Evaluation of flow battery technology : an assessment of technical and economic feasibility

Abstract

Energy storage has been a topic of recent political discussions. There is interest in utilizing energy storage technologies to improve the emissions and "green" the environment. Many of the energy storage technologies have been around for many decades; however, there is often little research done into the analysis of the economic and technical feasibility of these technologies. This study aims to assess the feasibility of flow batteries for both large and small scale energy storage applications. Applications for larger scale storage must meet the price point set out by utilities of $1000/kW all inclusive. Additionally, getting prices below $200/kWh is important in order to have a technology be likely to receive attention and interest from utilities and larger companies. This study breaks down the cost of the Zinc Bromine flow battery in order to assess the current cost and predictions for the future. In addition to assessing the cost, this study analyses the performance of the Zinc Bromine battery and determines for which applications and markets the Zinc Bromine battery is best suited.