Pilot system of AQUABATTERY’s redox flow battery launched in cooperation with VERBUND.
At the Deltares Campus in Delft, another milestone has been reached in the development of sustainable energy storage technologies. At the launch event, the Dutch start-up AQUABATTERY presented its innovative redox flow battery, which can store excess renewable energy safely, sustainably and cost-effectively by converting salt water.
The construction of the pilot plant was supported by VERBUND, Austria’s leading energy company, in order to further develop the technology and advance its market readiness. In addition to making a financial contribution, VERBUND will also provide important technical input for the project based on its extensive experience in the field of energy storage.
The opening ceremonies were accompanied by expert talks on topics such as regulatory requirements and market opportunities for long duration energy storage (LDES) solutions. Experts from VERBUND took the opportunity to inspect the facility and exchange ideas with other project partners and representatives from the storage ecosystem about the next steps in development.
A sustainable technology for the energy future
The technology developed by AQUABATTERY is based on reversible water dissociation and uses conventional salt water to store electricity in the form of chemical energy in aqueous solutions stored in separate tanks. Pumps are used to circulate these fluids through a membrane stack, where the ion exchange takes place. This means that power and capacity can be decoupled from each other, which makes this technology particularly interesting for long duration energy storage applications. The use of water and salt as storage materials provides a sustainable, safe, flexible and cost-effective way to store excess renewable energy over periods ranging from hours to several days, without relying on rare earths or harmful or flammable substances. This can minimise the ecological footprint and avoid risks such as fires or explosions.
Renewable energy for every hour of the day
VERBUND is testing the operation of a long duration energy storage system with an output of 5 kW and a capacity of 50 kWh for the first time. The technology will now be tested in a pilot project with several industrial partners over a period of up to twelve months to examine its scalability and commercial feasibility. Long duration energy storage systems will most likely play a crucial role in the energy transformation and in the decarbonisation and creation of a sustainable and stable energy system. The aim is to store surplus energy from wind and solar plants to ensure security of supply in a fully renewable energy system and to avoid grid overloads without having to resort to fossil fuels.
“The existing network infrastructure cannot keep up with this pace, so that bottlenecks and failures can occur. The electricity generated from renewable energy fluctuates during the day. We need solutions to keep the lights on even when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow. Solutions that offer flexibility so that solar and wind energy are available and reliable at all times,” say the founders of AQUABATTERY.
Combined innovative strength for the energy transformation
The cooperation between VERBUND and AQUABATTERY shows how important partnerships between industry and start-ups are on the common path to the energy transformation and how they can accelerate the path to a climate-neutral future. Franz Zöchbauer, Head of Corporate Innovation & New Business at VERBUND, emphasises: “The transformation of the energy system cannot succeed without innovation. For VERBUND, shaping the energy future means proceeding boldly to develop new business ideas and technologies. We rely on cooperation, combined with a focus on implementation. Innovations for the energy transition now have to be implemented faster and scaled up in the market. This is the only way we can achieve the objectives of climate neutrality and a renewable energy system.”
With the successful initial operation of the pilot plant, the intensive exchange with experts on site and the upcoming pilot phase, VERBUND and AQUABATTERY are taking the next steps towards the energy transformation together. Long duration energy storage technologies such as those from AQUABATTERY could soon play an important role here and help to provide the urgently needed flexibility in the future.
