Growing Need for Energy Storage Batteries to Pave Way for the Growth of the Redox Flow Battery Industry

The world is in an urgent need for intensive actions against the growing climatic changes. The rising discharge of carbon dioxide is significantly affecting the ecosphere and is showing adverse effects on the earth’s atmosphere. Hence, the world is now in need of an ecofriendly option to produce energy—and one among them is energy generated from renewable sources such as solar and wind energy. The electricity segment is considered as the brightest spot for renewables with the rapid growth of solar photovoltaics and wind in the near future. The renewable energy sector is anticipated to go in a new phase of growth due to the rising demand from various sectors, its cost effectiveness, and growth in the innovations & advancements in electricity sector.

However, since past few years, the demand for storage has amplified extensively with the growth in the use of renewable sources.  To cope up with this demand, battery technologies are getting better day by day. And one such advancement in the storage battery technology, is the invention of redox flow batteries for energy storage needs. A redox flow battery is basically an electrochemical energy storage unit that converts chemical energy into electrical energy by means of reduction of working fluids and reversible oxidation.

Growing demand for redox flow batteries

The growing use of renewable resources and the long life of the batteries are considered to be the key driving factors for the redox flow battery industry. Moreover, the growing installations of wind and solar power plants are anticipated to fuel the market growth. These batteries are well-equipped in shifting the time required to generate the power for the further usage. Thus, they are an ideal choice for creating a balance in the renewable sources such as wind and solar energy during the process of shifting power. To put it simply, these batteries function as a source of backup for power supply. 

Nowadays, government bodies from several regions are taking initiative and promoting the usage of rechargeable redox flow batteries over the normal batteries. This is because normal batteries discharge some harmful substances such as cadmium, lead, and mercury into the environment which are seen as threat to the ecosystem. These batteries have a lifecycle of 40 years and the durability can be easily extended by growing the number of tanks and electrolyte. Hence, the durability of these batteries is considered to be the major driving factor the growth of the market.   

Recent developments in the redox flow battery industry

A research report by Research Dive, states that the global market for redox flow batteries is expected to show tremendous growth with a CAGR of 13.5% from 2019 to 2026. Considering the growing demand for redox flow batteries, several manufacturers in the market are undertaking activities such as merges, collaborations, partnerships, new products developments, and geographical expansions. 

Recently, JenaBatteries GmbH, an innovative company in the field of large-scale energy storage solutions and BASF, a German chemical company and the second largest chemical producer in the world are collaborating for producing an electrolyte for batteries that are mainly used for stabilizing conventional transmission grids and for stationary storage of energy generated from renewable resources.

JenaBatteries, has established the technique of redox flow battery (RFB) with organic materials. It is the foremost commercially accessible technology of this type. Apart from this, some of other market players prominent in the redox flow battery industry are Sumitomo electric industries ltd., Uni energy Technologies, SCHMID Group, VRB Energy, Vizn Energy system, RedT energy PLC., Primus power, Vionx Energy, ESS Inc., Reflow, and others.

Future of redox flow battery industry

Redox flow batteries are projected to have outstanding growth opportunities because of the growing technological developments in the next few years. Looking at the redox chemistry and technical essentials of flow batteries it can be predicted that the market for redox flow batteries is sure to witness industrial success and growth in the demand in the near future.