The EU faces many challenges with decarbonising the economy, lowering energy prices and enhancing its industrial competitiveness. Big investments in renewable energy sources and energy storage facilities are required.

Leveraging flow batteries will be pivotal in helping to power energy systems in a flexible, stable and reliable way. But what exactly are flow batteries? And how can these batteries make a significant contribution to the generation of renewable energies? This is what we want to discuss today with John Alper, Principal Technologist at VoltStorage (FBE Member) and Anthony Price, Secretary General at Flow Batteries Europe (FBE).

About Dr. John Alper

Dr. John Alper is the Principal Technologist at VoltStorage. He is an expert in electrochemical engineering with 15 years of experience in energy storage R&D across multiple chemistries, including vanadium, iron-titanium, and all iron flow batteries. For the last five years, his focus has been on the development and commercialization of the Iron Salt Battery for grid-scale applications at VoltStorage GmbH. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

About Anthony Price

Anthony Price is the Founder and Director of Swanbarton Limited and Secretary General of Flow Batteries Europe. He has worked in the flow battery sector for over thirty years, starting with commercialising Innogy’s flow battery development. Swanbarton, a consultancy company, supports clients across a range of storage technologies: batteries, including flow, sodium sulphur, and other storage systems, focusing on both large-scale systems and behind-the-meter and microgrids. A former director of the Energy Storage Association, he founded the UK’s trade association, the Electricity Storage Network, to raise the profile of energy storage. He also founded the International Flow Battery Forum. He is a chartered engineer, has an MA from the University of Cambridge and was appointed OBE in 2021 in recognition of his services to the energy storage industry.