Development of Vanadium Electrolytes

Project completed by Future Battery Industries CRC– link will open in a new window which receives allocation of MRIWA funds.

The Challenge

The presence of impurities in the vanadium battery electrolyte could impact on the performance and the operation of the Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB). A systematic study will be conducted during this project to investigate the influence of a number of impurities on the performance of the vanadium electrochemistry. Additives will be tested to check if performance, cost and recyclability can be enhanced.

Proposed Solution

The project will examine several different work areas including the impurity levels with different sources of Vanadium Pentoxide production, the best membranes for use in the production, additives to enhance performance. The cost and performance of the electrolyte will be optimised considering cost and long term efficiencies.

Proposed Benefit to WA

Vanadium Electrolyte Batteries have the potential to increase the effectiveness of long term, flexible storage of renewable energy from various sources. The nature of renewable energy in WA is such that the lithium batteries used for short term storage will not cope with some of the demands of mining and processing industries who need 24hr power supply at high draw down rates.

By becoming a source of highly usable vanadium electrolyte from WA ample resources, the technology and use of vanadium batteries could become common in WA. WA could become a leader in Vanadium battery technology.