EMEC goes with the flow in tidal battery first

Claimed to be a world first, the project will see Invinity Energy Systems delivering a 1.8MWh vanadium flow battery (VFB) at EMEC’s tidal energy test site on the island of Eday. VFBs can store and discharge industrial levels of power over multiple daily cycles and have a lifespan of 25 years, with little degradation. The pilot project will aim to demonstrate that VFBs can act as a bridge between the natural variations of tidal power and the consistent energy requirements of hydrogen electrolysis.

"This is the first time that a flow battery will have been coupled with tidal energy and hydrogen production, and will support the development of the innovative energy storage solution being developed in the Interreg NWE ITEG project,” said Neil Kermode, managing director at EMEC.

“Following a technical review looking at how to improve the efficiencies of the electrolyser, we assessed that flow batteries would be the best fit for the energy system. As flow batteries store electrical charge in a liquid rather than a solid, they can provide industrial quantities of power for a sustained period, can deeply discharge without damaging itself, as well as stand fully charged for extended periods without losing charge. These are all necessary qualities to integrate battery technology with the renewable power generation and hydrogen production process.”