The Sichuan Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, along with five other departments, has introduced China's first specific policy aimed at promoting the high-quality development of the vanadium battery energy storage industry.

The Implementation Plan proposes supporting the adoption and application of vanadium batteries for energy storage in renewable energy sectors like solar and wind power, as well as for power grid peak load management, communication base station backup power, and other use cases.

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are a type of rechargeable flow battery that stores energy using vanadium ions in a liquid electrolyte solution. They are particularly well-suited for longer duration (4+ hours) stationary energy storage applications on the grid-scale. The increasing penetration of intermittent renewable sources is driving demand for long-duration energy storage solutions, where VRFBs offer advantages over lithium-ion batteries in terms of scalability, safety, cycle life and environmental footprint.

China possesses abundant vanadium reserves, accounting for over 40% of global reserves and 60% of production. This resource availability provides favorable conditions for developing China's domestic vanadium battery industry. Several major listed companies like Anning, Pangang, HBIS, Suntien and SHANGHAI ELECTRIC are actively investing in vanadium battery technologies and production capabilities.

The new policy aims to promote and support the vanadium battery sector as an emerging strategic industry that can contribute to China's clean energy transition and energy security goals.