RE: Aussie VRFB investment28 Nov 2021 12:21
Vanadium battery risks - well, there aren't many. The electrolyte is acidic, like a lead-acid car battery, and about as risky. You wouldn't want to drink it or pour it on exposed skin, for example! Vanadium doubtless has some toxicity but I question whether it is anywhere near as toxic as the lead in a lead-acid battery. The electrolyte can't catch fire as it is predominantly made of water. There is no risk of thermal runaway as the only time the electrolyte (which is actually two different states of the same thing) can be mixed is in the cell when the pump is running. If the cell membrane fails, you might see a temperature rise of the order of 60 C or thereabouts. Stop the pump, stop the reaction and the heating. Stop the flow through the cell and you stop the electricity production, so electrical faults can be easily mitigated. If I had a VRFB, I'd probably want it to have bunded electrolyte tanks and a bunded pump and cell, but I'd stop there. No worse than your domestic heating oil tank in that respect.