Life Cycle Assessment of a Vanadium Flow Battery based on manufacturer data
May 25th, 2023 – Wiener Neudorf and Germany
In the transition towards 100% renewable energy use, the storage of intermittent and fluctuating electrical energy is becoming increasingly relevant. Vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) are safe and reliable options for stationary day storage of energy. VFBs are already operated worldwide under a wide variety of environmental conditions. Thus, the assessment of potential environmental impacts of VFBs by life cycle assessment (LCA) is essential in order to support a sustainable energy system. The presented LCA is based on primary data provided by one of the leading VFB manufacturer companies Enerox GmbH, Austria. This makes it the first published LCA on a VFB completely based on primary data. In addition, in collaboration with Enerox GmbH various scenarios for real-world use cases are considered. This provides new insights, as especially the choice of location for operation as well as the type of renewable energy input to the battery show a significant impact on potential emissions. Consequently, emission reduction potentials as well as recommendations for action considering future use cases for VFBs are derived.
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