Vanadium flow batteries are not your average coin cell in a pocket. That’s because they are large enough to need a large truck and a crane for delivery. After that, they bring huge benefits in remote areas of Australia, and South Africa where electricity supply can be intermittent. Moreover, if you team them with solar your continuous energy is assured.
Getting Our Minds around Vanadium Flow Batteries
Many of us have difficulties getting our minds around at first. There are two reasons perhaps. First they are almost unbattery-like in their design. And second they are so simple vanadium flow batteries almost deny logic. Their virtual cathodes and anodes are chemicals dissolved in separate tanks. These exchange ions through a membrane without actually touching.
Moreover, there are two versions of this promising technology. The one variety works similarly to a fuel cell by replacing the spent liquids. While the other regenerates the energy from an outside source. When this is renewable solar energy, we have almost unlimited longevity. This means near perfect electricity to power small communities and farmers away from grids.
Delivering Container Loads of Electricity in South Africa
A South African bush-veld company appears to have perfected the art of delivering renewable electricity in containers linked to solar panels. Their components include cell stacks / membranes, electrolyte tanks, pumps, pipes and hoses.
These connect through a power management system to the user, and the energy recharging source. This may be solar energy or a regional grid. However, in many cases they are a bit of both, hybrid. Meanwhile, a Perth, Australia-based company is having similar success with vanadium redox flow batteries, to give them their full name.
One farming client in Western Australia has had uninterrupted power from their vanadium flow batteries for two years now. They have not a bill from the utility during this time. Despite this, they have all the three-phase electricity they require.
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Preview Image: Advanced Flow Battery Research at Argonne Laboratory
