Hokkaido’s Vanadium Venture
After Fukushima, Japan’s gradual shift from nuclear sources has now seen the Hokkaido Electric Power Company employ the use of vanadium redox flow batteries for energy storage. The 60,000 kWh installation is designed to back up central grid for the next 2 decades, and will provide power at a cost of $3,333 /kWh.
The choice of using vanadium RFBs is a surprising one, given the lower costs of lithium-ion batteries. The latter, however, have a shorter lifespan, which HEPCO must have considered in their decision making process.
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