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International Flow Battery Forum (IFBF®) 2025
Largest Flow Battery Conference Globally
Naphtal Haya
February 25, 2025
Key Points
Recap of IFBF 2024: The major verdict from IFBF 2024 was that the high capital cost of flow batteries (FB) continue to be a huge challenge to scaling. We cover some high profile scaling deals announced year to date.
New this year: The co-host and platinum sponsor of IFBF 2025 is CellCube - a household name in FB circles. The conference’s agenda includes a tour of CellCube’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in Vienna, Austria.
Value proposition for you: Past attendees have found IFBF to be a fertile ground for learning, networking and business development for all involved in FB value chain. What can top the opportunity to attend the top FB conference involving a tour of a top FB manufacturer in a historic city?
Recap of IFBF 2024
The premier Flow Battery (FB) conference is here with us again. International Flow Battery Forum (IFBF) 2025 will be taking place in the Austrian capital city of Vienna. IFBF 2025 promises to eclipse the previous year’s show held in Glasgow, Scotland.
Here is a recap of the major highlights of IFBF 2024:
Sponsorship: IFBF 2024 was co-sponsored by Invinity Energy Systems and Flow Batteries Europe. The conference schedule included a tour of Invinity’s manufacturing facility in Bathgate.
Chemistries: Companies in attendance represented various inorganic FB chemistries including all vanadium and iron-chromium as well as several organic chemistries.
Verdict: Scaling of mature FB technologies such as vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) remains elusive due to high capital expense (CapEx).
Below are some high profile venture capital and private equity financing deals (year to date) that illustrate the scaling capabilities of the specific companies and the FB industry at large. Storion Energy is a 50:50 joint venture between two parent companies (Largo Clean Energy and Stryten Energy) seeking leverage their combined manufacturing expertise and vanadium supply chain competitive advantage.
Company (HQ) | Amount (Lead Investor) | Primary Purpose |
|---|---|---|
H2 (South Korea) | US$16 million (STIC Investments) | Construction of a 990-MWh manufacturing plant |
VFlowTech (Singapore) | $10 million (Real Tech Holdings) | Construction of a 200-MWh production line |
VRB Energy (Canada) | $55 million (Red Sun) | Construction of a 200-MW production plant in Changzhi, China; a 300-MW plant Huaihua, China and a 200-MW plant in Arizona, United States |
Invinity Energy Systems (UK) | $56 million (UK Infrastructure Bank) | Increase manufacturing capacity for Endurium |
Storion Energy | $7 million plus VFB assets (Stryten and Largo) | Building a vertically-integrated supply chain to reduce VFB CapEx |
It is worth noting that the investments listed above went to VFB manufacturers.
What’s new this year?
The co-host and platinum sponsor of IFBF 2025 is the Austrian VFB manufacturer, CellCube (also known as Enerox GmbH). Considered one of the household names in FB circles, the selection of CellCube as a co-host comes as no surprise. In fact, CellCube has deployed 75.29 MWh of VFB systems across various regions of the world.
Other than being CellCube’s headquarters, Vienna is perhaps better known for its lively city vibes in addition to a host of historic buildings and cultural traditions stretching back to the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The city is very accessible given the ample international transportation links and boasts a convenient public transportation system. Sounds like a chance to kill two birds with one stone? Attend the most renowned FB conference in one of the most historic cities.
What’s in it for you?
Similar to the previous editions of IFBF, this year’s event brings together the leading FB experts including researchers, manufacturers, policy makers and industry leaders. The conference agenda includes keynote speeches, presentations and panels that discuss the latest advancements in FB technology, deployment and real-world application.
Finally, the crucial question: is IFBF 2025 worth your time and dime? Here are 3 reasons why I think your response should in the affirmative:
Learning opportunity: For those interested in keeping tabs on the recent developments in the science, technology and commercialization of FBs, you cannot afford to miss this major launch pad for breakthroughs and deals.
Networking: For the project developers and investors out there, this event gives you a chance to interact with and connect with the drivers of the entire FB value chain from research to development and commercialization.
Business development: past attendees have earmarked this event as a fertile ground for maintaining contact with existing clients and engaging with prospective ones.
For those unable to attend in-person, worry not! IFBF 2025 provides a virtual attendance option at a fraction of the full ticket price. A great opportunity to tune in from every corner of the world.