1 kW/1 kWh advanced vanadium redox flow battery utilizing mixed acid electrolytes

Abstract

This paper reports on the recent demonstration of an advanced vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) using a newly developed mixed acid (sulfuric and hydrochloric acid) supporting electrolyte at a kW scale. The developed prototype VRFB system is capable of delivering more than 1.1 kW in the operation range of 15–85% state of charge (SOC) at 80 mA cm−2 with an energy efficiency of 82% and energy content of 1.4 kWh. The system operated stably without any precipitation at electrolyte temperatures >45 °C. At similar electrolyte temperatures, tests with a conventional sulfuric acid electrolyte suffered from precipitation after 80 cycles. By operating stably at elevated temperatures (>40 °C), the mixed acid system enables significant advantages over the conventional sulfate system, namely; 1) high stack energy efficiency due to better kinetics and lower electrolyte resistance, 2) lower viscosity resulting in reduced pumping losses, 3) lower capital cost by elimination of heat exchanger, 4) higher system efficiency and 5) simplified system design and operation. Demonstration of the prototype stack with the mixed acid electrolyte has been shown to lower the cost of conventional VRFB systems for large-scale energy storage applications.