Rwanda Flow Battery Project

Could flow batteries be the world's largest battery project?

Most recently, a 500 MW flow battery project – which would make it the world’s largest – was announced in Switzerland. Flow batteries’ scalability and safety make them ideal options for backup power, particularly in utility markets prone to extreme weather or public safety power shut offs (PSPS).

Are flow batteries a good option for backup power?

Flow batteries’ scalability and safety make them ideal options for backup power, particularly in utility markets prone to extreme weather or public safety power shut offs (PSPS). In some markets, energy storage installations can also help defer expensive upgrades to grid infrastructure.

Are flow batteries a viable alternative to lithium-ion?

Flow batteries are emerging as a lucrative option that can overcome many of lithium-ion’s shortcomings and address unmet needs in the critical mid- to long-duration energy storage (LDES) space. With most energy transition technologies, cost is still king.

Are flow batteries a competitor to lithium-ion?

Flow batteries that use domestically produced organic material would change the calculus and emerge as true competitors to lithium-ion. What has made it hard is that organic materials typically degrade quickly under strong reducing or oxidizing conditions – in other words, when charging and discharging a battery.

Are flow batteries a low-cost long-term energy storage technology?

In an August 2024 report “Achieving the Promise of Low-Cost Long Duration Energy Storage,” the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) found flow batteries to have the lowest levelized cost of storage (LCOS) of any technology that isn’t geologically constrained. DOE estimates that flow batteries can come to an LCOS of $0.055/kWh.

Are flow batteries still king?

With most energy transition technologies, cost is still king. Innovators in the flow battery space have been working hard to develop options that compete with both lithium-ion and vanadium, the dominant flow battery chemistry available on the market today. That work seems to be paying off.