Canberra All-Vanadium Liquid Flow Energy Storage Power Station

What is Australia's first megawatt-scale vanadium flow battery?

Australia’s first megawatt-scale vanadium flow battery was installed in South Australia in 2023. The project uses grid scale battery storage to store power from a solar farm. The main challenge to commercialisation has been securing vanadium, which has fluctuated wildly in price and supply due to competing demand from the steel industry.

Are vanadium flow batteries the future of energy storage?

In summary, the rise of vanadium flow batteries in Australia signals a promising shift in the energy storage landscape, offering cost-effective, reliable, and sustainable solutions for a variety of applications, from remote sites to residential and industrial sectors.

How long can a vanadium flow battery last?

Emeritus Professor Maria Skyllas-Kazacos with a prototype of the vanadium flow battery now being built at grid-scale storage capacity in Australia and across the globe. Flow batteries can feed energy back to the grid for up to 12 hours – much longer than lithium-ion batteries, which only last four to six hours.

Where are vanadium flow batteries made?

After decades of development, vanadium flow batteries are now being commercially produced by companies in Japan, China and Europe, with several gigawatt hours worth of capacity now installed globally. China, the world’s largest vanadium producer, has recently approved many large new vanadium flow battery projects.