1. The world's largest vanadium redox flow battery power station will be put into operation on December 31, 2025
Event: China Three Gorges Corporation has commissioned a 200MW/1000MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) energy storage power station in Jimsar, Xinjiang, with a total investment of 3.8 billion yuan and a supporting 1GW photovoltaic power generation. This project is the largest VRB energy storage power station in China, with an average annual power generation of 1.72 billion kWh, marking a key breakthrough in the large-scale application of long-duration energy storage technology.
Significance: Promoting the commercialization of large-capacity long-duration energy storage technology and providing a demonstration for the consumption of new energy in Northwest China.
II. Commercial operation time of the world's first GWh-scale flow energy storage system: September 2025
Event: The 250MW/1000MWh all-vanadium flow battery project in Aksu Wushi, Xinjiang, has become the world's first GWh-scale flow energy storage system to enter commercial operation after passing the artificial short-circuit test. The project adopts NARI Jibao grid-forming technology, which combines peak shaving and grid support functions.
Significance: To verify the reliability of flow batteries under high-intensity grid faults and promote technical standardization.
III. First megawatt-scale application of aqueous organic flow battery: June 29, 2025
Event: Inner Mongolia Erdos Wanchenggong 200MW/800MWh energy storage power station has been put into operation, with its 5MW/20MWh aqueous organic flow battery marking the world's first megawatt-scale application. The project has entered the electricity spot market, delivering 400 million kWh of clean electricity annually.
Significance: Open up a non-vanadium system technology route and expand the diversified application scenarios of flow batteries.
IV. Flow Energy Storage Technology announces the launch of 125kW super fuel cell stack: April 2025
Event: Liquid Flow Energy Storage Technology has launched a 125kW high-power fuel cell stack and an 800kW standardized energy storage system. Through innovations such as gradient composite membranes and porous flow field design, the volumetric power density has been increased to 130kW/m³, and the cost has been reduced by 40%.
Significance: Breaking through the power bottleneck of fuel cell stacks and providing core support for large-scale system integration.
5. The short-process electrolyte technology is scheduled for large-scale production in July 2025
Event: Hengjiu Antai has adopted the "short-process extraction method" developed by the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and established an electrolyte production line with an annual capacity of 50,000 cubic meters in Fuxin. This has reduced energy consumption by 40% and costs by 15%, addressing the high energy consumption issue of traditional processes.
Significance: Reduce the cost of core materials for flow batteries and accelerate the cost reduction process of the industry chain.
VI. Breakthrough in Yongtai Energy's Graphene Electrode Technology: September 2025
Event: Detai Energy Storage, a subsidiary of Yongtai Energy, has upgraded its fuel cell stack technology. The graphene electrode has increased the working current density to 180mA/cm², achieving an energy efficiency breakthrough of over 80% and a 28% reduction in power cost per stack. Its electrolyte compatibilizer can replace traditional vanadium electrolyte, with a cost of only 40%-60%.
Significance: Improve electrochemical performance and address the challenges of electrolyte cost and temperature adaptability.
VII. Ant Group leads the iron-chromium flow battery race: May 2025
Event: Zhonghai Energy Storage has completed a PreA++ round of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan, led by Ant Group. Its iron-chromium flow battery technology, optimized through carbon cloth electrodes and electrolyte formulations, inhibits hydrogen evolution reactions. The company has established industrial bases in Guangdong, Henan, and other regions, with a production capacity of 2GWh within the year.
Significance: Capital injection into emerging technology routes to promote the transition of iron-chromium systems from the laboratory to industrialization.
VIII. National Special Action Support Time: September 2025. The National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Special Action Plan for the Large-scale Construction of New Energy Storage", which clarifies that the installed capacity of new energy storage will reach over 180 million kilowatts by 2027, and encourages flow batteries to participate in electricity market transactions. Significance: The released "Plan" answers many questions about market mechanisms, further specifies development goals, effectively eliminates concerns about marketization and scale, and boosts industry confidence.
In 2025, the flow battery sector exhibited three major characteristics: multiple technological breakthroughs, a leap in project scale, and the formation of a closed-loop industrial chain. The all-vanadium system dominated the market, while the non-vanadium route accelerated industrialization. Driven by both policy and capital, the industry reached a critical point of scale.