Vanadium redox flow batteries for the storage of electricity produced in wind turbines

Abstract

Summary In this work, accelerated degradation charge‐discharge tests have been applied to compare the performance of a bench‐scale vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), when charged under galvanostatic conditions and under the highly variable conditions of current produced by wind turbines. Wind speed patterns applied for the VRFB charge were obtained during 3 representative days in winter, in Ciudad Real (Spain). The accumulated and delivered charge capacities and the different efficiencies (coulombic, voltage, and energy) were analyzed during 3 charge and discharge cycles. The conversion of the different vanadium species during the charge‐discharge cycles indicated that the operation mode had a strong influence on the performance of the VRFB and helped to explain the charge profiles obtained. Although, similar efficiencies and charge/discharge capacities were found, the VRFB operated in wind‐charging mode performs slightly worse than the VFRB operated in galvanostatic mode. Increased crossover of vanadium species in the negative electrolyte compartment explains the differences found. Nevertheless, it can be concluded that this type of technology seems to be promising for the storage of electricity produced by wind turbines.

An updated review of energy storage systems: Classification and applications in distributed generation power systems incorporating renewable energy resources

“…During the charging cycle, V 3+ ions are converted into V 2+ ions at the negative electrode while at the same time V 4+ ions are converted into V 5+ ions at the positive electrode and energy is stored as chemical energy in the cell. During discharging, the process is reversed and stored chemical energy is converted into electrical energy …”

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“…An RFB can store excess energy produced throughout curtailments, feed power during peak demand, and help to keep grid networks more consistent with the situation of generation and load demand balance . Such features make the RFBs appropriate and most ideal for wind power applications …”

“…35 Such features make the RFBs appropriate and most ideal for wind power applications. 28,36 In addition, a suitable controller is also mandatory for providing a robust control to the system operating under different uncertainties. The robust control can be attained by optimal tuning of the controller using any metaheuristic techniques.…”

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“…More and more demands for renewable energy bring about extensive attention to the large-scale energy storage systems. [1][2][3] Among them, all vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) shows superiority by reason of its long cycling life, deep discharge, high-energy efficiency, and mutual independence of power and energy ratings. [4][5][6] In spite of the aforementioned advantages, the important issues with respect to discharge capacity of the battery, 7,8 output power, and the efficiencies 9 are still existing.…”