World's first GWh-scale vanadium flow battery goes online in China

China has commissioned the world’s largest vanadium flow battery energy storage system, the Jimusaer Vanadium Flow Battery Energy Storage Project, located in the Xinjiang autonomous region. Officially operational as of December 31, the project features a 200-megawatt/1-gigawatt-hour (MW/1 GWh) battery system integrated with a 1-gigawatt photovoltaic (PV) power plant. Developed by Rongke Power, this installation is the first vanadium flow battery to reach gigawatt-hour scale and is designed for long-duration, utility-scale energy storage, providing up to five hours of continuous discharge with the capability for intensive daily cycling and extended operational life. The system addresses grid stability challenges in Xinjiang, a region rich in solar and wind resources but affected by grid congestion and transmission issues. By storing surplus renewable energy during periods of high generation and dispatching it during peak demand, the project increases renewable energy utilization by over 230 million kilowatt-hours annually