Reading guide:According to the prediction of the State Grid Energy Institute,2060The electricity consumption of the whole society will be about 15.7 trillion kilowatt hours,The installed power supply will exceed 6.7 billion kilowatts,At that time,Wind energy、Solar power generation capacity will exceed 4 billion kilowatts,Installed capacity accounts for more than 60%,Power generation accounts for more than 50%. "New energy + long-term energy storage" will become an important solution to ensure the safe and stable operation of the new power system in the future, so many research institutions at home and abroad predict that by 2030, the scale of the domestic long-term energy storage industry will exceed one trillion yuan. Flow batteries are one of the few long-term energy storage technology routes with industrialization capabilities in the industry, and they are in the "leading" position of new energy storage. In recent years, more and more "players" have joined this track, and more and more capital has paid attention to this track. The focus on capital continues to increase
According to Laimei data, since 2023, there have been 25 investment and financing events in the field of flow batteries, with a financing amount of more than 2.65 billion yuan. Among them, the all-vanadium flow battery track has the most financing cases, with a total of 14 cases; There are 2 financing cases in the fields of all-iron flow batteries, zinc-iron flow batteries, iron-chromium flow batteries, key materials and stacks for flow batteries; In addition, iron-chromium flow batteries and zinc-nickel flow batteries also have one financing case. There were 12 Series A and previous financing cases, accounting for 50%, and the total financing amount was 1.65 billion yuan, accounting for 62.3%.
Chart 1: Financing events in the flow battery sector since 2023
Data source: RimeData to find data
In addition, proton exchange membranes, which are closely related to flow batteries, are also attracting attention. As one of the core materials of flow batteries, proton exchange film accounts for about 50% of the cost of the battery stack, and the proton exchange film is similar to the chip in the electronics industry, and also belongs to the field of "stuck neck", the domestic proton exchange market is basically monopolized by United States, Japan, Canada and other manufacturers, but there is also a lot of room for domestic substitution. As the development of flow batteries is about to enter the fast lane, the capital attention of proton exchange membranes is also increasing rapidly.
Laimei data shows that in recent years, the financing cases of the proton exchange membrane track have shown a significant growth trend, and there have been 8 financing cases since 2024, with a financing amount of 640 million yuan. Interested readers can log on to the Rime PEVC platform to obtain full financing cases, invested projects and in-depth data analysis of flow battery & proton exchange membrane track.
Figure 2: Rime PEVC Platform Proton Exchange Membrane Track
Data source: RimeData to find data
Policy guidance continues to increase
In recent years, a series of policies have been introduced at the national level to promote the development of new energy storage technologies, and a variety of energy storage technologies, including flow batteries, have received focused attention and support. Local governments have also actively responded to the call of the state and introduced relevant policies to support the development of the flow battery industry according to local conditions. Recently released policies are also continuing to increase support.
On August 6, it was reported that the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, and the National Data Bureau recently issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a New Power System (2024-2027)". It is proposed in the document to explore the application of a number of new energy storage technologies, and explore the construction of a number of energy storage power stations with various technical routes such as flow batteries, flywheels, compressed air energy storage, gravity energy storage, carbon dioxide energy storage, liquid air energy storage, sodium-ion batteries, lead-carbon batteries, etc., focusing on the needs of different application scenarios for ramp-up rate, capacity, long-term scale adjustment, economy and safety.
On July 29, 17 departments, including the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Shandong Provincial Energy Bureau, jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the High-quality Development of the New Energy Storage Industry". Cultivating the flow battery industry. Focus on breakthroughs in low-cost, high-efficiency flow battery energy storage technology, support the development of multi-technology routes, focus on accelerating the large-scale mass production of hydrochloric acid-based all-vanadium flow batteries, and promote the gradual pilot production of iron-chromium flow batteries and zinc-iron flow batteries.
On May 8, six departments including the Sichuan Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology issued the "Implementation Plan for Promoting the High-quality Development of the Vanadium Battery Energy Storage Industry". This is the country's first all-vanadium flow battery industry special policy, from the application of pilot demonstration, strengthen independent innovation of technology, expand the production and supply of vanadium products, promote industrial cost reduction and efficiency increase, accelerate the construction of industrial clusters, cultivate and improve the standard brand, etc., and strive to establish a "government-led, enterprise-implemented, multi-terminal cooperation, demonstration first, comprehensive policy" vanadium battery energy storage industry development system.
More and more projects are being launched
According to incomplete statistics, from January to August 2024, a total of 46 flow battery energy storage projects were launched, involving a total investment of more than 73 billion yuan and a new planned production capacity of more than 93GWh. Among them, there are 3 projects of 10 billion yuan, and 4 have a production capacity target of more than 10GWh. In terms of project progress, 19 projects have entered the contract state, with a production capacity of about 23GWh; There are 14 projects under construction, under construction or about to be put into operation, with a production capacity of about 52.9 GWh; Another 13 projects are in the filing and construction stage.
According to the technical route, the all-vanadium flow battery, which is the most industrialized application, is still the mainstream, with a total of 28 projects involving related products and technologies; There are 5, 4 and 3 projects for zinc-iron flow batteries, zinc-bromine flow batteries and iron-chromium flow batteries; In addition, zinc-nickel flow batteries and sulfur-iron flow batteries are also involved. From the perspective of participants, there are more than 40 companies involved in the planning and construction of flow battery projects, among which Weijing Energy Storage has the most participating projects, with 4, followed by Weilide, Green Vanadium Energy, Jiangsu Hengan and Meimiao Energy Storage, with more than 2 projects involved.
Figure 3: Flow battery energy storage projects from January to August 2024
Data sources: public information, CESA Energy Storage Application Branch, RimeData to find data
However, due to the limited space and the diversity of flow battery technical routes, involving more than ten kinds of vanadium, zinc-iron, iron-chromium, etc., this article only summarizes the common characteristics and advantages of flow batteries, and no longer discusses the technical routes: (1) Long-term energy storage capacity: flow batteries can achieve energy storage for more than 4 hours, and can even reach 8 hours or longer. Improving the efficiency and reliability of grid operations and enabling large-scale energy storage is critical, especially in renewable energy generation systems. This makes them ideal for large-scale energy storage systems, such as new energy grid-connected applications.
(2) High safety: According to incomplete statistics, from 2017 to 2023, there will be at least 60 fire accidents in lithium energy storage power stations around the world. Therefore, in 2022, the National Energy Administration has made clear requirements for the location and layout of electrochemical energy storage power stations, clearly kicking ternary lithium batteries and sodium-sulfur batteries out of the optional solutions for medium and large-scale electrochemical energy storage, and the attitude towards the cascade utilization of power batteries is also "not suitable for selection". Flow batteries usually use aqueous electrolyte, which is not easy to burn and explode, and has high safety performance. This is essential for the stable operation of the energy storage system and the reduction of safety hazards. This is especially important for applications with high safety requirements, such as urban complex centers, underground energy storage, and densely populated areas.
(3) Long cycle life: The cycle life of flow batteries can reach 15,000-20,000 times (lithium-ion energy storage batteries are about 5,000 times), and the overall service life can reach 20 years or more, which greatly reduces the maintenance cost and replacement frequency of the energy storage system.
(4) Flexible capacity expansion: The power and capacity of flow batteries can be designed independently, and the output power and energy storage capacity of the energy storage system can be flexibly adjusted by increasing the specification and quantity of the stack and the concentration and volume of the electrolyte, and the construction period is short (3-6 months), so it is very suitable for large-scale energy storage systems.
(5) Environmentally friendly: The electrolyte composition of flow batteries is relatively harmless, and the battery materials are mostly environmentally friendly and have little impact on the environment, which is in line with the current global requirements for sustainable development and environmental protection.
In recent years, with the continuous progress of flow battery material technology and battery structure design and manufacturing technology, the power density of the battery has been significantly improved, the use of materials has been reduced, and the cost of the stack has been greatly reduced. At the beginning of 2024, the team of Li Xianxian, a researcher at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, developed a 70kW high-power density all-vanadium flow battery stack. The volume power density of the single stack has been increased from the current 70kW/m³ to 130kW/m³, and the power has been increased from 30 kW to 70 kW under the condition that the volume remains the same, and the cost is reduced by 40% compared with the current 30 kW stack. In 2024, the cost of all-vanadium flow batteries will enter the 2 yuan/Wh mark.
The Challenge
The scale of flow batteries continues to grow, and the future development prospects are bright. According to the 2024 White Paper on the Development of China's Flow Battery Industry, in 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of flow battery energy storage in China will be about 290MW/1175MWh. In the first half of 2024, China's new flow battery storage capacity will be around 88MW/360MWh. It is estimated that the cumulative installed capacity of flow battery energy storage in China will reach 0.7GW/2.8GWh in 2025; In 2030, the cumulative installed capacity of flow battery energy storage in China will reach 2.6GW/10.5GWh; In 2035, the cumulative installed capacity of flow battery energy storage in China will reach 5.4GW/21.6GWh.
However, flow batteries still need to overcome challenges including cost, energy density, technology maturity, environmental adaptability, safety and recycling in the process of their wide application and commercialization to achieve the ultimate development goal of "cheaper, stronger, smaller, safer and more environmentally friendly".
Cost issues: The initial investment cost of flow batteries is relatively high, mainly due to the large amount of electrolyte and expensive membrane materials required for the battery. Although the cost is gradually decreasing with technological advancement and large-scale production, the cost of flow batteries is still high compared to some mature energy storage technologies. In the future, the utilization rate can be improved and cost reduction can be achieved by optimizing the electrolyte formula, and the initial cost of the investor can be reduced through financial leasing, while in the case of proton exchange membrane, the cost can be achieved mainly through domestic substitution and modification.
Energy density and power density: Flow batteries have relatively low energy density and power density, which means that in order to store the same amount of energy, flow battery systems require more volume and space, which limits their application potential in certain application scenarios.
Technology maturity: Although flow battery technology has been developed for many years, compared with mature technologies such as lithium batteries, the commercial application of flow batteries is still at a relatively early stage, and the market acceptance and large-scale application need to be improved.
Environmental Adaptability: The operation of flow batteries may be affected by environmental conditions, such as temperature changes that may affect the performance of the battery. Although flow batteries can operate over a wide range of temperatures, their performance and stability under extreme climatic conditions still need to be further verified.
Safety and reliability: The safety and reliability of flow batteries are key to their large-scale applications. Future R&D will be committed to improving the safety performance of flow batteries, preventing the occurrence of safety accidents such as overcharge, overdischarge, and short circuit of batteries, and improving the reliability and stability of batteries.
Recycling and reuse: While flow batteries are designed and manufactured with a focus on environmental friendliness, effective mechanisms and processes need to be established to reduce environmental impact when it comes to battery recycling and reuse.
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