How batteries with a 20-year life could help power the world's remote locations

Singapore-based entrepreneurs have developed long-lasting battery storage technology that could offer reliable support for solar and wind power in remote locations.

Avishek Kumar, chief executive of VflowTech, will show the technology at Cop28 and tell delegates how its vanadium flow batteries store energy from the Sun and wind during the day to power industries and homes by night.

The company's PowerCube technology, he says, comes with an assurance that performance will not drop and that the batteries will last for more than 20 years, helping people to stop using polluting diesel generators.

It has the capacity to supply a 50 kilowatt-hour (kWh) load for 24 hours per unit – more than double the needs of the average family.

The company will create a virtual model at Cop28 so audiences can see how the battery technology has worked for more a decade to help keep the lights running on an island off Singapore where residents had previously used diesel generators.

“They were burning litres of diesel. Instead, we have put in a battery, connected it with renewables and it’s now powering the whole island with a net zero, fully renewable solution 24/7,” Mr Kumar told The National.

“The primary objective is to showcase how our technology is available for mass deployment.”

He plans to build factories to manufacture vanadium flow batteries in India and later in the UAE.

Why massive battery storage is key

Alternative forms of battery storage, including vanadium, a metal found in the Earth’s crust, are attracting attention with the build-up of interest in renewable energy.

Access to clean energy is one of the United Nation’s key sustainable development goals with close to two billion people still relying on polluting fuels.

Solar and wind can generate cheap electricity but supply can be erratic. For entire grids to run purely on renewable energy, an enormous amount of storage is required to prevent blackouts.

Industries and major infrastructure projects must be assured of consistent supply without any fluctuations in power to make the switch to clean energy.

“Most leaders have committed to go net zero by 2050,” he said. “One simple way is to power ourselves with renewables 24/7, but that cannot be done without energy storage.

“So when there is no sun or wind, how will you power yourself? In this context energy storage is an important enabler.”

Currently, lithium ion and lead acid batteries are the main types used for energy storage. But these batteries need to be replaced every few years and their efficiency degrades with time.

“The problem with contemporary lithium ion technology is that it’s OK for use for a short time but, for instance, if you talk on your phone for longer than an hour or two, it heats up,” said Mr Kumar, who is also VFlowTech’s co-founder.

“Performance degrades and you have to replace these batteries more frequently.”

Engineers around the world have been working on alternative storage devices and one option is vanadium redox flow technology.

China, Russia and Australia have the world’s largest vanadium deposits.

China is among the countries taking a giant leap in the vanadium flow battery system with a facility opened last year in north-east Dalian city that meets the electricity demand of 200,000 residents.

What is vanadium technology?

VFlowTech was incubated in Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University with researchers working for more than 10 years to fine tune the vanadium battery system.

“The advantage of the vanadium flow battery technology is that it has a lifetime of 25 to 30 years and the performance does not degrade, which makes it an ideal solution for the long run,” Mr Kumar said.

“There is also zero performance degradation, so if the performance is 100 per cent today, after 25 years you will also get 100 per cent of the energy. This makes it highly sustainable; vanadium is also highly recyclable.”

VflowTech's battery storage units – called PowerCubes – range in size from a double-door fridge to a huge container.

The technology powers electric vehicles in Australia, supplies electricity to office buildings in Japan and to more than 30 homes and businesses in Pulau Ubin island off Singapore’s north-east coast.

A recent pilot project covers about six telecom towers in Johannesburg with the goal to eventually use the technology in 8,000 towers.

Mr Kumar displayed projects at the Singapore pavilion during Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and will be in Dubai to focus the spotlight on the technology again.

The company won a competition for start-ups run by the UAE’s Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in June that received 400 submissions from around the world.

VflowTech pitched its idea before industry experts and was awarded Dh100,000 for “innovative, reliable and large-scale storage solutions that unlock the full power of renewables”.

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, said the UAE was keen to provide a space for technology start-ups to scale up breakthrough solutions that address climate change challenges and support economic growth.

“Technology start-ups are an engine of economic growth,” Ms Al Amiri said.

“They create employment opportunities, introduce new products and services, drive innovation and can efficiently solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.”

Adapting to extreme weather

The drawback of vanadium is that it’s expensive to extract. Mainly used in the steel refining industry, its price is volatile because it rises in response to the demand for steel.

Vanadium batteries have also previously had trouble operating in extremely hot conditions. Vflow has worked on a solution that allows the battery to run in conditions of 55°C to 60°C, opening it to new markets in the Middle East.

“Our technology can work in extreme climates,” Mr Kumar said.

“The innovations we have done make our technology suitable for the Emirates' hot and humid climate.

“There is a push for the Middle East to apply more and more renewables and we have the intent to manufacture locally for local consumption.”

He is confident of bringing the cost down as use of the technology becomes widespread.

“We are now a small company manufacturing in Singapore, but in the next three years, as the demand increases, we will scale up our battery production capacity in India and have plans to come to the Middle East,” he said.

Transition to net zero

About 733 million people have no access to electricity – that’s about one in 10 people worldwide, according to United Nations Development Programme figures.

About 80 per cent of global energy and 66 per cent of electrical generation is currently supplied from fossil fuels, including oil and coal. This contributes about 60 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.

The UN has urged countries to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy systems and to invest in renewable energy resources.

At Cop28, Mr Kumar aims to show visitors why vanadium-powered energy storage is the future.

Being part of the climate summit helps learning about new technology aimed at achieving the net-zero goal – the ambition to balance greenhouse gas emissions so the amount removed from the atmosphere is equal to the amount emitted.

“We are actively looking to scale up our technology,” Mr Kumar said.

“Net zero is a complex goal to achieve – it cannot be achieved by one person or one technology, it has to be mixed with multiple technologies.

“You need one platform where different technology providers assemble together.

“Cop gives you this platform to interact with stakeholders so you can see innovative technologies you can combine, where policymakers and financials come together."