-ESS is used to smooth the short term output variations in the wind generators and the customer loads while providing frequency and voltage control.

VRB Power Systems announced that it has sold a 30kW x 2 hour VRB-ESS to the South Carolina Air National Guard. The VRB-ESS will provide power quality enhancement and back-up energy supply for a tactical radar system in the event of grid disruption. The VRB-ESS system will improve energy efficiencies and economics by supplying backup power for 2 hours versus 10 minutes currently provided by a UPS system.  Additionally, the VRB system has an expected 10 year (or greater) system life and the flexibility to add hours of power supply by simply increasing the volume of electrolyte.



Suppliers:

VRB Power Systems Incorporated, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Cellennium (Thailand) Company Limited, Bangkok, Thailand
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Osaka, Japan (no information available on website)
V-Fuel Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia (vanadium bromide battery)

Dan Bentler

[aviken]

This is very interesting, to say the least...I'll have to carve out some time to look into this more...

[lenapralos]

Obviously after posting the same article under general discussion I think Vanadium Redox Batteries are amazing, I think they are the answer, and I think they should be mass produced in all sizes for all people to use.  What I want to know now is how Vanadium is mined and or how easy is it to extract from the soil, what are the Vanadium mineral stores on our planet Earth, is it vast or small........ also what I want to know is why the hell no one that I know of until now has heard of VRB's until now even though power plants around the world have been using this technology for years? 

I read a Sci-fi book last year by Gregory Benford called "Across the Sea of Suns."  I think the book was first printed in 1984.  The reason I mention it is becasue Benford is considered a "real" sci-fi writer by the sci-fi community meaning he closely matches his writing to known & proven science and in the book introduces a species that can project radio waves by means of its own anatomy - When Benford describes the humans in the book doing a quick autopsy on one of these creatures they discover strange sacs of fluid containg Vanadium if I remember correctly and other known elements having many electrons in its outer shell, acting as a type of biological battery to enable the creature to use electricity to create radio waves and other electrical system phenomena. 

So Gregory Benford back in 1984 is already writing sci-fi about creatures with internal vanadium redox batteries - or something close to it, and this is a year before Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos and her team in 1985 figured out how to make the battery work by saturating vanadium into a sulfuric acid solution. We now have these redox batteries in power plants, but not in cars.  And people are still saying we just don't have the technology - that workable and affordable electric cars on a massive scale are science fiction.  I don't get it.

John

p.s. sorry I just couldn't help but talk about Gregory Benford on SEVA   

[ReedRes]

What I want to know now is how Vanadium is mined and or how easy is it to extract from the soil, what are the Vanadium mineral stores on our planet Earth, is it vast or small........

Hi lenapralos.

I am the investor relations officer for an Australian company called Reed Resources (www.reedresources.com). We are in the process of finishing a feasibility study into the production of vanadium from a mine in Western Australia.

Currently, less than 30% of vanadium is produced as a primary product. The bulk of vanadium is recovered as a by-product of steel production or recycling waste from fly ash, oil residue or spent catalysts (see http://www.pmal.com.au/aurora/assets/user_content/File/AGM%2008%20presentation.pdf).

The majority of primary product is mined in South Africa. However, a new mine is on the verge of opening in Western Australia and we are hopeful of opening one by 2011 as well.

We are obviously very bullish on the outlook for vanadium. We put together a simple presentation on the reasons why which can be viewed at http://www.reedresources.com/barrambie.php

If you have any questions we can try to help you. We are looking for more information on the quantities of vanadium used in the lithium/vanadium car batteries as we see that as being potentially huge. If you can point us in the right direction that would be appreciated. We have contacted some of the manufacturers/developers - but they are being very tight lipped.

cheers
 

[JacobMc]

Hi Lenapralos,

I see in one of the last posts from the investor relations officer from Reed he had asked about the newer applications for the VRB and the quantities of Vanadium used for the applications. I was wondering if that information ever became available or if anyone else would be able to comment on that. Thanks,

J