The importance of energy storage in the renewable energy industry cannot be overstated. As more and more countries and companies turn to renewable sources of energy, the need for stable, efficient, and reliable energy storage systems becomes critical. Energy storage allows for better integration of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, which can fluctuate depending on weather conditions.
RFC Power is developing long-duration energy storage with high performance at low cost. RFC Power’s novel flow battery makes use of cheap, abundant manganese and clean green hydrogen to deliver a low-cost solution for the growing long-duration energy storage market. RFC’s unique chemistry is protected by a portfolio of granted patents and benefits from high round-trip energy efficiency, high energy density, and improved safety. RFC Power aims to scale up its long-duration storage technology and roll it out to the world.
Ashkan Kavei is the Engineering Lead at RFC Power, and his primary focus is managing the engineering team as they develop and scale up their cutting-edge technology. The team is divided into two groups, one designing and improving foundational technology, and the other developing a complete system around it. He works closely with both teams to ensure that they are meeting their goals and delivering high-quality products.
Ashkan identifies the Shott Scale up Accelerator as offering opportunities to work with an appropriate mentor who can help accelerate his personal development and improve his strategic thinking and ability to articulate and implement the vision. He notes that, “participating in this programme and taking advantage of its networking opportunities will allow me to gain a better understanding of the skillsets required to develop my personal skills and become a better engineer.”
In the past year, RFC demonstrated its kW scale stack and has extended its partnership with Ceres to develop the first-of-a-kind long-duration energy system over the next 18 months. This presents a great opportunity for the company to drive further innovation. Ashkan recognises that they need to expand the capabilities within the organisation by bringing in more experts to the team, growing the number of employees, and investing in employee development.
The market for long-duration energy storage is growing at an unprecedented rate, with a forecasted global battery storage market expected to exceed $30 billion by 2029. Furthermore, the stationary storage market is projected to reach $60 billion by 2040, with long-duration energy storage systems expected to contribute to over 50% of the total energy storage capacity.
