Researchers shared insights from past deployments and R&D to help bridge fundamental research and fielded technologies for grid reliability and reduced consumer energy costs
In a recent presentation at the Electrochemical Society symposium, insights from a decade of vanadium flow battery development were shared, emphasizing the importance of testing at various scales, addressing safety and reliability issues early, and the challenges faced with the commercialization of mixed-acid electrolytes, particularly concerning chlorine gas generation during deployments.
Reed Wittman, a flow battery researcher from Sandia National Laboratories, presented an invited talk at the Spring 2025 Electrochemical Society Meeting titled “(Some) Lessons Learned from Vanadium Flow Batteries.” Drawing from the previous ten years of Vanadium flow battery development, Reed discussed the importance of testing at various scales prior to system deployment, investigating all potential safety and reliability issues at small scales directly, and how small issues in the lab can become large-scale issues for deployments.
Reed also highlighted lessons from the commercialization of batteries that use a mixed-acid electrolyte. Mixed-acid electrolytes were the focus of significant commercialization efforts from around 2015-2021. However, chlorine gas generation during deployments led to significant failure events. These events ended test deployments earlier than planned and inhibited additional deployments. The example illustrated the significance of testing at multiple scales prior to deployment and incorporating lab-scale findings into developing designs and deployments. The talk also covered the origins of the chlorine gas generation and additional findings relevant to future deployments that are the subject of a forthcoming publication.
These insights are crucial for emerging flow batteries, which promise to enhance grid reliability and security while lowering energy costs for consumers amid rising energy demand over the next decade. Flow batteries are designed for large-scale energy storage applications, but transitioning from lab-scale systems to practical deployments presents significant challenges. Sharing lessons learned from past deployments and R&D is essential for maximizing the success of new systems. This talk addressed key issues relevant to the entire flow battery community, from fundamental research to commercial entities developing deployable solutions.
The Electrochemical Society, the leading organization in battery research and development, convened top researchers from around the globe for this event. The invited talk launched a week-long symposium focused on non-Vanadium technologies, setting the stage for discussions on advancements beyond Vanadium in the field.
Learn more on the conference website or via the published research.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division
Citation: R. M. Wittman and S. Macchi, “Lessons from Vanadium Flow Batteries for Non-Vanadium Flow Batteries,” ECS Meeting Abstracts, vol. MA2025-01, no. I08, 2025, pp. 2367, doi: 10.1149/MA2025-01452367mtgabs.