Techno-economic assessment on the cost-effective manufacture of scaled-up VRFB system - An Indian scenario

Abstract

Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the promising contenders in battery energy storage systems (BESS). India is the third largest producer and consumer of electricity, with aspirations to increase its contributions from renewable energy sources. This study focuses on the techno-economic analysis of the VRFB system in the Indian context. This approach allows for a comparison of system costs in the Indian context with global trends. This work identifies the levelized cost of storage (LCOS) for a 5 kW / 10 kWh VRFB system and compares it against prevailing information in the global market. The analysis shows that the calculated LCOS value of 0.78 $ kWh⁻¹ cycle⁻¹ is approximately 29 % higher than the prevailing global LCOS value of 0.54 $ kWh⁻¹ cycle⁻¹ and far behind the target figure laid down by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The parameters affecting the LCOS are examined through sensitivity analysis, and the dominant factor for the capital costs is identified in an effort towards minimizing the LCOS, which shows a 4.8 % variation for a 10 % change. The high capital cost components, such as membrane and electrolyte, are critically examined and evaluated using indigenously developed components in a single cell for understanding the performance metrics. Additionally, the graphite plates and felt are analysed similarly as above for further cost reduction. An optimal combination of key materials and components determined through orthogonal analysis, achieving a lowest LCOS of 0.46 $ kWh⁻¹ cycle⁻¹. This analysis provides new insights into furthering the cost reduction measures for the manufacture of the VRFB system and moving towards the coveted golden LCOS target of DOE.