SINGAPORE – Nearly 10 years ago, two scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) had ambitions to create giant batteries that could power towns and buildings at night with clean electricity.
Their vision will take shape on Pulau Ubin soon.
Instead of using the more common lithium metal, which is synonymous with batteries, the duo banked on the lesser known vanadium metal, which is known to be safer and longer lasting.
After years of research and forming start-up VFlowTech, the duo – Dr Avishek Kumar and Dr Arjun Bhattarai – have built a container-like energy storage system that can store energy from the sun or wind.
VFlowTech’s technology attracted local energy players, and its battery will soon help to power parts of Pulau Ubin, as its main village seeks to have up to 90 per cent of its electricity from solar energy by next year.
The heart of a vanadium flow battery are…