Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries
Ivanhoe Electric owns a 90% interest in VRB Energy USA, an Arizona-based developer of advanced grid-scale energy storage systems utilizing vanadium redox flow batteries for integration with renewable power sources.
Ivanhoe Electric also owns 90% of VRB Energy, which is the minority partner in a 51% / 49% joint venture with a subsidiary of Shanxi Red Sun. The joint venture manufactures, develops and sells vanadium redox flow batteries in Asian, African and Middle Eastern markets.
Why Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries?
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- Highly effective technology at low cost for large-scale utility energy storage projects around the globe.
- Enables integration with renewable power sources at our electric metal projects.
- Ideal to stabilize isolated microgrids, integrating solar and wind power in a safe, reliable, low-maintenance, and environmentally friendly manner.
- Over 500 megawatt hours installed or in development, and over 1 million hours of testing and operation.
- The electrolyte in a vanadium redox flow battery contains no heavy metals and is non-toxic, non-flammable and 100% reusable.
- Production facilities can be scaled to meet customer demands.
- Electrolyte can be sourced from a partner or produced through vertical integration from waste sources or vanadium mining operations.
Vanadium flow batteries are fundamentally superior to lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale storage of renewable energy
VRB Energy products have a proven life of at least 20 years without degradation in the battery. Annual maintenance is low, and the vanadium electrolyte, which is 40-60% of battery cost, retains its value at end-of life.
Vanadium redox flow batteries can be discharged over an almost unlimited number of charge and discharge cycles without wearing out. This is an important factor when matching the daily demands of utility-scale renewable energy generation.
Lithium-based batteries have inherently shorter lifetimes and are not well suited for longer duration storage (+4 hours). Vanadium redox flow batteries outperform lithium on depth-of-discharge, cycle life, and end of life value.
