Small-Size Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries: An Environmental Sustainability Analysis via LCA

Electrical energy production from renewable sources has dramatically grown in the recent years in the developed countries, putting the hard problem to be solved of supply discontinuity. How to reach high efficiency and reliability of electrical energy storage system is thus now one of the most challenging goals to be reached: among all, one of the most simple and widespread to use is the electrochemical storage systems. This paper analyzes the sustainability of a small vanadium redox flow battery performed by an LCA approach. This electrical energy storage system was selected for its significant advantages in use, such as the almost infinite lifetime of the vanadium electrolytes, which represent a potentially significant advantage in terms of a sustainable future made of less fossil fuels and more renewable energy. In fact, the LCA analysis performed shows that the production of the battery has a moderate impact, including the effect toxicity while at the end of life, the material and the electrolyte are completely reusable with a small fraction that goes to landfill disposal.