The spread of the global epidemic and the frequent occurrence of various types of extreme weather have created a global energy shortage. What followed was the booming development of the energy storage market, and the explosion of lithium-ion batteries due to internal short-circuits occurred frequently. Vanadium batteries have entered a period of rapid development in the field of energy storage due to their excellent performance.
Vanadium and Titanium Co., Ltd. established an energy storage company
Recently, Vanadium and Titanium Co., Ltd. announced that the company has recently reached a cooperation with Dalian Rongke Energy Storage and decided to jointly establish Sichuan Vanadium Rong Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. with a registered capital of 31.61 million yuan, of which Vanadium and Titanium shares hold 51% and Dalian Rongke Energy Storage Technology Co., Ltd. Energy Storage holds 49%.
According to reports, the main business of the joint venture is the research and development, production, sales and leasing of all-vanadium redox flow battery electrolytes. It is mainly divided into two stages. The first stage plans to achieve a production capacity of 2000m3/year vanadium electrolyte within the year, and the second stage is to invest in the construction of 60000m3/year vanadium electrolyte solution from 2023 to 2024.
According to public information, Vanadium and Titanium Co., Ltd. was established in 1993. In the first half of this year, the company’s main business covers vanadium, titanium, electricity, etc. Among them, vanadium accounts for 38.95% of the total revenue, and it has 40,000 tons/year of vanadium products production capacity. The company’s controlling shareholder, Pangang Group, owns two of the four major mining areas, Panzhihua and Baima, which are rich in vanadium raw materials.
In mid-September, Vanadium Titanium Co., Ltd. was asked by investors about the company’s plans for all-vanadium redox flow batteries. It said that the company currently has mastered the production technology of vanadium electrolyte and has the strength to continue to expand the production scale of vanadium electrolyte. The company will also strive to strengthen contact and cooperation with other vanadium energy storage industry chain enterprises, and actively integrate into the vanadium battery energy storage industry chain.
About the partner Dalian Rongke Energy Storage Technology Development Co., Ltd., it is the world’s leading service provider of all-vanadium redox flow battery energy storage system, with a current installed capacity of 55MWh. The company’s representative project is the 100-megawatt Dalian flow battery energy storage peak-shaving power station that will be put into operation in mid-October.
It is reported that the project is currently the world’s largest power station with the largest capacity, with a total construction scale of 200MW/800MWh.
Advantages of all vanadium redox flow batteries
All-vanadium redox flow battery materials can be mainly divided into three parts: electrode materials, vanadium battery electrolyte, and vanadium battery separator. The positive electrolyte of vanadium battery is mainly composed of vanadyl ions and vanadium ions, and the negative electrolyte is mainly composed of divalent vanadium ions and trivalent vanadium ions, which are separated by a proton exchange membrane.
The electric energy of all-vanadium redox flow battery mainly exists in the electrolyte in the form of chemical energy, and the electrolyte solution reacts with the electrode surface electrochemically to convert the chemical energy into electric energy.
Because of this, the vanadium battery electrolyte accounts for a high proportion of the cost of the entire system, about 40%. The advantage of vanadium batteries is that their energy storage capacity also depends entirely on the concentration and storage of the electrolyte. To increase the energy storage capacity, it is only necessary to increase the amount of electrolyte.
Because only vanadium ions exist in the reaction and no other ions interfere, the vanadium battery has a long battery life, the number of cycles can reach 10,000 to 20,000 times, and can be basically completely recovered; at the same time, the battery is highly safe, and the reactions are basically in solution., there is no risk of thermal runaway or explosion.
The disadvantages of vanadium batteries are also obvious. Firstly, the energy density of vanadium batteries is low, and the current product on the market is up to 40Wh/kg; secondly, the energy of the battery is basically in the electrolyte, which will lead to a large area of the project; finally, the working temperature range of vanadium batteries is narrow, which limits the application range of the battery.
However, in the field of energy storage, vanadium batteries are one of the best solutions. Energy storage is first and foremost about safety and stability. Relatively speaking, energy density is less important. At the same time, China is very rich in vanadium resources, accounting for 39% of the world’s total reserves. Vanadium batteries also have an advantage in terms of cost.
According to estimates by relevant agencies, by 2030, the installed capacity of vanadium battery energy storage will reach 24GW, and the new market size will exceed 40 billion yuan.
In the secondary market, as of the close on October 13, vanadium and titanium shares were quoted at 4.88 yuan per share, with a total market value of 41.98 billion yuan.
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