Development of intermittent redox flow battery for PV system

The redox flow battery has been developed as a storage device for PV power systems. The pump loss is the greatest problem for a redox flow battery under low current conditions. An intermittent flow redox battery has been developed which reduces the pump loss. Experimental results of this battery show that efficiency under intermittent pump operation increases more than under continuous pump operation. Moreover, inert gas bubble technology has been introduced to improve performance under high current conditions. It is clear from experiments that this technology increases the efficiencies of PV power systems. Simulation results of these technologies show good agreement with experimental results. It is shown by simulation that this technology can improve the Faradic and energy efficiencies of a number of battery stacks in series.