Review—Flow Batteries from 1879 to 2022 and Beyond

We present a quantitative bibliometric study of flow battery technology from the first zinc-bromine cells in the 1870’s to megawatt vanadium RFB installations in the 2020’s. We emphasize, that the cost advantage of RFBs in multi-hour charge-discharge cycles is compromised by an inferior energy efficiency of these systems, and that there are limits on the efficiency improvement due to internal cross-over and the cost of power (at low current densities) and due to an acceptable pressure drop (at high current densities). Differences between lithium-ion and vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are discussed from the end-user perspective. We conclude, that the area-specific resistance, cross-over current and durability of contemporaneous VRFBs are appropriate for commercialization in multi-hour stationary energy storage markets, and the most import direction in the VRFB development today is the reduction of stack materials and manufacturing costs. Chromium-iron RFBs should be given a renewed attention, since it seems to be the most promising durable low-energy-cost chemistry.