An innovation symposium at the University of New South Wales, led by Emeritus Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos, marked four decades since the groundbreaking invention of the 1 kW vanadium redox flow battery (VFB), built at UNSW.
There is an increasing number of flow battery deployments, signalling a shift in the global energy landscape as countries turn to long-duration energy storage.
The symposium brought together key players across the flow battery supply chain, including researchers, industry leaders and government stakeholders to promote understanding of the latest advancements, challenges and opportunities in flow batteries.
It included presentations and discussions that showcase current developments in technology, commercialisation efforts and Australia’s emerging role in the field. Among the participating companies were Sumitomo and Mitsubishi from Japan, Invinity Energy Services, Rio Tinto, along with Australian Vanadium from Australia and Fraunhofer from Germany.
For Australia, vanadium flow batteries present an exciting economic opportunity. The country offers expertise in flow battery solutions and a quarter of the world’s vanadium reserves are found there. Experts say Australia can develop a domestic flow battery manufacturing sector that ensures both energy security and economic growth.
“The vanadium flow battery offers a unique solution to the energy storage needs of renewable sources like solar and wind,” said Professor Skyllas-Kazacos. “Unlike traditional batteries, flow batteries store energy in electrolyte solutions, allowing for flexible and scalable energy storage at lower costs for long-duration applications.”
A study by Saudi Aramco gives a cost of stored energy at $0.0273, while iron-flow batteries are slightly cheaper at $0.0246. The storage costs for conventional lithium-ion batteries is $0.1648 and for lithium iron phosphate batteries $0.0624.
