Flow battery based on PNNL chemistry commissioned

News Brief

March 28, 2017

• PNNL News & Media Relations, (509) 375-3776

MUKILTEO, Wash. — Officials are celebrating the installation of the world's largest containerized vanadium flow battery storage system by capacity, which uses electrolyte chemistry developed at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, PNNL's Jud Virden and others are gathering today at the headquarters of UniEnergy Technologies, also known as UET, whose advanced vanadium flow battery was recently installed at a Snohomish PUD substation near Everett, Wash. The 2 megawatt/8 megawatt-hour battery was installed for one of five different energy storage projects awarded matching grants in 2014 through the state's Clean Energy Fund.

PNNL is providing analytical and technical support for all the projects. PNNL developed use cases, or detailed descriptions of the many ways energy storage can increase renewable energy use and improve the efficiency and resiliency of the power grid. PNNL is also testing the performance of the battery systems and evaluating the economic impacts of the various services provided by them. For more information about PNNL's involvement, see this 2014 news release.

Tags: Energy, Fundamental Science, Batteries, Chemistry

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory draws on signature capabilities in chemistry, earth sciences, and data analytics to advance scientific discovery and create solutions to the nation's toughest challenges in energy resiliency and national security. Founded in 1965, PNNL is operated by Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit PNNL's News Center. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.