The Chinese Academy of Sciences said the world’s largest flow battery has connected to the electricity grid in Dalian, China.
In a statement, it said the 100MW/400MWh Dalian Flow Battery Energy Storage Peak-shaving Power Station has “the largest power and capacity in the world so far”, was connected on 29 September and will enter into operation in mid-October. It was built and integrated by Rongke Power Co.
The project was approved by the Chinese National Energy Administration in April 2016. It will eventually produce 200MW/800MWh of electricity, the academy said. The first phase is for 100MW/400MWh.
The battery is based on vanadium flow battery energy storage technology developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) and will play the role of “peak cutting and valley filling” across the power system.
Renewable energy will be used to charge the station’s batteries during the grid-load valley period by converting electrical energy into battery-stored chemical energy.
The technology uses vanadium ions of various valence states. Electrical energy and chemical energy are converted back and forth through redox reactions of these ions in the positive and negative electrolytes, thus realising large-scale storage and the release of electrical energy.
It can also work with conventional thermal power, nuclear power, and other power sources, providing peak regulation and frequency regulation for the power system as well as improving its flexibility.
It will be a model for electricity peak-shaving and renewable energy grid management in China, according to the academy.
Photo: The 100MW/400MWh Dalian Flow Battery Energy Storage Peak-shaving Power Station connected to the electricity grid in Dalian.
