A new paper from a University of Manchester researcher highlights the importance of long-term energy storage (LDES) technology in the transition to net zero.
In an article published on the Policy@Manchester Professor Robert Dryfe highlighted the need for better battery energy storage systems (BESS) and drew attention to the university’s research into redox flow batteries (RFBs).
Professor Dryfe states that “a transition to renewables must be accompanied by a technology transition to large-scale battery storage” alongside “a similar transition to the storage required to ‘store’ this renewable energy.”
Although lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used technology in the battery field, problems with these systems limit their usefulness in some respects: their flammability, which limits their use at airports and ports, and their use of rare earth metals, including cobalt, which drive their costs significantly.
In response, researchers from the University of Manchester have been conducting research into RFBs, with the aim of harnessing the benefits of this technology while addressing current barriers to the mass implementation of RFBs.
Currently, RFBs can be prohibitively expensive due to their dependence on vanadium, a rare and therefore extremely expensive element. However, Professor Dryfe and his research team said they are “developing systems that avoid the need to use relatively rare materials, such as vanadium”, adding: “our work in developing ‘post-vanadium’ technology has also the advantage of low flammability and non-corrosive.”
Professor Dryfe notes that the UK’s commitment to decarbonise the electricity system by 2035 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 “will require significant changes to domestic and industrial energy supplies, as these sectors represent a large percentage of total energy consumption.”
He and his research team are convinced that RFBs, as a key part of the expansion of LDES technology, are key to Britain’s energy transition. Professor Dryfe states: “To accelerate the scale and reduce the cost of battery storage, Britain must encourage investment in technologies capable of long-term storage, which in the battery context means developing new types of RFBs that will replace current breaking dependence on batteries. on critical materials such as vanadium.”
This article first appeared on our sister site Current±.
