Flow cells without worrying about fires fuel the ESS...

Flow cells without worrying about fires fuel the ESS market

Article input 2020.02.11. 6:30 PM

The vanadium redox flow battery ( VRFB flow battery), which has no risk of fire or explosion , is drawing attention as the next generation energy storage device ( ESS ). The (Korean) government will loosen regulations on flow batteries to foster the new and renewable energy industry, and it will be vital to the stagnant ESS market.

According to the related industry on the 11th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently revised the 'Notice on the Promotion of High Efficiency Energy Equipment Dissemination Regulations' and extended the flow batteries to the range of existing lithium ion batteries in the scope of the new renewable energy high efficiency certification.

Flow battery is a battery made on the principle of charging by the redox reaction of the liquid vanadium electrolyte. Compared to the conventional lithium ion battery, the charge and discharge power and efficiency are slightly reduced, but there is no risk of fire or explosion. There is also an assessment that it is more suitable for the domestic renewable energy market as it has attracted attention in the ESS field, which has recently become a management issue . Lithium secondary batteries have been the only target

of the government's new renewable energy support policy, REC . As the flow battery was not supported, the development of related products and technology was sluggish. But in April last year, as the government discussed the regulatory sandbox, it was pointed out as a task to be solved.

ESS due to this notice revisionAttention is focused on whether the market will be alive again. The success of the ESS fire was the trigger. Recently , four out of five ESS fires were estimated to be related to battery cells, further increasing the need for alternative product development.

The industry believes that the revised notice will help foster related industries. Companies that are developing vanadium flow batteries in Korea include DST (Corrid Energy), H2, High Korea, and Standard Energy. These companies have tried to commercialize the vanadium flow battery, but have suffered a lot of difficulties due to the regulation of domestic renewable energy support regulations. For this reason, it is an atmosphere that is highly expected to deregulate.

Companies that have emerged first in the overseas market are preparing to expand their business in Korea. The representative company is Core Energy. Core Lid Energy is preparing to build a 100 MWh annual vanadium battery plant in the United States, the largest market in the renewable energy ESS market . It is showing. According to the company, a joint venture ( JVA ) with a Canadian-listed company Margaret Lake Diamond ( MLD ) was set up last month to establish a 100 MWh vanadium secondary battery battery plant in New York State.

signed an annual contract with . The company intends to focus on upgrading its technology, such as improving charging and discharging efficiency, as well as expanding its domestic market.