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A Feasibility Study in Redox Flow Battery Adoption to Augment The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering A FEASIBILITY STUDY IN REDOX FLOW BATTERY ADOPTION TO AUGMENT SUSTAINABLE ELECTRICITY GRID EXPANSION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES A Thesis in Energy and Mineral Engineering with Option in Energy Management and Policy by Anukalp Narasimharaju 2014 Anukalp Narasimharaju Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science December 2014 The thesis of Anukalp Narasimharaju was reviewed and approved* by the following: Antonio Nieto Associate Professor of Mining Engineering Thesis Advisor Serguei Lvov Professor of Energy and Mineral Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering, Director of Electrochemical Technologies Program Zhen Lei Assistant Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics Luis F. Ayala H. Associate Professor of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Associate Department Head for Graduate Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School. ii ABSTRACT The quality of Energy Storage affects the efficiency of Energy Consumption. With developing countries struggling with power deficiency, energy storage coupled with renewable sources of energy can act as a short to medium term solution by providing power and kick-starting economic growth from stagnation. It can bring down dependence on thermal and nuclear power in the long run, which are both expensive to develop and run. Battery Energy Storage is also being developed using different materials and technologies serving different purposes. This thesis reviews several different types of batteries along with its advantages and disadvantages. Further, this thesis focuses on the electrochemistry of Redox Flow Batteries, most recent developments, its applications and a case study. The long lifetime of a redox flow battery adds tremendous value in maintaining and building energy capacity for a micro grid or for an expanding community. There are several drivers for energy storage adoption in developing countries. A synopsis of drivers behind flow battery adoption along with the power deficit specific to India is examined. New energy technologies have high costs of development, which are passed on to the consumers. However, unaffordable technologies are not a solution until they become affordable. A breakdown of costs in manufacturing flow batteries are investigated. An evaluation of manufacturing flow batteries both in India and the U.S has been prepared. Further, opportunities for cost reduction are identified. A detailed economic analysis of the cost of adoption and operational costs has been explored while examining the feasibility and adoption of technology for a tourist hotel in the desert region of Udaipur, Rajasthan in India. The results indicate that manufacturing flow batteries in India not only has a higher initial cost than Lead Acid batteries but also has similar pay back periods. The cost of flow batteries must be driven down below $300/kWh to be effectively deployed on a larger scale, while making profits for companies and serving communities with fast and reliable access to energy. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2 Energy Storage ........................................................................................................ 4 Technology Overview ...................................................................................................... 4 Battery Energy Storage .................................................................................................... 7 Lead Acid Batteries .................................................................................................. 7 Lithium Ion Batteries ............................................................................................... 9 Sodium Sulfur Batteries ........................................................................................... 10 Nickel-Metal-Hydride Batteries ............................................................................... 11 Redox Flow Batteries ............................................................................................... 12 Summary of Advantages and Disadvantages ................................................................... 15 Chapter 3 Flow battery Technology......................................................................................... 17 Technical Review of an All Vanadium Battery ............................................................... 17 Complete Cell System Characteristics ..................................................................... 20 Technical Review of the Vanadium Bromine Redox Flow Battery ................................. 23 Properties of a Battery ...................................................................................................... 28 Conductivity ............................................................................................................. 28 Vanadium Ion Diffusion ........................................................................................... 28 Water Content .......................................................................................................... 28 Dimensional Stability ............................................................................................... 28 Energy Density ......................................................................................................... 29 Temperature Effect ................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 4 Electricity Market in India ...................................................................................... 32 Drivers for Flow Battery adoption ................................................................................... 32 Cost Structure of a Redox Flow Battery .......................................................................... 39 Assumptions of the Cost Model ....................................................................................... 40 Design of Cells and Stacks ............................................................................................... 41 Electrode and Membrane Configuration and Costs ......................................................... 43 Electrolyte Configuration and Costs ................................................................................ 45 Tank Configuration and Costs ......................................................................................... 46 Pumps Configuration and Costs ....................................................................................... 46 Pipes Configuration and Costs ......................................................................................... 47 Power Electronics Configuration and Costs..................................................................... 48 Container Configuration and Costs .................................................................................. 49 Labor Costs ...................................................................................................................... 50 Transportation Costs ........................................................................................................ 51 Final Costs........................................................................................................................ 52 iv Summary .................................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 5 Flow Battery – Real World Applications ................................................................ 60 Rajasthan’s Climate and Power Deficit Situation ............................................................ 60 Case Study – No Power Outages ..................................................................................... 64 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 64 Electric Loads .................................................................................................................. 66 Simulation ........................................................................................................................ 67 Economic Considerations ................................................................................................ 69 Results – No Power Outages ............................................................................................ 71 Case Study – Power Outages Modeled into the Grid ....................................................... 72 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 72 Simulation and Results – Flow Battery Configuration .................................................... 74 Simulation and Results – Vanadium Redox Lead Acid (VRLA) Battery Configuration ..........................................................................................................
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