As 2025 draws to a close, looking back on the year, the global energy transition is shifting from "capacity expansion" to "structural adjustment". With the increasing share of renewable energy, power systems worldwide are facing more severe gaps in peak regulation, capacity support, and long-duration energy storage. Against this backdrop, flow batteries have emerged as one of the most closely watched long-duration energy storage technologies, thanks to their characteristics such as high safety, deep discharge capability, long lifespan, and flexible capacity scalability.

Over the past year, the implementation of global flow battery projects has accelerated significantly: multiple 100 MW-scale projects have been put into operation one after another, and GWh-scale projects have started construction. From China and the United States to Europe and Australia, demonstration and commercial deployment in various countries have continued to expand. Flow batteries are rapidly moving from "technology verification" to "large-scale deployment"—a shift that not only reflects a significant improvement in technology maturity but also the full release of global demand for long-duration energy storage.

» Technology Route Landscape: Vanadium Dominates, Multiple Routes Compete

In 2025, the global flow battery sector presents a pattern of "stable mainstream + multi-point breakthroughs". Among them, vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) remain the most mature and engineering-capable route: with a cycle life of tens of thousands of times, support for long-duration discharge, and high safety, they are currently the system with the largest application scale and the most extensive cases. As electrolyte recycling, material localization, and stack consistency improve, the cost of vanadium-based systems is falling rapidly, further consolidating their leading position.

At the same time, alternative routes with greater cost or resource advantages are advancing rapidly. Systems including zinc-bromine, iron-chromium, sulfur-iron, all-iron, and organic flow batteries have received pilot and R&D support in many countries, showing potential in terms of safety, material cost, and environmental friendliness. Flow batteries are moving from a "single vanadium system" to a "multi-route competition" phase, significantly expanding the space for industrial innovation.

» Application Trends: Scaling, Hybridization, Ecosystemization as Industry Keywords

In 2025, changes in the flow battery industry have shifted from technological breakthroughs to system-level expansion, presenting three major trends:

1. Accelerated project scaling.Large-scale projects such as 100MW/500MWh (China) and 800MW/1.6GWh (Switzerland/Europe's largest) have become key terms of the year. The industry is moving from the demonstration side to the commercial side. Large-scale application capabilities are being truly verified, which is also driving system costs into a new downward trajectory.

2. Hybrid energy storage as a mainstream configuration.As of August 2025, hybrid energy storage accounted for 6.97% (in terms of power) of newly registered energy storage projects globally. In China's 2024 flow battery bidding projects, lithium battery + flow battery hybrid storage accounted for nearly 60%. The combination of lithium batteries (fast response) and flow batteries (deep cycling)—the "fast, stable, long" pairing—has been included in demonstration systems by energy bureaus and grid companies in many regions, and will become a normalized configuration in the future.

3. Expanding industrial ecosystem.From electrolytes, membranes, electrodes, and stacks to system integration and operation & maintenance, the global supply chain expanded significantly in 2025. Policies are promoting localized layouts, and capital, energy enterprises, and innovation teams are accelerating their entry. Flow batteries are transitioning from a "niche technology" to a "systematic industry".

» Global Participants Surge: Flow Ecosystem Expands

With clear demand for long-duration energy storage, mature engineering capabilities, and increased capital attention, the number of enterprises entering the flow battery track rose sharply in 2025, showing three characteristics: traditional energy storage enterprises have integrated flow batteries into their core technology lines; large energy groups and grid companies have launched in-depth layouts to promote regional project implementation; universities and research institutions are growing rapidly, advancing comprehensively from materials and stacks to new systems.

Flow batteries are evolving from a "laboratory technology" to a "strategic new track"—the more participants and application scenarios there are, the more stable the industrial ecosystem becomes.

» 2025: Flow Batteries Move from Development to Growth Phase

The global flow battery industry is undergoing a key transition: from demonstration projects to large-scale deployment, from a single route to multiple routes, and from scattered breakthroughs to a complete ecosystem. Against the backdrop of accelerated decarbonization of energy systems and high proportions of renewable energy, flow batteries are becoming one of the key infrastructures for long-duration energy storage, and their global development pace continues to accelerate.

【Extended Reading | The "Accelerator" for Flow Battery R&D】

As flow battery technology accelerates globally, R&D iterations of material systems, stack structures, and system integration are becoming increasingly rapid. Whether it is promoting material cost reduction, conducting performance optimization, or verifying engineering feasibility, R&D teams urgently need more efficient, standardized testing tools to improve experimental efficiency and data quality.

Based on years of flow battery R&D experience and clustered operation practices of scientific research testing, ZH Energy has launched the Lab Series R&D Testing Platform, covering key links from material research to stack engineering. This series of tools has been successfully applied to multiple technical routes such as vanadium, iron-chromium, all-iron, zinc-iron, and organic flow batteries, and has been adopted by enterprises, universities, and research institutions in more than 10 countries including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, and Japan. The overseas repurchase rate exceeds 60%, and some customers have completed full-chain equipment deployment from materials to stacks.

The Lab Series is widely applicable to testing of membrane materials, electrolytes, electrodes, stacks, BMS, and system levels, and is a professional testing platform for multi-route, multi-scenario R&D of flow batteries. Welcome to discuss more customized testing needs.