Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Wins Second Prize of National Technical Invention Award for Next-Generation Large-Scale All-Vanadium Flow Battery Core Technologies & Applications

On the morning of July 8, the National Science and Technology Awards Ceremony, the General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology convened in Beijing.

As China’s highest honor in science and technology, the National Science and Technology Awards cover five categories: the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award, the National Natural Science Award, the National Technical Invention Award, the National Science and Technology Progress Award, and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People’s Republic of China.

The research achievement titled Key Technologies and Applications of Next-Generation Large-Scale All-Vanadium Flow Batteries developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, was conferred the Second Prize of the National Technical Invention Award.

DICP is the initiator institution of the Flow Battery Special Committee under the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA). Researcher Li Xianfeng, Deputy Director of DICP, serves as the first Chairman of the Special Committee. CNESA hereby extends our sincerest respect and warmest congratulations to Researcher Li Xianfeng and his entire R&D team.

Energy storage acts as an indispensable core technology for building a new power system dominated by renewable energy and delivering China’s Dual Carbon Goals. Featuring ultra-long service life, intrinsic high safety and outstanding energy efficiency, all-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) have emerged as a high-priority technical pathway for global energy storage and a top choice for large-scale energy storage deployment in China.

Nevertheless, all-vanadium flow battery systems boast sophisticated architectures that integrate multiple interdisciplinary disciplines. Efficient collaborative integration of diverse internal materials and functional components poses substantial challenges to system assembly and engineering implementation.

For more than a decade, the research team led by Researcher Li Xianfeng from DICP has dedicated itself to flow battery innovation. After completing MW-scale system demonstration and validation back in 2012, the team systematically resolved critical industrialization bottlenecks including high manufacturing costs, insufficient operational reliability, and foreign monopolies over core materials. Through sustained original innovation, the team pioneered the complete set of next-generation core technologies for large-scale all-vanadium flow batteries.

The team put forward the original concept of "ion sieving conduction", which underpinned the independent R&D and mass production of proprietary ion exchange membranes. Breakthroughs were also realized in novel electrolyte formulations, high-performance cell stacks and full system integration. Relying on these foundational principal innovations and core technical advances, the team established a fully independent industrialization chain for all-vanadium flow batteries, spanning fundamental research through full-scale commercial engineering.

Over the past five years, the team has deployed more than 30 commercial demonstration projects worldwide based on its proprietary next-generation VRFB technologies. Flagship projects include the world’s first national-grade 100 MW / 400 MWh all-vanadium flow battery peak-shaving power station, and the world’s largest ongoing 200 MW / 1 GWh PV-storage integrated project in Jimsar, Xinjiang. To date, the cumulative installed capacity of the team’s VRFB technologies has exceeded 4 GWh, capturing a dominant share of the global mainstream flow battery market.

The award-winning achievement has built a robust independent intellectual property portfolio, encompassing over 200 authorized invention patents including 12 international patents. A total of 15 patent licensing agreements has been signed with domestic and overseas enterprises, marking successful technology exports to developed European economies.

Furthermore, the team led the formulation and release of the world’s first international standard for flow batteries, alongside more than 20 national and industrial standards, securing China’s rule-setting dominance across the global flow battery sector.

This landmark research outcome was jointly completed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Dalian Rongke Power Co., Ltd., and Dalian Rongke Power Group Co., Ltd. The technology has catalyzed a complete upstream and downstream industrial cluster with remarkable agglomeration effects, delivering pivotal support for technological advancement in China’s energy storage sector, the growth of the new energy industry, and the structural transformation of national energy systems.