Journal of Advanced Chemical Engineering

Abstract

A Comparison of the Capital Costs of a Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery and a Regenerative Hydrogen-Vanadium Fuel Cell

Mark Moore, Robert Counce, Jack Watson and Thomas Zawodzinski

The capital costs of a Regenerative Hydrogen-Vanadium Fuel Cell and a Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery are compared for grid level energy storage. The bulk of the capital costs for a Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery lie in the costs of the vanadium electrolyte, while the Regenerative Hydrogen-Vanadium Fuel Cell presents a potential for savings by eliminating the need for half of the vanadium electrolyte required by a Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery. It was found that the Regenerative Hydrogen-Vanadium Fuel Cell would cost $57 less per kWh than the Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery, with savings garnered from the elimination of half of the electrolyte somewhat mitigated by the costs of the catalyst and air compressor required. If the capital costs are annualized through straight line depreciation, and the operation costs are included, the Vanadium Redox-Flow Battery is $5 per kWh less per year than the Regenerative Hydrogen-Vanadium Fuel Cell.