Model Of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Research Articles

Optimizing of working conditions of vanadium redox flow battery based on artificial neural network and genetic algorithms

The integration of electrode compression in a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) with optimized operating conditions is essential for achieving the maximum net discharge power. This study presents the development of a 3D steady-state model for VRFB aimed at maximizing net discharge power (Pnet) by optimizing key working conditions, including electrode compression ratio (CR), applied current density (Iapp), and electrolyte inflow rate (Qin). The comprehensive impacts of CR, Iapp, and Qin on VRFB charging and discharging curves, energy efficiency (EE), and system efficiency (SE), and Pnet were investigated. Subsequently, the optimization of CR and Qin under a fixed applied current density range of 20–400 mA/cm2 was carried out employing a hybrid methodology integrating artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithms (GA). Results reveals that increasing CR does not linearly improve system efficiency and net discharge power, with an optimal CR identified to maximize net discharge power. The optimal CR varies with operating conditions and is influenced by factors such as Qin and Iapp. Notably, both CR and Qin negatively impact net discharge power due to increased pump losses, while Iapp and state of charge (SOC) positively affect net discharge power through enhanced electron transfer and higher active substance concentration, respectively. The optimal CR is identified around 65 % for Iapp exceeding 60 mA/cm2. Furthermore, the optimal Qin correlates directly with increasing Iapp, as higher Iapp rates necessitate greater Qin to sustain active species supply. This study offers an optimization approach for addressing coupled operating conditions and provides insights for achieving high net discharge power in VRFB operation.

Performance analysis and gradient-porosity electrode design of vanadium redox flow batteries based on CFD simulations under open-source environment

As a promising large-scale energy storage device, the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has attracted attention due to its excellent safety, the independence between energy capacity and power capacity, the suitable polarization potential, and the ability to avoid cross-contamination. In this work, a 3D model of VRFB is developed based on the open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) platform OpenFOAM, which is well-validated. Then, the effect of operating conditions is studied, which shows that a higher electrolyte concentration can reduce the overpotential and increase the discharge voltage. Reducing the current density can increase the deepness of charge and discharge, reduce the electrolyte concentration gradient, the mass transfer loss and the activation loss. In addition, the effect of electrode porosity is studied that the overpotential decreases near the membrane and increases near the current collector with increasing porosity. Finally, the effect of porosity changes in different directions is studied, and an attempt is made to utilize this overpotential distribution by introducing the gradient-porosity electrode to reduce the non-uniformity of overpotential. The gradient-porosity electrode design using higher porosity near the membrane and lower porosity near the current collector can effectively improve the distribution of overpotential and increase battery performance by 1.67 mV.

A flow-rate-aware data-driven model of vanadium redox flow battery based on gated recurrent unit neural network

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) system involves complex multi-physical and multi-timescale interactions, where the electrolyte flow rate plays a pivotal role in both static and dynamic performance. Traditionally, fixed flow rates have been employed for operational convenience. However, in today’s highly dynamic energy market environment, adjusting flow rates based on operating conditions can provide significant advantages for improving VRB energy conversion efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Unfortunately, incorporating the electrolyte flow rate into conventional multi-physical models is overly complex for VRB management and control systems, as real-time operations demand low-computational and low-complexity models for onboard functionalities. This paper introduces a novel data-driven approach that integrates flow rates into VRB modeling, enhancing data processing capabilities and prediction accuracy of VRB behaviors. The proposed model adopts a gated recurrent unit (GRU) neural network as its fundamental framework, exhibiting exceptional proficiency in capturing VRB’s nonlinear voltage segments. The GRU network structure is carefully designed to optimize the predictive ability of the model, with flow rate considered as a crucial input parameter to account for its influence on VRB behavior. Model refinement involves analyzing well-designed simulation results obtained during VRB operations under various flow rates. Laboratory experiments were also designed and conducted, covering different conditions of currents and flow rates to validate the proposed data-driven modeling method. Comparative analyses were performed against several state-of-the-art algorithms, including equivalent circuit models and other data-driven models, demonstrating the superiority of the proposed GRU-based VRB model considering flow rates. Thanks to the GRU’s outstanding capability in processing time series data, the proposed model delivers impressively accurate terminal voltage predictions with a low error margin of no more than 0.023 V (1.3%) under wide operating ranges. These results indicate the efficacy and robustness of the proposed approach, highlighting the novelty and significance of accounting for flow rates in accurate VRB modeling for management and control system design.

A comprehensive study of parasitic gas evolution reactions in a vanadium redox flow battery

The gas evolution reactions (GERs) in a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) are dangerous and can cause a series of issues such as an imbalance in the state of charge (SOC) and electrode degradation, among others. To gain a deeper understanding of parasitic GERs in VRFBs, a transient multidimensional multiphysics VRFB model was developed by coupling the transport of multiphase species and electrochemical reactions. First, it was predicted that the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) occurs during the whole charge-discharge process due to the negative activation overpotential of the HER whereas the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurs only at the end of the charging process. Second, the charging current has a strong effect on the HER in the region near the bipolar plate. Third, it was found that the HER increases almost seven times (from 163.3 A m−3 to 1167.1 A m−3) when the operating temperature increases from 298.15 K to 313.15 K. The temperature has a more significant effect on the activation overpotential of OER than that of HER. Furthermore, the increasing HER with the increasing SOC results in an SOC imbalance of 0.54% after 10 charge-discharge cycles, which accounts for 11% of the overall capacity loss.

A comprehensive modelling study of all vanadium redox flow battery: Revealing the combined effects of electrode structure and surface property

To investigate the combined effects of electrode structural parameters and surface properties on the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) performance, a comprehensive model of VRFB is developed in this study. One feature of this study is that a practical range of working temperature is fully considered in the numerical simulations. Excellent VRFB performance was achieved by modified fibrous electrodes with 0.5 mm thickness and 0.9 porosity. The electrode with modified fibre of large diameter 20 μm shows improved battery performance with a low pressure drop. Without fibre modification, although VRFB with θ = 7° aligned fibre electrode reaches the highest limiting current density, it has an evidently high pressure drop. At 323.15 K, the VRFB with θ = 45° aligned fibre electrode showed 21 % higher limiting current density and 36 % lower pressure drop than VRFB with xy-plane isotropic electrode. Noteworthy, after the fibre surface modification, the sufficient specific surface area can be ensured, which leads to the insignificant effects of aligned electrode design. This model provides an insightful understanding of combined effects of electrode structure and surface property on the VRFBs performance at various temperatures.

Experimental validation of a vanadium redox flow battery model for state of charge and state of health estimation

This study presents a vanadium redox flow battery model that considers the most important variables that have a crucial role in the performance of the system. A complete model divided in an electrochemical, thermal, hydraulic and voltage submodels is presented. The analytic analysis of the model is carried out to reduce the system order according to some conservation laws. Based on this analysis, a subsequent calibration of the model parameters is developed using real experimental data. The validation is performed comparing the real measured voltage and the one estimated with the model. To calibrate the model an algorithm based on the implementation of a particle swarm optimizer is used. Results obtained in both short and long-term operation are presented, in order to compare and validate if the model can be used for both state of charge and state of health estimation.

The study of energy filtering management process for microgrid based on the dynamic response model of vanadium redox flow battery

For the efficient application of vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) in microgrid containing the clean renewable energy and advanced coal-fired power system such as the supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle power plant, a feasible energy filtering optimization process is proposed in this paper. A coupled dynamic response model of VRB and an optimized load distribution algorithm are covered in the process. First, the Ustack-Ibattery-SOC curves are fitted based on the coupled calculation model of VRB. The equivalent resistance of the simplified equivalent circuit model is further calculated. The dynamic response model is refined for the fast calculation of real-time efficiencies. Second, a basic operation scheme and an optimized operation scheme based on the moving average filtering method are selected as the load distribution algorithms. An energy filtering optimization management process that includes a configuration optimization design part and a load distribution part is further constructed. Finally, a case application is carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed energy management process. The relevant results are presented as follows. First, the combination of the experimental data and the fitted curves can be used to calculate the equivalent resistance of the dynamic response model. The maximum Ustack of 86.14 V is obtained at the SOC of 0.99 and Ibattery of 10A when charging. Second, when applying the optimized operation scheme, the time average efficiency of VRB is operating at an efficient level of 82.75%. The change frequency of load command for each equipment and its dynamic response characteristic can be well matched. Finally, compared to the case where the basic operation scheme is selected in the experimental system, the time average efficiency of VRB is increased from 69.50% to 82.13%., the time average efficiency of S-CO2 power plant is increased from 39.79% to 40.02%. The application of energy filtering optimization management process for the actual microgrid is feasible. The study can provide the operation scheme and case application for VRB energy storage system in the actual microgrid.

Analyzing Experimental Design and Input Data Variation of a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Model

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) are a fertile energy storage technology especially for customized storage applications with special energy and power requirements. The dimensioning and control of these storages is mostly calculated beforehand using battery models in embedded simulation structures. To cover various stack designs, chemistries, application strategies and system architectures, battery simulation models should be validated with different experimental input data and thus show universal functionality. In this study the functionality of a grey box VRFB model using current, voltage and state of charge (SOC) of a 10 kW/100 kWh VRFB as input data are validated for an adapted input data set using of a 5 kW/10 kWh VRFB. This model is designed for stationary applications of VRFB only. The contribution of this study is (i) to apply a suitable SOC conversion method to the raw data from the used 5 kW VRFB system, (ii) to adapt the modeling code for broader use and integration of the SOC conversion, (iii) to validate the functionality and (iv) to investigate the influence of constant current and constant voltage phases in the raw data on the accuracy of the model. A comparison of experimental data between different redox flow batteries shows that most VRFB measure the open circuit voltage (OCV) to calculate the SOC of the battery. Using the calculated SOC as an input data the proposed simulation model need to be adapted and a method is applied to use OCV input data for model validation. Although simulation models in general often assume linearity between SOC and OCV, the study showed sufficient accuracy using polynomic fitting of second order. Applying a parametrization process the results of the simulation model are compared to the raw data and the scope of application of the grey box VRFB model is defined. While using the dominant constant current phase for the charging and discharging cycle, the grey box simulation model has been sufficiently parametrized and validated for adapted input data.

Peak Power Estimation of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries Based on Receding Horizon Control

The peak power of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) reflects its capability to continuously absorb or release energy. Accurate estimation of peak power is essential for the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of VRB systems, but also challenging as it is limited by various factors, such as currents, flow rates, temperature, and state of charge. This article proposes a new online model-based peak power estimation scheme for VRBs. First, the model parameters and system states are accurately estimated using the recursive least squares with forgetting and the unscented Kalman filter, respectively. Next, based on a linear time-varying VRB model and the estimated states, the peak power estimation is formulated into an optimal control problem, and the problem is solved using the receding horizon control (RHC). The influence of the predictive horizon on the estimated peak power is discussed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed RHC-based peak power estimation scheme is experimentally verified on a 5-kW/3-kWh VRB platform.

Design of A Two-Stage Control Strategy of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Energy Storage Systems for Grid Application

The low energy conversion efficiency of the vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) system poses a challenge to its practical applications in grid systems. The low efficiency is mainly due to the considerable overpotentials and parasitic losses in the VRB cells when supplying highly dynamic charging and discharging power for grid regulation. Apart from material and structural advancements, improvements in operating strategies are equally essential for achieving the expected high-performance VRB system, although an optimized solution has not been fully exploited in the existing studies. In this paper, a two-stage control strategy is thus developed based on a proposed and experimental validated multi-physics multi-time-scale electro-thermo-hydraulic VRB model. Specifically, in the first stage, the optimal flow rate of the VRB is obtained based on online optimization to reduce parasitic loss and enhance instantaneous system efficiency, and the result serves as the set point of a feedback flow rate controller. In the second stage, dual time scales are specifically considered. And the current and flow rate controllers are designed to meet the highly varying power demands for grid-connected applications. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified under a scenario to smooth wind power generation. Comparative studies show that compared to the prevailing approaches, higher efficiency can be achieved in tracking the theoretical optimal power profiles for online battery control.

The configuration optimized design method based on real-time efficiency for the application of vanadium redox flow battery in microgrid

To realize the efficient, economical and stable operation of vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) in a microgrid containing a high proportion of renewable energy, a coupling calculation model is constructed and a configuration optimized design method is proposed in this paper. First, the coupling calculation model involving the fluid mechanics model and electrochemistry model is established to obtain the real-time efficiency of VRB. Second, an economic model of VRB is constructed considering the investment costs, operation costs, economic benefits and renewable energy utilization. Finally, a configuration optimized design method based on typical load and real-time efficiency is further proposed to cope with practical application scenarios. Two different objectives, including the lowest average daily cost and the lowest renewable energy curtailment, are selected in the method. The results are presented as follows. First, the energy efficiency of the battery is increased from 76.90% to 80.45% with the increase of electrolyte flow rate. With the optimal selection of porous electrode porosity, the merit energy efficiency and system efficiency are presented. Better VRB performance can be obtained at the electrolyte flow rate of 120 ml/min and the porous electrode porosity of 0.93. Second, the novel proposed configuration design method can be implied to improve the renewable energy consumption capacity while ensuring system economics. Finally, with the lowest average daily cost as the objective, the optimal configuration of VRB is 891 kW and 7344 kWh, respectively, while the time average efficiency is 79.26%. The total amounts of renewable energy curtailment in one day decreases from 12,380 kWh to 6,281 kWh. At the same time, the power supply quality is significantly improved after accessing various distributed energy sources to the microgrid.

Parameter identification of thermal model of vanadium redox batteries by metaheuristic algorithms

Typically, the battery stack temperature assumes constant in electrochemical or equivalent circuit models of the battery. However, experiments on a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) unit show that the temperature varies significantly during charge and discharge processes and considerably affects the value of the State of Charge (SoC) and other battery internal parameters. Therefore, monitoring and modeling the battery temperature is essential. An electrochemical based thermal model of VRFBs is adapted to the experimental data of a nine-cell VRFB unit in this study to find the optimal values of the coefficients and parameters of the VRFB's electrochemical and thermal models. The electrochemical model of VRFB and its thermal model include many unknown parameters and coefficients that need to be estimated. The objective of the current study is to determine the optimal value of all of these unknown parameters. According to the literature, the empirical methods are not sufficient to accurately determine the model's coefficients and parameters. An Optimization framework is defined to identify these coefficients by minimizing the mean square error between the measured experimental data of VRFB and the electrochemical model-based terminal voltage and electrolyte temperature. Moreover, a VRFB cell's electrochemical and thermal models are highly nonlinear; thus, excellent optimization techniques are needed to find these coefficients and parameters. A few metaheuristic optimizers are tested on the proposed optimization framework, where three of these algorithms have shown consistent and able to converge to reliable solutions. These algorithms are Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO), and Ant Lion Optimizer (ALO). The low RMS errors of the estimations by the metaheuristic-based algorithms compared to the measured data, show the accuracy of the proposed parameter identification approaches of VRFB's electrochemical and thermal model.

Numerical research on a novel flow field design for vanadium redox flow batteries in microgrid

The microgrid (MG) composed of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), wind energy, and photovoltaic (PV) renewable energy, it is an effective energy solution. It has attracted much attention because it can effectively solve the problems of randomness, intermittentness, and uncontrollability of renewable energy. The VRFB plays a vital role, and its performance determines the power quality of the MG. This research analyses the development status of renewable energy, the structure of MG, and the problems of VRFB in MG. It is proposed to improve the overall performance of the battery to make up for the defect of low energy density. As the performance of VRFB is strongly affected by the electrolyte's flow rate, designing a novel flow field structure to increase the flow rate and improve the electrolyte uniformity is very important to improve battery performance. The research designed the traditional rectangular cross-section into a trapezoidal cross-section to increase the flow rate of the electrolyte and improve the uniformity of the electrolyte. Numerical simulation results show that the new flow field structure can significantly improve the electrolyte flow, alleviate the concentration polarization of the battery, and improve battery performance and efficiency. Therefore, it is found that a reasonable flow field structure design is helpful for the optimization and application of VRFB's performance. Highlights The development status of renewable energy, the structure and configuration of the microgrid, and the existing problems of VRFB energy storage are analyzed. Establishing a VRFB model for electrochemistry and fluid mechanics. Designing a novel flow field structure to improve the overall performance of the battery.

A transient model for vanadium redox flow batteries with bipolar membranes

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) with a bipolar membrane promises to offer higher performance, since the cation exchange layer exhibits high conductivity, while the anion exchange layer reduces vanadium crossover. However, due to the wide range of optional structures and layer properties, the optimal design of bipolar membranes calls for a robust mathematical model. In this work, we propose a transient model of VRFB with a bipolar membrane, which improves the Poisson equation to describe the Donnan effect between the two layers to achieve parameter continuity at the interface, thereby providing a full description of charge and ion transport through the membrane. Numerical results show that, compared with cation exchange membranes, the presence of a thin anion exchange layer inhibits vanadium ion convection in the bipolar membrane, thereby significantly reducing the vanadium crossover, leading to alleviated capacity decay and improved coulombic efficiency. At large current densities, the bipolar membranes with thin anion exchange layer show higher energy efficiency than conventional ion exchange membranes, and the capacity decay is better alleviated when anion exchange layer is next to the negative electrode.

Data-driven electrode parameter identification for vanadium redox flow batteries through experimental and numerical methods

The vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is a promising energy storage technology for stationary applications (e.g., renewables integration) that offers a pathway to cost-effectiveness through independent scaling of power and energy as well as longevity. Many current research efforts are focused on improving battery performance through electrode modifications, but high-throughput, laboratory-scale testing can be time- and material-intensive. Advances in multiphysics-based numerical modeling and data-driven parameter identification afford a computational platform to expand the design space by rapidly screening a diverse array of electrode configurations. Herein, a 3D VRFB model is first developed and validated against experimental results. Subsequently, a new 2D model is composed, yielding a computationally-light simulation framework, which is used to span bounded values of the electrode thickness, porosity, volumetric area, fiber diameter, and kinetic rate constant across six cell polarization voltages. This 2D model generates a dataset of 7350 electrode property combinations for each cell voltage, which is used to evaluate the effect of these structural properties on the pressure drop and current density. These structure-performance relationships are further quantified using Kendall τ rank correlation coefficients to highlight the dependence of cell performance on bulk electrode morphology and to identify improved property sets. This statistical framework may serve as a general guideline for parameter identification for more advanced electrode designs and redox flow battery stacks.

A novel rotary serpentine flow field with improved electrolyte penetration and species distribution for vanadium redox flow battery

A novel rotary serpentine flow field with increased electrolyte penetration and improved species distribution is proposed for ameliorating performance of vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). Three-dimensional multi-physical VRFB model was employed to analyze the flow and transport behavior as well as the overall performance of the VRFB with different flow field designs. It was indicated that the VRFB with this new rotary serpentine flow field design exhibits higher discharge voltage and lower over-potential at different states of charge as compared with conventional serpentine flow field and interdigitated flow field, which is mainly attributed to the enhanced mass transport of species from channel region to the porous electrode and improved distribution uniformity of active species inside electrode. Overall, the battery with the rotary serpentine flow field can achieves the highest power-based efficiency during whole discharge process, which is about 4.2% -12.6% higher than that for conventional serpentine flow field and about 1% - 4% higher than that for interdigitated flow field. Besides, it was shown that the battery with the rotary serpentine flow field can result in higher net discharge power at various electrolyte flow rates as compared with conventional serpentine and interdigitated flow fields due to the improved discharge voltage and reasonable pump loss, indicating the superiority of the proposed rotary serpentine flow field.

An Enhanced Equivalent Circuit Model of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Energy Storage Systems Considering Thermal Effects

Thermal issue is one of the major concerns for safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) energy storage systems. During the design of the operational strategy for a grid-connected VRB system, a suitable mathematical model is needed to predict the dynamic behaviors under various operating conditions. However, conventional VRB models usually neglect the impact of temperature variations on system performance. This work develops an enhanced VRB model with the consideration of the coupling effects between the electrochemical and the thermal behaviors. The proposed model consists of two equivalent circuits. First, the electrochemical behaviors of the VRB are modeled by a second-order RC network taking account of the effects of concentration variation of the vanadium ions and the electrochemical activation. Second, a third-order Cauer network is used to model the heat transfer process in the VRB system, and the dynamic thermal behaviors of stacks, pipes and heat exchangers are characterized. Well-designed experiments and particle swarm optimization algorithm are use to identify the parametric values of the developed model. The proposed modeling method was validated experimentally using a 5kW/3kWh VRB platform, and the results show that the model is capable of accurately predicting the VRB performance under variable temperature conditions. The developed coupled electro-thermal model is then used for simulating and analyzing the performance of a VRB system operated in conjunction with a wind power plant under real-world conditions.

Water crossover phenomena in all-vanadium redox flow batteries

Water crossover through the membrane of a vanadium redox flow battery system is not desirable because it floods one half-cell, diluting the vanadium solution on one side and consequently increasing the concentration of vanadium in the other half-cell. To analyze the effect of water crossover and the resultant electrolyte imbalance issue in the vanadium redox flow battery, herein we newly develop a water transport model and incorporate it into our previously developed 3D vanadium redox flow battery model. The model rigorously accounts for water production/consumption by the redox reaction of VO2+/VO2 and side reactions as well as various mechanisms of water crossover through the membrane arising from diffusion, electro-osmotic drag (EOD), and vanadium crossover. The numerical model is successfully validated against in situ data collected during experiments in which the electrolyte volumes and cell voltages are measured during charge–discharge cycles carried out under various current densities. The detailed simulation results clearly elucidate water crossover behaviors at different stages of charging and discharging, and further reveal the individual contributions of water crossover mechanisms to the overall electrolyte imbalance between the negative and positive sides of the VRFB system.

Theoretical Investigation of Vanadium Crossover Phenomena through Different Types of Membrane in Vanadium Redox Flow Battery

Redox flow batteries (RFBs) as enery storage system are getting much public attention because their power and capacity can be configured independently with relatively low capital investment compared to other types of batteries. All vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) has an additional advantage of low maintenance cost. In detail, becasue positve and negative electrode of a VRFB share the same active material (vanadium), contaminated electrolyte due to vanadium crossover through membrane can be recycled by rebalancing process. Electrolyte contamination in a VRFB is mainly caused by the amount of vanadium and water crossover through the membrane, which causes capacity decay and power loss accompanied by additional maintenance cost during VRFB operation. The vanadium crossover is controlled by diffusion, migration, and convection across the membrane. It was reported that the following side reactions occur when vanadium ions move to the counter electrode side (1): It is also known that the water transfer through the membrane is controlled by three mechanisms as follows (2): 1) Water molecules are transferred along with a vanadium ion that moves to the counter electrode 2) Water molecules are transferred along with a proton to satisfy electro-neutrality 3) Water molecules are transferred by osmosis phenomenon due to vanadium concentration difference between two electrolytes The above vanadium and water transfer through membrane strongly denpends on the physico-chemical properties of the membrane. In this study, we aim to elucidate crossover phenomenon and its consequence in a VRFB by taking computational apporach with a physics-based multi-dimensional VRFB model that has capability of simulating complex species transfer mechanisms. Further, we analyze the cause and effect of each crossover mechanism according to the different types of membranes such as anion exchange membrane, cation exchange membrane, and micro-porous separator. We conclude our study by suggesting electrolyte rebalancing strategies for each type of membrane.

Numerical studies of carbon paper-based vanadium redox flow batteries

This study analyzed theoretically the effects of a carbon paper (CP)-based electrode on the performance of a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). Compared to conventional carbon felt-based electrode materials, the CP-based electrode showed superior characteristics in facilitating the redox reactions of VO2+/VO2+ and V2+/V3+ couples, such as better electrochemical activity and higher electronic conductivity. A three-dimensional, non-isothermal VRFB model developed in a previous study was applied to a range of single cell structures equipped with CP-based electrodes and flow channels in the current collectors. The model was then validated using the experimental data measured under the CP- and channel-based VRFB geometries. The model successfully captured the experimental trend that showed a higher discharging performance with increasing number of CP layers used for each electrode. The simulation results clearly showed that the activation overpotentials in the electrodes were reduced significantly using more CP layers, which dominated over the effects of increased mass transport limitation of vanadium ions due to the thicker electrode.