Are 25 Year Batteries Possible?

The Vanadium Flow Battery is the most boring of all rechargeable battery types. 

It also happens to be perhaps one of the soundest investments in the entire space — I’ll explain why in a second. 

I’m guessing you’ve never read much about them (which also happens to be the primary reason why the investment is sound), so I’ll give you some quick background information.

Vanadium batteries, as the name suggests, do not use lithium metal to move electrons. They operate on a different principal entirely, and the result is also completely removed from everything you’ve come to know about modern rechargeable batteries. 

First of all, they’re big and heavy thanks to a much lower energy density. 

Second of all, they’re expensive — costing as much as 2x per kWh as compared to the lithium equivalent. 

So they’re too massive to be in your phone, and also too expensive to be used in that EV you’re eyeing, which leaves us with what?

Vanadium Batteries: You May Not Know It, But You’ve Already Seen Them

Well, it leaves us with the fastest growing segment of the rechargeable battery market — commercial and industrial distributed power storage. 

Those giant battery banks that come as part of every solar and wind power generation facility, which are playing a rapidly-expanding role in supporting out national power grid, are the perfect application for this technology. 

But why?

You see, for all their shortcomings, Vanadium batteries have 1 major advantage — they last for decades. 

I’m talking about tens of thousands of charge/recharge cycles which allows these batteries to function without performance decline for up to 25 years. 

… A quarter century, which also happens to be the service life of your average solar installation. I know this firsthand because there’s a 2 megawatt solar farm going up on a property I own out in Western Maryland.

Our lease with the power company, set to commence in 2026, runs through to 2051.

Lithium batteries last a fraction of that time, and require multiple complete replacements within that timespan.

Vanadium Batteries Are The Diesel Engines Of The Rechargeable Energy Storage Market

Vanadium batteries, despite a higher initial cost to get things started, deliver more than 4x the energy over the course of the battery’s standard service life. 

So why is this one of the soundest, if not the soundest way to get exposure to the rechargeable battery sector?

Simple… It’s because vanadium batteries are so dull, so boring, and so far removed from the products that we crave to possess. 

You don’t hear about it, which means the media isn’t reporting on it, which in turn means the retail investment community hasn’t piled into it like it does in every other trend. 

That means shares of any company you may be targeting will likely be underbought. 

Put more plainly: There’s no hype, so shares of companies operating in this industry are cheap. 

Vanadium Power Is The Future

If you ask me, it’s a bit of a sad commentary on the knowledge of your average investor that this entire sector is overlooked.

Our entire decarbonized future is founded upon cheap, plentiful, readily available commercial grade energy storage systems. There’s just no getting around it.

The projections can’t be more clear.

And newly emerging tech trends, such as AI and crypto, are set to accelerate this growth every further.

And yet the only metal most retail shareholders can name when it comes to batteries is lithium.

Talk about an overlooked opportunity.

I’ve been tracking a company for a few weeks now which might be the most prospective within this space. 

This UK-based company is young, small, and focuses on Vanadium battery power. 

Just $50M in current valuation, this company has already been the target of a substantial US Department of Energy investment — more than 80 mWhs worth of storage capacity.

That means the tech has been rigorously vetted, as has every other aspect of the company. 

My premium subscribers have been getting educated on the hidden opportunity presented by vanadium batteries.

Here’s a quick crash course on the topic.

Fortune favors the bold,

Alex Koyfman

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His flagship service, Microcap Insider, provides market-beating insights into some of the fastest moving, highest profit-potential companies available for public trading on the U.S. and Canadian exchanges. With more than 5 years of track record to back it up, Microcap Insider is the choice for the growth-minded investor. Alex contributes his thoughts and insights regularly to Energy and Capital. To learn more about Alex, click here.