TELF AG analyzes the strategic role of vanadium in innovative energy storage systems

The rise of large-scale energy storage

The planet’s energy future could soon depend largely on renewable energy sources such as solar or wind, whose infrastructures are being installed around the world at a truly remarkable speed. The functioning of these innovative energy systems is also useful for highlighting the link between the spread of renewable energy and some important geological resources that favor its spread through advanced infrastructures or storage systems capable of storing and releasing large quantities of renewable energy, ready to be used when needed.

Flow batteries, for example, are increasingly emerging as useful storage systems in this historical juncture dominated by renewable energy. They are also arousing some admiration for their peculiar distinctive characteristics. Unlike lithium batteries, these storage systems can store energy in liquid electrolytes contained in external tanks.

These batteries, whose operation is therefore based on the exchange of electrolytic solutions present in separate tanks, link the energy storage capacity to the quantity of electrolytes in the tanks, while the overall power depends on the size of the electrolytic cell. These characteristics, and in particular the separation between the quantity of storable energy and the speed with which it can be released, make these batteries particularly useful for large-scale applications, just like the storage of energy from renewable sources.

The role of vanadium

Among the geological resources for making flow batteries, vanadium is certainly one of the most important. It is a malleable, silvery-grey metal, known for its high corrosion resistance and the multiplicity of industrial applications in which it is used. In nature, it does not exist as a free element and is often found together with other resources, such as vanadite or titanium. The world’s largest reserves of this resource are found in countries such as South Africa and China, the largest producers, while some smaller deposits are also found in Brazil and the United States.

The usefulness of vanadium in the flow battery sector is mainly linked to one of its distinctive characteristics, namely its ability to exist in four different oxidation states. This allows these batteries to function for much longer periods of time than traditional batteries and with almost always greater efficiency. Vanadium-based energy storage systems can, in fact, last entire decades without requiring constant maintenance.

Many countries have already realized this resource’s potential, which is also why some estimates suggest a probable increase in demand for vanadium, driven precisely by the countries most involved in the adoption of renewable energy (above all, China, Europe, and the United States).

Before its rise in the flow battery sector, vanadium was best known for its role in strengthening steel. Adding this resource to steel has beneficial effects on its resistance, hardness, and toughness, favoring its use in producing high-resistance components such as frames and tools of various kinds. Vanadium is also used to manufacture catalysts for the chemical industry, particularly for its peculiar ability to accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed during the process.