[Ferro-Alloys.com]  Trial projects that will involve the use of vanadium redox flow battery energy storage systems as support for electric vehicle (“EV”) charging solutions will soon commence in Australia and South Korea. Last week, a startup in Singapore called VFlow Technologies revealed that its PowerCube battery storage system technology will be installed at some gas stations in South Korea. The systems will be used to support fast-charging infrastructure using existing infrastructure and locations at gas stations.

VFlow Tech plans to put the redox systems underground, while the batteries will be charged using local sources of renewable energy. The company is conducting the pilot project in collaboration with CompanyWE Inc., an energy-tech group based in Korea, and the Seoul National University of Science and Technology.

Jae Woo, the CEO of CompanyWE, stated that there existed a need for energy-storage solutions that could accommodate higher capacities of renewable energy globally, noting that vanadium flow batteries stored energy in tanks, which meant that they had larger capacity for energy storage. Woo added that flow batteries were also cost efficient as they could last for more than two decades and asserted that the project could facilitate the establishment of a network of self-reliant electric vehicles and hybrid gas stations.

A project similar to this is ongoing in western Australia. The project will evaluate the effectiveness of charging solutions with integrated vanadium redox flow batteries to support the adoption of electric vehicles. The project will use a PowerCube 30kWh flow battery, which will be charged using solar, to create standalone charging stations that can be replicated in other parts of Australia.

The MP of Perth, Patrick Gorman, stated that the project would eliminate one of the barriers of electric vehicle uptake in Australia, which is the availability of and distance between charging stations. Gorman asserted that having a reliable renewable energy charging system for electric cars would greatly boost the electric vehicle market in the country.

The flow battery used in the project was supplied by a subsidiary of Australian Vanadium, known as VSUN Energy. Australian Vanadium is focused on developing primary production of vanadium, processing vanadium and manufacturing of electrolytes. The company established VSUN Energy to stimulate market development and promote the use of vanadium redox flow batteries.

The subsidiary’s establishment has also enabled the formation of collaborative relationships with manufacturers of flow batteries including VFlow Technology, Australia-based CellCube and Spain-based E22.

As more companies, including StorEn Technologies Inc. join the redox battery space, energy storage is likely to move a notch up due to the growing uptake of these technologies.

• [Editor:tianyawei]