China has just brought the world’s largest vanadium flow battery energy project online, marking a massive milestone in long-duration grid-scale energy storage.
Located in China’s Xinjiang autonomous region, the so-called Jimusaer Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage Project has officially entered operation on December 31, according to Rongke Power.
The Dalian-based company, which delivered the project, also stated that it pairs a 200-megawatt/1-gigawatt-hour (MW/1 GWh) battery system with a massive one-gigawatt photovoltaic power plant.
According to the firm, the battery demonstrates how large-scale storage can stabilize power grids reliant on renewables. “Rongke Power continues to advance vanadium flow battery technologies and integrated energy storage solutions, supporting the global deployment of long-duration energy storage,” the company revealed.
Large battery system
In addition to being the world’s largest vanadium (V) flow battery installation, the Jimusaer Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage Project is also the first vanadium flow battery to reach the gigawatt-hour scale.
It is designed to provide up to five hours of continuous discharge and is built for intensive daily cycling and long operational life. These, the company noted, are key requirements for utility-scale energy storage.
Now fully operational, the project shows that vanadium flow battery technology can operate reliably at an unprecedented scale.
“The project provides a total installed capacity of 200 MW / 1,000 MWh, enabling up to five hours of continuous discharge to support long-duration energy storage for utility-scale grid operation,” Rongke Power continued.
Meanwhile, the energy storage facility is integrated with a 1-GW photovoltaic (PV) power plant. This allows surplus renewable generation to be stored during periods of high output and dispatched during peak demand.
Project data revealed that the integrated renewable and storage system increases renewable energy utilization by more than 230 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, thereby reducing curtailment and improving overall system efficiency.
Renewable energy storage
The system is particularly important for Xinjiang, a region rich in solar and wind resources but challenged by grid congestion and transmission challenges. Large-scale storage helps stabilize the grid and reduces wasted renewable energy.
Rongke Power said the Jimusaer project, the first to reach gigawatt-hour-scale operation, shows that the technology can deliver reliable performance at record scale.
“With its high intrinsic safety, long operational life, and stable performance under frequent cycling, vanadium flow batteries are well-suited for large-scale, long-duration energy storage applications,” Rongke Power emphasized.
The battery also highlights the advantages of vanadium flow batteries for long-duration applications. Unlike lithium-ion cells, vanadium flow batteries use liquid electrolytes stored in external tanks, separating power from energy capacity.
This innovative design supports easy scaling, long cycle life, and high safety, as the electrolytes are non-flammable. It is well-suited for systems that require frequent cycling and long operating lifetimes.
“By enabling higher utilization of renewable energy, the integrated photovoltaic and energy storage system contributes to system-level carbon emission reduction and supports the transition toward more flexible, resilient, and sustainable power systems,” the company concluded in a press release.
