A massive battery is changing how renewable energy is stored. It can hold power for hours, stabilize the grid, and cut wasted electricity.
China has launched the world’s largest vanadium flow battery project to tackle a major challenge in renewable energy. Regions like Xinjiang generate abundant solar and wind energy but grid congestion and intermittent supply often lead to wasted electricity. Large scale energy storage can stabilize the grid, reduce curtailment, and make renewable power more reliable for utilities and consumers.
The Jimusaer Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage Project addresses these problems directly. It combines a 200 megawatt 1 gigawatt hour battery system with a 1 gigawatt photovoltaic power plant. The setup allows excess electricity generated during periods of high renewable output to be stored and delivered when demand peaks, improving overall system efficiency. The integrated system is expected to increase renewable energy utilization by more than 230 million kilowatt hours annually.
This installation also solves technical challenges specific to large scale storage. The vanadium flow battery can provide up to five hours of continuous discharge, handle intensive daily cycling, and maintain long operational life, requirements crucial for utility scale operations. Unlike lithium ion systems, it uses liquid electrolytes stored in external tanks, which separates power from energy capacity, allows easy scaling, and reduces fire risk. This makes it suitable for frequent cycling and long term operation.
For energy providers and grid operators, the project demonstrates that vanadium flow battery technology can reliably operate at gigawatt hour scale, enabling higher renewable energy adoption without straining the grid. For regions like Xinjiang which have high solar and wind potential but limited transmission capacity, this system stabilizes power supply and reduces wasted renewable energy.
By supporting longer duration storage and flexible grid operation, the project also contributes to broader sustainability goals. Higher renewable energy utilization reduces carbon emissions, and the technology’s durability and safety make it well suited for large scale applications that require frequent cycling and long lifetimes.
The Jimusaer project shows that vanadium flow batteries can address critical energy storage challenges, making renewable power more usable, reliable, and efficient for utility operators and end users alike.
