Are vanadium redox flow batteries suitable for mobile applications?

Vanadium redox flow batteries are currently not suitable for most mobile applications, but they are among the technologies which may enable, when mature, the mass adoption of intermittent renewable energy sources which still struggle with stability of supply and lack of flexibility issues.Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How does cross contamination affect flow battery performance?

As mentioned previously, cross contamination largely affects the overall performance of the flow battery, as the vanadium crossover will react with the opposing vanadium species and will require regeneration . In order to address the above considerations, numerous membranes have been developed.

Can vanadium ions be transferred across a cell membrane?

No transfer of vanadium ions across the membrane will ensure maximum coulombic efficiency and any crossover of vanadium/other species into the opposing cell will result in self discharge and reduced energy efficiency in the cell .

Does CL - improve the redox activity of the vanadium ion redox reaction?

It is found that Cl - can improve the activity of the vanadium ion redox reaction and reduce the charge transfer resistance. The VRFBs with 0.04 M Cl - in the electrolytes have an electrolyte utilization and EE of 86.3 % and 82.5 % at 200 mA cm −2, respectively, and even at 400 mA cm −2, the EE remains at 70 %.

Are all-vanadium RFB batteries safe?

As an important branch of RFBs, all-vanadium RFBs (VRFBs) have become the most commercialized and technologically mature batteries among current RFBs due to their intrinsic safety, no pollution, high energy efficiency, excellent charge and discharge performance, long cycle life, and excellent capacity-power decoupling .

What is the relationship between battery capacity and power generated?

The capacity of the battery is related to the amount of stored electrolyte in the battery system, concentration of active species, the voltage of each cell and the number of stacks present in the battery . Conversely, the power generated is related to the behavior of the active species and the electrode size .