Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, have developed a ‘vanadium redox flow battery’ (VRFB) through a project funded by ONGC Energy Centre Trust and the Pudukkottai-based company High Energy Batteries. Redox flow batteries (RFB) promise to become a game-changer for future energy storage systems in the stationary segment.
Dr Kothandaraman Ramanujam of the Department of Chemistry at IIT-Madras notes that “adopting VRFB into the energy distribution chain will ensure continuous power supply from wind and solar farms. Since it utilises an aqueous electrolyte, it is safe and does not get affected by thermal runaway issues. Besides, this can be used as large-scale UPS [uninterrupted power supply] for office buildings”.
Ferro-Alloy Resources Limited (LON:FAR) is developing the giant Balasausqandiq vanadium deposit in Kyzylordinskaya oblast of southern Kazakhstan. The ore at this deposit is unlike that of nearly all other primary vanadium deposits and is capable of being treated by a much lower cost process.
