The Dalian Flow Battery Peak-Load Shifting Power station can store a maximum of 400,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to meet the daily needs of about 200,000 people. The director of the project calls it a "power bank".

LI XIANFENG, Professor, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences said, "I always say it's like building a power bank, store when demand is low and release when supply is low. It is used as a buffer for the grid."

Flow batteries are a new type of battery technology that operate by using safer and more sustainable materials. They have a long service life, can be re-charged more than 15,000 times and their capacity can be adjusted as needed.

Li is confident that energy storage will play an important role in future smart grid construction to achieve carbon neutrality goals.

LI XIANFENG, Professor, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences said, "Electricity and manufacturing account for around 90% of carbon emissions, and the share of electricity alone is nearly 50%. Emission reduction in the power system requires the construction of a new system with clean energy as the main source of power generation. This is where we need energy storage."

Energy storage power stations can alleviate the instability of large-scale renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.

YU LI, Dalian, Liaoning Province said, "The Chinese government has issued a number of policies to encourage the development of electrochemical energy storage technologies such as flow batteries. This year, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued two documents identifying energy storage as a key link to reducing carbon emissions."

According to the official target, by 2025, China's installed energy storage capacity will reach more than 30 million kilowatts. (CGTN)