Issue 11, 2020

Cost, performance prediction and optimization of a vanadium flow battery by machine-learning

Abstract

Performance optimization and cost reduction of a vanadium flow battery (VFB) system is essential for its commercialization and application in large-scale energy storage. However, developing a VFB stack from lab to industrial scale can take years of experiments due to the influence of complex factors, from key materials to the battery architecture. Herein, we have developed an innovative machine learning (ML) methodology to optimize and predict the efficiencies and costs of VFBs with extreme accuracy, based on our database of over 100 stacks with varying power rates. The results indicated that the cost of a VFB system (S-cost) at energy/power (E/P) = 4 h can reach around 223 $ (kW h)−1, when the operating current density reaches 200 mA cm−2, while the voltage efficiency (VE) and utilization ratio of the electrolyte (UE) are maintained above 90% and 80%, respectively. This work highlights the potential of the ML methodology to guide stack design and optimization of flow batteries to further accelerate their commercialization.

Graphical abstract: Cost, performance prediction and optimization of a vanadium flow battery by machine-learning

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Aug 2020
Accepted
21 Sep 2020
First published
22 Sep 2020

Energy Environ. Sci., 2020,13, 4353-4361

Cost, performance prediction and optimization of a vanadium flow battery by machine-learning

T. Li, F. Xing, T. Liu, J. Sun, D. Shi, H. Zhang and X. Li, Energy Environ. Sci., 2020, 13, 4353 DOI: 10.1039/D0EE02543G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements