Sumitomo Electric plans to increase its presence in the US Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) market by investing $7.6 million in local production and installation capabilities.

The Japanese company believes there will be a growing demand for energy storage technology, and their VRFBs are seen as safe, environmentally friendly, and have a lifespan of 20 years with reusable electrolyte.

Sumitomo Electric has already provided the largest VRFB installation in the US, a 2MW/8MWh pilot project in San Diego Gas & Electric’s service territory. The battery was also used in a microgrid demonstration project, which powered nearly 70 homes and businesses independently of the grid for close to five hours.

The company sees potential use cases for the VRFBs in grid electricity supply and demand adjustment, microgrid applications in emergencies, and energy trading for ancillary services like grid frequency regulation.