Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries: A Review Oriented to Fluid-Dynamic Optimization

Iñigo Aramendia, Unai Fernandez-Gamiz, Adrian Martinez-San-Vicente, Ekaitz Zulueta and Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede
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Iñigo Aramendia: Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Department, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Unai Fernandez-Gamiz: Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Department, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Adrian Martinez-San-Vicente: Nuclear Engineering and Fluid Mechanics Department, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Ekaitz Zulueta: Automatic Control and System Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Jose Manuel Lopez-Guede: Automatic Control and System Engineering Department, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Nieves Cano 12, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Energies, 2020, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Large-scale energy storage systems (ESS) are nowadays growing in popularity due to the increase in the energy production by renewable energy sources, which in general have a random intermittent nature. Currently, several redox flow batteries have been presented as an alternative of the classical ESS; the scalability, design flexibility and long life cycle of the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) have made it to stand out. In a VRFB cell, which consists of two electrodes and an ion exchange membrane, the electrolyte flows through the electrodes where the electrochemical reactions take place. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are a very powerful tool to develop feasible numerical models to enhance the performance and lifetime of VRFBs. This review aims to present and discuss the numerical models developed in this field and, particularly, to analyze different types of flow fields and patterns that can be found in the literature. The numerical studies presented in this review are a helpful tool to evaluate several key parameters important to optimize the energy systems based on redox flow technologies.

Keywords: energy storage; vanadium redox flow battery; VRFB; flow battery; vanadium; flow field; CFD; numerical model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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