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Flow/Redox
Batteries
Management Report
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This new report
forms part of EscoVale's management study on electrical energy storage
technologies applications and markets.
The
report is also available separately, giving insight into one of the most compelling of the
emerging energy storage technologies
Electrical energy
storage spans applications requiring substantial amounts of energy,
delivered over a period of hours or days, down to those calling for short
bursts of power. There are already major markets at several points in this
spectrum (e.g. pumped hydro and UPS systems). Opportunities of even
greater magnitude await the successful development of novel storage technologies. New markets will emerge in a host of applications,
associated with the effective production and delivery of electric power;
energy management and the provision of secure, high-quality power at
end-user sites; in support of renewable and distributed energy resources:
and as an enabling technology within the transportation sector.
These opportunities are now capturing the imagination of an increasing number of
developers, potential users and investors. This brings with it a requirement for
reliable, unbiased information.
EscoVale is preparing
a series of reports, examining specific storage technologies, which will
subsequently be integrated into a management study covering the sector as
a whole. The first report, has just been published, dealing with flow (redox) batteries,
and forms part of a wider program investigating long-duration storage..
The flow battery
report, available in printed or electronic format, provides a timely
analysis of one of the more compelling storage technologies. There can be
no doubt that this would be on the receiving end of a multi-$bn stampede,
if products were available today at the performance and price levels
envisaged for mature redox systems. It has all the hallmarks of a winning
technology - there are obvious but largely unexploited market
opportunities; diverse application areas; massive potential markets; a
proven track-record, demonstrating that at least some variants of the
technology actually work; plausible routes to achieving cost-reduction and
performance-improvement targets; and modest technical risk.
This is a dangerous
time, as developers of every other wunderkind energy technology can
testify! As ever, it will take more time and more money than developers
can readily afford, to complete the development of acceptable,
market-ready products; and more time still before these are accepted as
mainstream solutions by cautious purchasers - who have got by quite well
up to now, without any help from flow batteries. A sizeable casualty list
will grow further, but the huge rewards for those still standing when the
market finally lifts off will attract new developers, backers and
well-wishers.
This report is an
essential management guide, enabling readers to gain a thorough and
independent insight into the redox sector, and to assess fully its
implications for their organizations.
Several distinct flow / redox
battery technologies are under development (several vanadium categories, zinc bromine,
polysulphide bromine, cerium zinc etc). Their development status ranges
from laboratory based R&D through to field demonstrators on the verge
of commercialization. Target applications start at single-digit kW power
levels and extend to 10s and ultimately 100s of MW.
The business case for a particular
installation will normally include a high-energy (hour or multi-hour)
duty, but redox systems can be very responsive and thus have the potential
to generate additional revenue through provision of power quality or other
functions - at the minute, second or millisecond level.
A key feature of most flow batteries is that the
energy is stored in charged electrolytes, outside the cell. There are major benefits in
separating the "power" function (determined by the size and
number of cells) from the "energy" function (determined by the
volume of electrolyte). Flow batteries can be built with a much
greater storage capacity than most other battery types. The inert electrodes
confer another
distinctive flow battery feature - exceptional cycle life. In
addition to electrical recharging, flow batteries can be rapidly
replenished by electrolyte exchange (and, in a recent innovation with
implications for the fuel cell industry, by converting the chemical energy
in a feedstock). Properties such
as these, together with the promise of commercial viability within a
marketplace that is going to be increasingly receptive to storage
projects, justify the strong interest in flow batteries that has developed
in recent years.
The objective of this report is to give a thorough understanding of the technical and
commercial issues for each technology, providing a solid framework within
which potential users, investors and suppliers can make informed
decisions. This is accompanied by an objective review of market prospects,
where the fact that this is one of a series of reports covering a variety
of storage technologies helps to avoid the bias that is
often encountered in single-topic studies.
Recently constructed flow battery
installations have demonstrated the concept. As the manufacturers and
developers move from prototypes to commercial-scale production, this
report offers insights into the objectives of these demonstrations and the
market opportunities that will follow.
We comment on the likely take-up of
follow-on projects and the path and timescale to commercialization. The
report compares different types of flow battery, and their applications.
The focus is on flow batteries, together with redox hybrid and non-flow
redox systems, and coverage includes issues that still need to be
resolved, which are often glossed over elsewhere. The report also examines redox technologies in the context of other storage
options (and alternative solutions that do not involve storage).
About half the report is allocated
to the applications and commercial prospects for flow batteries. We
investigate the nature of the opportunity and the scale of the accessible
markets in: supply-side and user-side energy management; renewable energy
projects; distributed generation; high integrity power provision; and a
range of mobile applications. We analyze the development of these
accessible markets, and the degree of success that flow / redox systems
are likely to achieve. This provides a sound basis for realistic flow battery market
forecasts, with global scope. The forecasts cover the difficult near-term
period, the transition to the market expansion phase (expected to begin in
earnest in the early 2010s), and the subsequent growth to a substantial
business valued at more than $1.5bn / year by 2025. Growth rates are
moderating by that time, but continuing change in the underlying structure of the
market promotes further significant expansion. The report includes an
overview to 2050 - in addition to providing long-term forecasts, this tests the
core strength of the sector to show that there is no likelihood of market burn-out
(as can happen
when a limited opportunity is exhausted).
Forecasts are presented in terms of
MW/year (aggregate nominal rated power) and GWh/year (aggregate nominal
storage capacity per cycle), with estimates of the distribution by
application (energy management, renewables, premium power, other
stationary application, vehicular/mobile) and by rating (in five power
bands, with breakpoints at 10kW, 100kW, 1MW and 10MW).
Flow
Batteries: Technologies, Applications and Markets is prepared by a
team including EscoVale personnel and others
(notably Anthony Price of Swanbarton). EscoVale has supplied the best
part of 500 management reports concerned with
emerging energy technologies, to more than 150 clients from
six continents, giving it a leading position in this area.
Anthony
Price has worked for engineering contractors and consultants in a variety
of technical and commercial roles. He was
marketing manager for a large electrochemical energy storage development
project for a major power company and has widespread
experience of market research for power industry
equipment and energy storage devices. Other relevant experience includes
intellectual property strategy and
administration and due diligence work for technology transfer and new
business development. He is a member of the
United States Department of Energy’s Peer Review Panel on Energy
Storage Systems, and a member of the Electricity Storage Association’s
advisory committee,
The report
comprises 15 Chapters and more than 150 pages.
Click
here to download a project leaflet with the full contents pages, table and figure lists.
The
flow battery sector is changing rapidly. The report is up to date,
reflecting recent changes
in the industry as new developers enter the market and others withdraw.
Pricing
and Ordering Details
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