Yesterday, my country's first megawatt-scale iron-chromium flow battery energy storage demonstration project was successfully tested in Inner Mongolia and will soon be put into commercial use.
This project also refreshed the world's largest capacity record for this technology.
The megawatt-level iron-chromium flow battery energy storage demonstration project successfully trialed this time installed a total of 34 "Ronghe No. 1" battery stacks independently developed by my country and an energy storage system composed of four sets of storage tanks. The chemical characteristics of iron ions and chromium ions in the liquid store electrical energy, and can store 6000 degrees of electricity for 6 hours.
During the trial operation of the project, the key equipment operated smoothly, and the index parameters were normal, and it will be incorporated into the grid for commercial operation in the future.
Zhao Jinyu, general manager of the iron-chromium flow battery energy storage project of SPIC Inner Mongolia Corporation: After the energy storage project is integrated into the local area grid, it will store clean electricity such as wind and light. After this part of the electricity is released, it can suppress the power fluctuation of the local area grid. Auxiliary power grid peak regulation and frequency regulation play a positive role in the consumption of a large proportion of new energy, energy saving and carbon reduction.
Iron-chromium flow battery is a new type of energy storage application technology, which has higher safety and economy.
When the power consumption is low, the battery can be charged by renewable energy such as wind energy and solar energy, and then discharged during the peak power consumption.
In addition, it can also cooperate with conventional thermal power, nuclear power and other energy sources to provide auxiliary services such as peak regulation and frequency regulation for the operation of the power system, and improve the flexibility of the power system.
Store electricity outside the battery
What can a flow battery do?
How to store electrical energy in a safe, green, and large amount has always been a worldwide problem. Liquid flow batteries are one of the solutions to this problem. It can store the electrical energy needed by the city in the electrolyte for a long time, just like a city "Power Bank".
CCTV reporter Tao Jiashu: I am now in a laboratory for research and development of flow batteries, and the equipment around me is the principle prototype of flow batteries.
The rechargeable battery we usually use stores its electrical energy inside the battery, and the biggest feature of the flow battery is that the stored electrical energy can be stored outside the battery in the form of liquid, and can be expanded as needed.
The electric energy stored in the set of batteries around me is in these two small jars.
Li Jinghao, technical director of the battery research and development department: This is a small battery. By pouring the electrolyte into the battery, the electrochemical reaction of charging and discharging can be carried out in it.
The electrolyte can be pumped into the battery, and then come out and return to the storage tank. Its storage tank is the stored electrolyte, and the electrical energy is stored in the liquid.
When we achieve large-scale, the main components are actually the same, and then we can perform high-power charging and discharging.
Experts told us that the liquid flow battery technology is an energy storage technology that uses the redox reaction of the electrolyte to realize charging and discharging. The material itself will not be lost during the reaction process, so the electrolyte can be recycled, and the more electrolyte, the more energy stored. The more electricity, it is very suitable for large-scale energy storage.
Shen Feng, deputy general manager of SPIC Research Institute of Science and Technology: (Flow battery) You can think of it as a car engine. These two tanks are equivalent to the fuel tank of the car. How far the car can run depends on the size of the fuel tank.
I send gasoline into the engine, and then the engine can run. This is equivalent to a charging process. When you don't use electricity, you can input electricity into it and "generate gasoline".
How can a liquid flow battery "charge" a city?
Convert electrical energy into chemical energy and store it in the electrolyte outside the battery, so that the storage capacity can be increased according to demand, and the purpose of capacity expansion can be achieved.
So, how does the liquid flow battery "charge" the city?
Flow batteries are mainly used for energy storage of renewable energy.
At present, the installed capacity of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaics in my country is increasing. However, these renewable energy sources are intermittent and are easily affected by the weather. The generated electricity fluctuates, and cities cannot directly use these intermittently generated electricity.
Wang Baoguo, Professor of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Energy Storage Research Office, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University: There needs to be an energy storage device that can adapt to adjust this volatility, regulate, manage, and control these unstable power sources, so that it can be used effectively for us. Production and living services, flow batteries will play a big role in this aspect in the future.
If a liquid flow battery energy storage power station is built at the power generation end, the successively generated electricity can be stored and provided to the city for use, so that the city can be "charged".
Wang Baoguo, Professor of Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Energy Storage Research Office, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University: It is like a power bank, which stores it (electricity) when needed, and then takes it out when we use it, similar to this one This is the concept of a bank that stores electricity.
(CCTV reporter Tao Jiashu)