JP2020095913A - Electrolyte station, power management system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology effective for facilitating electrolyte exchange of redox flow cell mounted on a vehicle.SOLUTION: An electrolyte station 100 includes a stand 110 having a connector 111, a recovery tank 120 for recovering used electrolyte La, Lb, a filling tank 130 for pooling charged electrolyte Ma, Mb, recovery lines 112, 113 connecting the connector 111 and the recovery tank 120, and filling lines 114, 115 connecting the connector 111 and the filling tank 130. When the connector 111 is connected with an end connection 13, used electrolyte La, Lb, drawn from an electrolyte tank 12 can be recovered into the recovery tank 120 through the recovery lines 112, 113, and the charged electrolyte Ma, Mb, pooled in the filling tank 130, can fill the electrolyte tank 12 through the filling lines 114, 115.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to electrolyte exchange of a redox flow battery mounted on a vehicle.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a fuel system using a redox flow battery. In this fuel system, the redox flow battery installed in the vehicle is recharged by connecting it to the power supply at the station, and the fuel tank of this redox flow battery is emptied and new electrolyte is injected. A second mode of use is employed in which energy is exchanged by replacing a used fuel tank with a new fuel tank at a station.

Special table 2012-523103 gazette

In the above fuel system, it takes time for the redox flow battery to be recharged in the first usage mode, whereas in the second usage mode, the electrolyte solution is injected into the fuel tank or the fuel tank itself is replaced. This is advantageous because the time can be shortened because it can be handled only by the work.

However, the second form has a problem that it is troublesome because it involves the work of attaching and detaching the fuel tank to and from the vehicle.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique effective for easily performing electrolyte solution exchange of a redox flow battery mounted on a vehicle.

One aspect of the present invention is
An electrolyte solution station (100, 100A) used for electrolyte solution exchange of a redox flow battery (11) mounted on a vehicle (10),
A stand (110) having a connector (111) connectable to a connection port (13) connected to the electrolyte tank (12) of the redox flow battery;
A collection tank (120, 120A, 120B) for collecting the used electrolytic solution (La, Lb),
A filling tank (130, 130A, 130B) for storing the charged electrolytic solution (Ma, Mb),
A recovery line (112, 113) connecting the connector of the stand and the recovery tank,
A filling line (114, 115) connecting the connector of the stand and the filling tank,
Equipped with
By connecting the connector of the stand to the connection port, the used electrolytic solution extracted from the electrolytic solution tank can be recovered in the recovery tank through the recovery line, and is stored in the filling tank. An electrolyte solution station (100, 100A) configured to enable the charged electrolyte solution to be filled into the electrolyte solution tank through the filling line;
It is in.

In the above electrolyte solution station, the used electrolyte solution extracted from the electrolyte solution tank can be collected in the collection tank through the collection line in a state where the user has connected the connector of the stand to the connection port. Further, the charged electrolytic solution stored in the filling tank can be filled in the electrolytic solution tank through the filling line. In this case, the work for replacing the electrolytic solution in the electrolytic solution tank of the redox flow battery is simple, mainly the work for connecting the connector of the stand to the connection port.

As described above, according to the above aspect, it becomes possible to easily perform the electrolyte solution exchange of the redox flow battery mounted on the vehicle.

In addition, the reference numerals in parentheses described in the claims and the means for solving the problems indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later, and limit the technical scope of the present invention. Not a thing.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a power management system including an electrolyte solution station according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electrolyte solution station according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a control flow of an electrolytic solution station according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the state of the 1st step of the charge process in FIG. 3 about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 1. The figure which shows the state of the 2nd step of the charging process in FIG. 3 about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the state of the 3rd step of the charge process in FIG. 3 about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state of the electrolyte solution station according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the state of the 1st step of the electrolyte solution exchange process in FIG. 3 about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 1. The figure which shows the state of the 2nd step of the electrolyte solution exchange process in FIG. 3 about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electrolyte solution station according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of an electrolyte solution station according to the second embodiment. The figure which shows the state of the 1st use mode about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 2. The figure which shows the state of the 2nd use mode about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 2. The figure which shows the state at the time of the 1st process of return mode about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 2. The figure which shows the state at the time of the 2nd process of return mode about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 2. The figure which shows the state of the 3rd use mode about the electrolyte solution station of Embodiment 2.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a power management system will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, the power management system 1 according to the first embodiment includes, as its constituent elements, an electrolytic solution station 100, and a management device 200 and a terminal device 300 provided separately from the electrolytic solution station 100. Including.

Note that, in FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, the above-described constituent elements are described one by one, but the number of the above-described constituent elements can be appropriately changed. Further, further constituent elements may be added to the above constituent elements as necessary.

The electrolyte solution station 100 is used to replace the electrolyte solution of the redox flow battery 11 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the vehicle 10. The electrolyte solution station 100 may be a dedicated station that only exchanges the electrolyte solution, or may be a dual-purpose station that also serves to supply another energy.

The electrolyte solution station 100 has a communication unit 101 capable of information communication with the communication unit 201 of the management device 200 via the communication line 2. The communication unit 101 is capable of transmitting transmission information to the management device 200 via the communication line 2 and receiving reception information from the management device 200 via the communication line 2.

The management device 200 is a device for managing a plurality of energy supply stations including the electrolyte solution station 100. The management device 200 includes a communication unit 201, a storage unit 202, a power amount prediction unit 210, a filling amount prediction unit 220, a measurement unit 230, and a condition setting unit 240.

The power amount prediction unit 210 has a function of predicting each of the input power amount Pa and the output power amount Pb based on the information transmitted from the communication unit 101 of the electrolytic solution station 100. The prediction results of the input power amount Pa and the output power amount Pb by the power amount prediction unit 210 are temporarily stored in the storage unit 202 and then read from the storage unit 202 as needed.

The filling amount prediction unit 220 has a function of predicting the filling amount Pc based on the information transmitted from the communication unit 101 of the electrolytic solution station 100. The prediction result of the filling amount Pc by the filling amount prediction unit 220 is temporarily stored in the storage unit 202 and then read from the storage unit 202 as needed.

The measuring unit 230 has a function of measuring the liquid amounts Qa and Qb and the energy amounts Ea and Eb based on the information transmitted from the communication unit 101 of the electrolytic solution station 100. The measurement results of the liquid amounts Qa, Qb and the energy amounts Ea, Eb by the measuring unit 230 are temporarily stored in the storage unit 202 and then read from the storage unit 202 as needed.

The condition setting unit 240 has a function of setting the electrolytic solution exchange condition C based on both the prediction result by the power amount prediction unit 210 and the filling amount prediction unit 220 and the measurement result by the measurement unit 230.

The condition setting unit 240 reads the parameters of the input power amount Pa, the output power amount Pb, the filling amount Pc, the liquid amounts Qa, Qb, and the energy amounts Ea, Eb that are temporarily stored in the storage unit 202, The electrolytic solution exchange condition C is set by applying these parameters to a preset logic.

The terminal device 300 is a device connected to the management device 200 via the communication line 3 so that information communication is possible. The terminal device 300 includes a stationary terminal 300A, a portable terminal 300B, an in-vehicle device 300C, and the like.

Here, the stationary terminal 300A is a device that the user can use in the installed state. Typically, a large-sized personal computer not supposed to be carried corresponds to the stationary terminal 300A.

The portable terminal 300B is a small and lightweight mobile device that a user can carry and use. Typically, a portable mobile phone (including a smartphone), a tablet information terminal, and a notebook personal computer correspond to this mobile terminal 300B.

The in-vehicle device 300C is a device mounted on the vehicle 10. Typically, equipment appropriately arranged in the instrument panel, console, steering wheel, ECU (electronic control unit), etc. of the vehicle 10 corresponds to the in-vehicle equipment 300C.

The “user” here includes not only an individual owner who owns the vehicle 10 but also a business owner who owns a plurality of vehicles 10 for purposes such as a rental business and a car sharing business.

The terminal device 300 includes a communication unit 301 that can perform information communication with the communication unit 201 of the management device 200 via the communication line 3, and an operation unit 310 that can be operated when a user uses a plurality of energy supply stations. And a transmission instruction unit 320.

The communication unit 301 can transmit the transmission information to the management device 200 via the communication line 3 and can receive the reception information from the management device 200 via the communication line 3.

The user can select, from the plurality of energy supply stations, the energy supply station that the user wants to use with the operation unit 310. When the user operates the operation unit 310, the communication unit 301 receives the information output request D1 from the management device 200 via the communication line 2.

The transmission command unit 320 has a function of outputting a transmission command D2 for transmitting the vehicle information B to the management device 200 in response to the information output request D1 received by the communication unit 301. The transmission command unit 320 is connected to the communication unit 401 of the vehicle information management server 400 via the communication line 4 so that information communication can be performed.

The vehicle information management server 400 has a communication unit 401 and a storage unit 402, and is configured to store a plurality of vehicle information B in the storage unit 402.

Here, the vehicle information B is information regarding a plurality of vehicles 10 managed by the user and equipped with the redox flow battery 11 (see FIG. 2 ). The vehicle information B includes, for the vehicle 10, information such as the vehicle name, vehicle body number, model, etc., current stop position and running position, and remaining energy amount of the electrolyte solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11. To be done.

The transmission command unit 320 transmits the vehicle information B stored in the storage unit 402 of the vehicle information management server 400 in advance to the management device 200 via the communication line 5 when the user operates the operation unit 310. The transmission command D2 is output to the management server 400.

It should be noted that, if necessary, one of the management device 200 and the terminal device 300 may also perform the function of the storage unit 402 of the vehicle information management server 400, or the vehicle information management server 400 itself may serve as the management device 200. It is also possible to employ a form in which either one of the terminal devices 300 also serves.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electrolytic solution station 100 includes a stand 110, two recovery tanks 120, two filling tanks 130, two recovery lines 112 and 113, and two filling lines 114 and 115. And a charging processing device 140.

The stand 110 has a connector 111 for electrolyte exchange, which can be connected to a connection port 13 connected to the electrolyte tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11. The connector 111 contains one end of each of the two recovery lines 112 and 113 and one end of each of the two filling lines 114 and 115.

Further, although not particularly shown, the stand 110 has a recovery pump for flowing the electrolytic solution toward the recovery tank 120 in the two recovery lines 112, 113, and a connector for the two filling lines 114, 115. A filling pump for flowing the electrolytic solution toward 111 is built in.

The redox flow battery 11 mounted on the vehicle 10 includes a reaction tank 12a partitioned by an ion exchange membrane into an anode-side electrolytic solution tank and a cathode-side electrolytic solution tank, and an electrolytic solution supplied to the reaction tank 12a. It has a positive electrode and a negative electrode electrolytic solution tank 12 for storing, and can discharge electric power generated in the redox flow battery 11 or charge external electric power. In the redox flow battery 11, the reaction tank 12a performs the same function as the cell stack 150 described later, and the electrolytic solution tank 12 functions the same as the charging tank 141 described later.

For further detailed structure of the redox flow battery 11, for example, the structure of the redox flow battery disclosed in JP 2011-233371 A or JP 2012-523103 A is referred to.

The two recovery tanks 120 are a recovery tank 120A for recovering the used electrolyte La of an anode side electrolyte solution tank (not shown) of the electrolyte solution tank 12 and a cathode side electrolyte solution tank (not shown) of the electrolyte solution tank 12. The recovery tank 120B recovers the used electrolytic solution Lb.

A sensor device 121 is attached to each of the two recovery tanks 120. The sensor device 121 includes a first sensor for acquiring data for measuring the liquid amount Qa of the electrolytic solution stored in the recovery tank 120, and an energy amount Ea of the electrolytic solution stored in the recovery tank 120. And a second sensor that acquires data for measurement. The data acquired by each sensor of the sensor device 121 is transmitted to the management device 200.

The two filling tanks 130 are a filling tank 130A for storing a charged electrolytic solution Ma filled in an anode-side electrolytic solution tank (not shown) of the electrolytic solution tank 12 and a cathode-side electrolytic solution tank of the electrolytic solution tank 12 (illustrated). Filling tank 130B for storing the charged electrolyte Mb filled in (omitted).

A sensor device 131 similar to the sensor device 121 is attached to each of the two filling tanks 130. The sensor device 131 includes a first sensor for acquiring data for measuring the liquid amount Qb of the electrolytic solution stored in the filling tank 130 and an energy amount Eb of the electrolytic solution stored in the filling tank 130. And a second sensor that acquires data for measurement. The data acquired by each sensor of the sensor device 131 is transmitted to the management device 200.

As the first sensor of the sensor devices 121 and 131, typically, a capacitance type level meter, a float type level meter, an ultrasonic type level meter, a pressure type level meter or the like can be used.

A pH sensor can be typically used as the second sensor of the sensor devices 121 and 131. When the pH sensor is used as the second sensor, the energy amount Ea per unit liquid amount of the electrolytic solution can be estimated from the pH value detected by the pH sensor.

The energy amount Eb can also be derived by adding the estimated value of the power supplied to the cell stack 150 to the energy amount Ea estimated by the second sensor of the sensor device 121. In this case, the second sensor of the sensor device 131 can be omitted.

The recovery line 112 is a line that connects the connector 111 of the stand 110 and the recovery tank 120A. Therefore, with the connector 111 of the stand 110 connected to the connection port 13, the used electrolytic solution La extracted from the electrolytic solution tank 12 is recovered from the connector 111 through the recovery line 112 to the recovery tank 120A.

The recovery line 113 is a line that connects the connector 111 of the stand 110 and the recovery tank 120B. Therefore, for this reason, the used electrolytic solution Lb extracted from the electrolytic solution tank 12 is recovered in the recovery tank 120B from the connector 111 through the recovery line 113 in a state where the connector 111 of the stand 110 is connected to the connection port 13. To be done.

The filling line 114 is a line that connects the connector 111 of the stand 110 and the filling tank 130A. Therefore, with the connector 111 of the stand 110 connected to the connection port 13, the charged electrolytic solution Ma stored in the filling tank 130A is filled in the electrolytic solution tank 12 through the filling line 114 and the connector 111.

The filling line 115 is a line that connects the connector 111 of the stand 110 and the filling tank 130B. Therefore, with the connector 111 of the stand 110 connected to the connection port 13, the charged electrolytic solution Mb stored in the filling tank 130B is filled in the electrolytic solution tank 12 through the filling line 115 and the connector 111.

Here, the recovery lines 112 and 113 and the filling lines 114 and 115 are independent paths. Therefore, the user connects the connector 111 of the stand 110 to the connection port 13 of the vehicle 10 and collects the used electrolytes La and Lb using the collection lines 112 and 113 and the filling lines 114 and 115. The filling operation of the used charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb can be performed in parallel. As a result, it becomes possible to shorten the time required for the electrolyte replacement work.

Note that a structure in which at least one of the four lines 112, 113, 114, and 115 also serves as all or part of another line may be adopted as necessary.

Further, the connector 111 may be divided into a first connector for the two collecting lines 112 and 113 and a second connector for the two filling lines 114 and 115.

The charging processing device 140 is a device capable of charging the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb stored in the recovery tanks 120A and 120B. The electrolytic solution charged by the charge processing device 140 is configured to be stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B as charged electrolytic solutions Ma and Mb.

The charge processing device 140 includes two charge tanks 141, a cell stack 150, a charger/discharger 151, and a controller 160.

The control unit 160 collects the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb from the redox flow battery 11 and fills the redox flow battery 11 with the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb based on the electrolyte solution exchange condition C, It has a function of controlling the transfer pumps 142a, 143a, 144a, 145a, the circulation pumps 146a, 147a, and the opening/closing valves 142b, 143b, 144b, 145b.

The electrolyte exchange condition C is set by the condition setting unit 240 of the management device 200, then transmitted from the communication unit 201, and received by the communication unit 101. When setting the electrolyte exchange condition C, the management device 200 predicts the input power amount Pa, the output power amount Pb, and the filling amount Pc based on the information transmitted from the communication unit 101 of the electrolyte solution station 100. Then, the liquid amounts Qa and Qb and the energy amounts Ea and Eb are measured.

Here, the input power amount Pa is the amount of power input from the system power 152, which is an external connection target, to the charger/discharger 151. The output power amount Pb is the power amount output from the charger/discharger 151 to the grid power 152. The filling amount Pc is the filling amount of the charged electrolytic solutions Ma and Mb filled from the filling tanks 130A and 130B into the electrolytic solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11.

The liquid amount Qa is the liquid amount of the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb stored in the recovery tanks 120A and 120B. The liquid amount Qb is the liquid amount of the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B. The energy amount Ea is the energy amount of the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb stored in the recovery tanks 120A and 120B. The energy amount Eb is the energy amount of the charged electrolytic solutions Ma and Mb stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B.

The two charging tanks 141 are a charging tank 141A connected to the recovery tank 120A and the filling tank 130A via connecting pipes 142 and 143, respectively, and a connecting pipe 144 for the recovery tank 120B and the filling tank 130B, respectively. , 145 connected via a charging tank 141B.

The capacities of the charging tanks 141A and 141B are preferably set to a value expressed as a multiple or a divisor of the capacity of the electrolytic solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11. More preferably, the capacities of the charging tanks 141A and 141B are set to the same value as the capacity of the electrolytic solution tank 12. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent the electric power required when charging the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 141A and 141B from increasing significantly.

Further, it is preferable that the capacities of the charging tanks 141A and 141B are set to values below the capacities of the recovery tanks 120A and 120B and the filling tanks 130A and 130B. As a result, the charging processing device 140 including the charging tanks 141A and 141B can be downsized.

The connection pipe 142 connects the recovery tank 120A and the charging tank 141A, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the recovery tank 120A and the charging tank 141A through the connection pipe 142.

By controlling the opening/closing valve 142b to be open by the control unit 160 and operating the transfer pump 142a, the electrolytic solution can be transferred from the recovery tank 120A to the charging tank 141A, or from the charging tank 141A to the recovery tank 120A. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 160 controls the on-off valve 142b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the recovery tank 120A and the charging tank 141A is blocked.

The connecting pipe 143 connects the charging tank 141A and the filling tank 130A, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the charging tank 141A and the filling tank 130A through the connecting pipe 143.

The control unit 160 controls the open/close valve 143b to be in the open state and operates the transfer pump 143a to transfer the electrolytic solution from the charging tank 141A to the filling tank 130A, or from the charging tank 130A to the charging tank 141A. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 160 controls the on-off valve 143b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the charging tank 141A and the filling tank 130A is blocked.

The connection pipe 144 connects the recovery tank 120B and the charging tank 141B, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the recovery tank 120B and the charging tank 141B through the connection pipe 144.

By controlling the opening/closing valve 144b to be in the open state by the control unit 160 and operating the transfer pump 144a, the electrolytic solution can be transferred from the recovery tank 120B to the charging tank 141B, or from the charging tank 141B to the recovery tank 120B. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 160 controls the on-off valve 144b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the recovery tank 120B and the charging tank 141B is blocked.

The connecting pipe 145 connects the charging tank 141B and the filling tank 130B, and the electrolytic solution can be transferred between the charging tank 141B and the filling tank 130B through the connecting pipe 145.

The control unit 160 controls the open/close valve 145b to be in the open state and operates the transfer pump 145a to transfer the electrolytic solution from the charging tank 141B to the filling tank 130B, or from the charging tank 130B to the charging tank 141B. It is configured so that the electrolytic solution can be transferred. Further, the control unit 160 controls the on-off valve 145b to be in the closed state, so that the flow of the electrolytic solution between the charging tank 141B and the filling tank 130B is blocked.

The cell stack 150 is a known reaction tank in which a plurality of cells capable of generating or absorbing electricity are combined like the redox flow battery 11. The cell stack 150 is configured to be able to circulate the electrolytic solution with the charging tanks 141A and 141B through circulation paths 146 and 147 provided with circulation pumps 146a and 147a.

Thereby, when the circulation pump 146a is in operation, the electrolytic solution circulates through the circulation path 146 that connects the charging tank 141A and the cell stack 150. Further, when the circulation pump 146b is in operation, the electrolytic solution circulates in the circulation path 147 connecting the charging tank 141B and the cell stack 150. At this time, in the cell stack 150, the electrolytic solution can be used to output electric power, or the electrolytic solution can be charged by inputting electric power.

The charging/discharging device 151 is configured as a charging/discharging device for system power, which is interposed in an energization path 150 a between the system power 152 and the cell stack 150. Therefore, the charger/discharger 151 is configured to be able to be charged/discharged with the system power 152 through the energization path 150a.

By circulating the electrolytic solution through the circulation paths 146 and 147 in a power input state in which electric power is input from the system power 152 to the charger/discharger 151, the charge of the electrolytic solution increases. Therefore, by continuing the circulation of the electrolytic solution in the power input state, the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 141A and 141B can be charged.

On the other hand, the electric power accumulated in the cell stack 150 can be output to the system electric power 152 through the energization path 150a and the charger/discharger 151.

Next, a control flow in the electrolyte solution station 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. This control is executed in the electrolytic solution station 100 based on a command from the management device 200.

As shown in FIG. 3, this control flow includes processing from step S101 to step S108.

Note that one or more steps may be added to these steps, or a plurality of steps may be integrated, as necessary. Moreover, the order of each step can be changed as needed.

In step S101, the input power amount Pa input from the grid power 152 to the charger/discharger 151 and the output power amount Pb output from the charger/discharger 151 to the grid power 152 are calculated based on information such as the power unit price. This is the step of predicting. This step S101 is performed by the power amount prediction unit 210 of the management device 200.

In step S102, the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb filled in the electrolyte solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11 from the filling tanks 130A and 130B based on the information such as the number of vehicles received in the electrolyte solution station 100 within a certain period of time. This is a step of predicting the filling amount Pc of. This step S102 is performed by the filling amount prediction unit 220 of the management device 200.

Step S103 is a step of measuring the liquid amount Qa and the energy amount Ea of the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb stored in the recovery tanks 120A and 120B based on the measurement data of the sensor device 121 and the like. This step S103 is performed by the measurement unit 230 of the management device 200.

Step S104 is a step of measuring the liquid amount Qb and the energy amount Eb of the used electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B based on the measurement data of the sensor device 131 and the like. This step S104 is performed by the measurement unit 230 of the management device 200.

Step S105 is a step of setting the charging condition and the electrolyte exchange condition based on both the prediction result predicted in steps S101 and S102 and the measurement result measured in steps S103 and S104. This step S105 is performed by the condition setting unit 240 of the management device 200.

Step S106 is a step of performing the charging process based on the charging conditions set in step S105. This step S106 is performed by the controller 160 and the administrator of the electrolytic solution station 100.

Step S107 is a step in which the electrolytic solution is exchanged based on the electrolytic solution exchange conditions set in step S105. This step S107 is performed by the controller 160 and the administrator of the electrolytic solution station 100.

Step S108 is a step of determining whether or not to end the process. When it is determined that the processing is not to be ended (in the case of “Yes” in step S108), the process returns to step S101.

Here, FIGS. 4 to 7 can be referred to for the state of the electrolyte solution station 100 during the charging process of the above step S106, and the state of the electrolyte solution station 100 during the electrolyte solution exchange process of the above step S107. For details, refer to FIGS. 8 and 9.

In FIGS. 4 to 9, the open/close valves 142b, 143b, 144b, 145b are shown in white when they are open and in black when they are closed.

(Charging process)
As shown in FIG. 4, in the first stage of the charging process, the used electrolyte solution La is transferred from the recovery tank 120A to the charging tank 141A using the connection pipe 142, and the recovery tank 120B is used using the connection pipe 144. The used electrolytic solution Lb is transferred from the battery to the charging tank 141B. At this time, the transfer pumps 142a and 144a are operated and the opening/closing valves 142b and 144b are controlled to be in the open state. Further, the transfer pumps 143a, 145a and the circulation pumps 146a, 147a are stopped, and the opening/closing valves 143b, 145b are controlled to be in the closed state. As a result, the charging tanks 141A and 141B are ready to be charged with the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the second stage of the charging process, the transfer pumps 142a and 144a are stopped and the on-off valves 142b and 144b are controlled to be in the closed state, and the circulation pumps 146a and 147a are operated to circulate the circulation paths 146 and 146. In 147, the circulation of the used electrolytes La and Lb is established. Then, the power of the cell stack 150 is supplied from the system power 152 through the charger/discharger 151 and the energization path 150a. As a result, the charging of the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 141A and 141B is started, and the charge level of the electrolytic solution gradually increases as time passes.

Thereafter, when it is confirmed by the sensor device (not shown) that the charge level of the electrolytic solution has reached the charge levels of the charged electrolytic solutions Ma and Mb, the power supply from the system power 152 is stopped. As a result, the charging of the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 141A and 141B is completed.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the third stage of the charging process, the connection pipe 143 is used to transfer the electrolytic solution from the charging tank 141A to the filling tank 130A, and the connection pipe 145 is used to use the connection pipe 145. Then, the electrolytic solution is transferred from the charging tank 141B to the filling tank 130B. At this time, the transfer pumps 143a and 145a are operated and the on-off valves 143b and 145b are controlled to be in the open state. Further, the transfer pumps 142a, 144a and the circulation pumps 146a, 147a are stopped, and the on-off valves 142b, 144b are controlled to be in the closed state.

After that, as shown in FIG. 7, the transfer pumps 143a and 145a are stopped and the opening/closing valves 143b and 145b are controlled to be in the closed state.

(Electrolyte exchange process)
As shown in FIG. 8, in the electrolytic solution station 100, the administrator establishes a connection state in which the connector 111 of the stand 110 is connected to the connection port 13 of the vehicle 10.

At the first stage of the electrolytic solution exchange process, the used pumps La and Lb filled in the electrolytic solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11 of the vehicle 10 are activated by activating the recovery pump (not shown) of the stand 110. Is sucked and collected in the collection tanks 120A and 120B through the collection lines 112 and 113.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the second stage of the electrolytic solution exchange process, a charging pump (not shown) of the stand 110 is activated to charge the charged electrolytic solutions Ma, which are filled in the filling tanks 130A, 130B. Mb is sucked from the filling lines 114 and 115 to fill the electrolytic solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11 of the vehicle 10.

According to the above described first embodiment, the following operational effects can be obtained.

In the electrolytic solution station 100, with the user connecting the connector 111 of the stand 110 to the connection port 13, the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb extracted from the electrolytic solution tank 12 are collected through the recovery lines 112 and 113 to the recovery tank 120A. , 120B can be collected. Further, the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B can be filled into the electrolyte solution tank 12 through the filling lines 114 and 115. In this case, the operation for exchanging the electrolytic solution in the electrolytic solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11 is simple, mainly the operation of connecting the connector 111 of the stand 110 to the connection port 13.

Therefore, the electrolyte solution in the electrolyte solution tank 12 of the redox flow battery 11 mounted on the vehicle 10 can be easily replaced.

According to the above-described electrolyte solution station 100, the used electrolyte solutions La and Lb recovered in the recovery tanks 120A and 120B are charged by the charge processing device 140 and charged as the charged electrolyte solutions Ma and Mb in the filling tanks 130A and 130B. Stored in. Therefore, the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb collected from the redox flow battery 11 of the vehicle 10 can be charged and used for the redox flow battery 11 of this vehicle 10 or another vehicle 10.

According to the above-described electrolytic solution station 100, by providing the charging tanks 141A, 141B connected via the connecting pipes 142, 143, 144, 145 between the recovery tanks 120A, 120B and the filling tanks 130A, 130B, It becomes possible to use the charging tanks 141A and 141B as a buffer tank for the charged electrolytic solution.

According to the power management system 1 described above, the management device 200 provided separately from the electrolytic solution station 100 includes the amount of electrolytic solution stored in each of the recovery tanks 120A and 120B and the filling tanks 130A and 130B, and It is possible to optimize the operation of the electrolyte solution station 100 in accordance with information such as a recovery amount and a filling amount predicted in the future and prediction of input/output of electric power in the charge processing device 140.

Hereinafter, other embodiments related to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In other embodiments, the same elements as those of the above-described first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same elements will be omitted.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIG. 10, the electrolyte solution station 100A of the second embodiment differs from the electrolyte solution station 100 of the first embodiment in the charge/discharge structure connected to the cell stack 150. The electrolytic solution station 100A is configured as a charging/combining station that has the function of charging the secondary battery mounted on the connected vehicle 154 in addition to the function of the electrolytic solution station 100.

Therefore, the charge processing device 140 of the electrolytic solution station 100A includes a charge/discharge device 153 in addition to the charge/discharge device 151. The charger/discharger 153 is configured as a vehicle charger/discharger for charging/discharging with a connected vehicle 154 that is an external connection target. The charger/discharger 153 includes a DC/DC converter. Then, the two chargers/dischargers 151 and 153 are connected in parallel to the cell stack 150.

In addition to the system power 152 and the connected vehicle 154, another external connection target can be provided.

The charge processing device 140 of the electrolytic solution station 100A is controlled based on a command (hereinafter, referred to as “DR command”) corresponding to a demand response (DR) transmitted from the management device 200 (see FIG. 1). Is configured.

The "demand response (DR)" here is a method of "setting electricity charges by time of day", "paying for consumers who refrain from using during peak hours", etc. , A mechanism to achieve stable power supply by suppressing power consumption during peak hours.

Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

The state of the electrolytic solution station 100A during the charging process is the same as that in FIGS. 4 to 7 of the first embodiment, and the state of the electrolytic solution station 100A during the electrolytic solution exchange process is shown in FIGS. Is the same as.

On the other hand, when the electrolytic solution station 100A is in the state as shown in FIG. 11, the charge processing device 140 of the electrolytic solution station 100A is configured to be controlled based on the DR command received from the management device 200. ing.

Here, the DR command includes a first DR command for the power absorption process in the following first use mode and a second DR command for the power discharge process in the following second use mode. There is.

(First usage mode)
When the electrolyte solution station 100A receives the first DR command from the management device 200, the recovery tank 120A and the charging tank 141A are communicated with each other by opening the opening/closing valve 142b and the opening/closing valve 144b as shown in FIG. In addition, the recovery tank 120B and the charging tank 141B are communicated with each other. That is, in the first use mode, the charging tanks 141A and 141B are connected to the recovery tanks 120A and 120B which are low concentration side tanks having a relatively low charge level. The circulation pumps 146a and 147a circulate the electrolytic solution between the charging tanks 141A and 141B and the cell stack 150.

According to the first use mode, the electrolytic solutions of the charging tanks 141A and 141B and the electrolytic solutions of the recovery tanks 120A and 120B are mixed, and the system power 152 and the cell stack are supplied to the mixed low-concentration electrolytic solution. The absorption of the electric power input via 150 is started. Further, in the first use mode, a part of the electric power input from the system electric power 152 is also used for normal charging of the secondary battery of the connected vehicle 154.

After that, the sensor device 121 determines that the first use mode has ended on the condition that the energy amount Ea of the electrolytic solution has reached a predetermined level, and closes the opening/closing valve 142b and the opening/closing valve 144b. As a result, the state shown in FIG. 11 is restored.

(Second usage mode)
When the electrolyte solution station 100A receives the second DR command from the management device 200, as shown in FIG. 13, the on-off valve 143b and the on-off valve 145b are opened so that the filling tank 130A and the charging tank 141A communicate with each other. In addition, the filling tank 130B and the charging tank 141B are made to communicate with each other. That is, in the second use mode, the charging tanks 141A and 141B are connected to the filling tanks 130A and 130B, which are high concentration side tanks having a relatively high charge level. The circulation pumps 146a and 147a circulate the electrolytic solution between the charging tanks 141A and 141B and the cell stack 150.

According to the second use mode, the electrolytic solutions of the charging tanks 141A and 141B and the electrolytic solutions of the filling tanks 130A and 130B are mixed, and the cell stack 150 and the system power 152 are supplied from the mixed high-concentration electrolytic solution. Electric power is output via the.

Thereafter, the sensor device 131 determines that the second use mode has ended on the condition that the energy amount Eb of the electrolytic solution has reached a predetermined level, and returns from the second use mode to the state shown in FIG. 11. Switch to the return mode of.

In the return mode, after performing the first process of transferring a part of the electrolytic solution in the filling tanks 130A and 130B to the recovery tanks 120A and 120B, the charge level of the electrolytic solution stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B is increased. The second process is executed.

For the above-mentioned first processing, the on-off valve 142b and the on-off valve 144b are opened as shown in FIG. As a result, the charging tanks 141A and 141B are in communication with both the recovery tank 120A and the filling tanks 130A and 130B. By operating the transfer pumps 142a, 143a, 144a, 145a, a part of the electrolytic solution in the filling tanks 130A, 130B can be transferred to the recovery tanks 120A, 120B via the charging tanks 141A, 141B.

For the above-mentioned second processing, the on-off valve 142b and the on-off valve 144b are closed as shown in FIG. As a result, the charging of the electrolytic solution in the charging tanks 141A and 141B is started, and the charge level of the electrolytic solution gradually increases as time passes.

When it is confirmed that the charge level of the electrolytic solution has reached the charge level of the charged electrolytic solutions Ma and Mb, the electrolytic solution is transferred from the charging tanks 141A and 141B to the filling tanks 130A and 130B. After that, the on-off valve 143b and the on-off valve 145b are closed to restore the state shown in FIG.

(Third use mode)
In the electrolyte solution station 100A, the third use mode is executed when rapid charging of the connected vehicle 154 or suppression of discharge of the system power 152 is required. As shown in FIG. 16, in the third use mode, the on-off valve 143b and the on-off valve 145b are opened as in the case of the second use mode. As a result, the charging tanks 141A and 141B are connected to the filling tanks 130A and 130B, which are high concentration side tanks having a relatively high charge level. The circulation pumps 146a and 147a circulate the electrolytic solution between the charging tanks 141A and 141B and the cell stack 150.

According to the third use mode, the electrolytic solutions of the charging tanks 141A and 141B and the electrolytic solutions of the filling tanks 130A and 130B are mixed, and electric power is output to the cell stack 150 from the mixed high-concentration electrolytic solution. It Further, power is input from the system power 152. At this time, both the output power from the cell stack 150 and the input power from the grid power 152 are used to enable rapid charging of the connected vehicle 154.

When the quick charging of the connected vehicle 154 ends, the third use mode is switched to the return mode for returning to the state shown in FIG. 11.

Although not particularly shown, this return mode is similar to the return mode in the second use mode, and is a first process for transferring a part of the electrolytic solution in the filling tanks 130A, 130B to the recovery tanks 120A, 120B (see FIG. 14). 2) is performed, a second process (see FIG. 15) of increasing the charge level of the electrolytic solution stored in the filling tanks 130A and 130B is performed.

According to the above-described second embodiment, it is possible to construct the electrolyte solution station 100A as a charging/combining station.

In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described typical embodiments, and various applications and modifications are conceivable without departing from the object of the present invention. For example, each of the following forms to which the above-described embodiment is applied can be implemented.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the cell stack 150 is connected to each of the recovery tanks 120A and 120B and the filling tanks 130A and 130B via the charging tanks 141A and 141B of the charging processing device 140 has been described as an example. Thus, it is possible to omit the charging tanks 141A and 141B and adopt a structure in which the cell stack 150 is connected to the recovery tanks 120A and 120B and the filling tanks 130A and 130B through connecting pipes.

In the above-described embodiment, the electrolytic solution stations 100 and 100A including the charge processing device 140 are illustrated, but the charge processing device 140 of the electrolytic solution stations 100 and 100A may be omitted if necessary. In this case, the used electrolytic solutions La and Lb recovered in the recovery tanks 120A and 120B are transferred to a charging facility outside the electrolytic solution stations 100 and 100A and charged, and then filled with the charged electrolytic solutions Ma and Mb. The tanks 130A and 130B are filled.

1 Power Management System 10 Vehicle 11 Redox Flow Battery 12 Electrolyte Tank 13 Connection Port 100,100A Electrolyte Station 111 Connector 112,113 Recovery Line 114,115 Filling Line 120,120A,120B Recovery Tank 130,130A,130B Filling Tank 140 Charge treatment device 141, 141A, 141B Charge tank 142, 143, 144, 145 Connection pipe 142a, 143a, 144a, 145a Transfer pump 142b, 143b, 144b, 145b Open/close valve 146, 147 Circulation path 146a, 147a Circulation pump 150 Cell stack 150a energization path 151 charge/discharge device (charge/discharge device for system power)
152 system power (for external connection)
153 Charge/Discharger (Vehicle Charger/Discharger)
154 Connected vehicles (for external connection)
160 Control unit 200 Management device 210 Electric power amount prediction unit 220 Filling amount prediction unit 230 Measuring unit 240 Condition setting unit La, Lb Used electrolyte solution Ma, Mb Charged electrolyte solution Pa Input power amount Pb Output power amount Pc Filling amount Qa, Qb Liquid amount Ea, Eb Energy amount

Claims (7)

An electrolyte solution station (100, 100A) used for electrolyte solution exchange of a redox flow battery (11) mounted on a vehicle (10),
A stand (110) having a connector (111) connectable to a connection port (13) connected to the electrolyte tank (12) of the redox flow battery;
A collection tank (120, 120A, 120B) for collecting the used electrolytic solution (La, Lb),
A filling tank (130, 130A, 130B) for storing the charged electrolytic solution (Ma, Mb),
A recovery line (112, 113) connecting the connector of the stand and the recovery tank,
A filling line (114, 115) connecting the connector of the stand and the filling tank,
Equipped with
By connecting the connector of the stand to the connection port, the used electrolytic solution extracted from the electrolytic solution tank can be recovered in the recovery tank through the recovery line, and is stored in the filling tank. An electrolyte solution station (100, 100A) configured such that the charged electrolyte solution can be filled into the electrolyte solution tank through the filling line. A charging processing device (140) capable of charging the used electrolytic solution collected in the recovery tank is provided, and the electrolytic solution charged by the charging processing device is stored in the filling tank as the charged electrolytic solution. The electrolyte station of claim 1, wherein the electrolyte station is configured to: The charge processing device is
Connection pipes (142, 143, 144, 145) provided with transfer pumps (142a, 143a, 144a, 145a) and open/close valves (142b, 143b, 144b, 145b) for the recovery tank and the filling tank, respectively. Charging tanks (141, 141A, 141B) connected via
A cell stack (150) capable of circulating an electrolyte with the charging tank through a circulation path (146, 147) provided with circulation pumps (146a, 147a);
A charger/discharger (151, 153) interposed in an energization path (150a) between the external connection target (152, 154) and the cell stack;
Based on the electrolyte exchange conditions set for collecting the used electrolyte from the redox flow battery and filling the redox flow battery with the charged electrolyte, the transfer pump, the circulation pump, and the opening and closing. A control unit (160) for controlling the valve,
The electrolyte solution station of claim 2, comprising: The electrolytic solution station according to claim 3, wherein the capacity of the charging tank is set to a value expressed as a multiple or a divisor of the capacity of the electrolytic solution tank of the redox flow battery. The electrolytic solution station according to claim 4, wherein the capacity of the charging tank is set to a value lower than that of both the recovery tank and the filling tank. The external connection target includes a system power (152) and a connected vehicle (154), and the charger/discharger includes a system power charger/discharger (151) for charging/discharging with the system power. ) And a vehicle charger/discharger (153) for charging/discharging between the connected vehicle, and the system power charger/discharger and the vehicle charger/discharger are included in the cell stack. The electrolyte solution station according to any one of claims 3 to 5, which is connected in parallel. An electrolyte solution station (100, 100A) according to any one of claims 3 to 6,
A management device (200) for managing the electrolytic solution station,
Equipped with
The management device is
A power amount prediction unit that predicts each of the input power amount (Pa) input from the external connection target to the charger/discharger and the output power amount (Pb) output from the charge/discharger to the external connection target ( 210),
A filling amount prediction unit (220) for predicting a filling amount (Pc) of the charged electrolytic solution to be filled in the electrolytic solution tank of the redox flow battery from the filling tank,
Liquid amount (Qa) and energy amount (Ea) of the used electrolyte solution stored in the recovery tank, and liquid amount (Qb) and energy amount (Qb) of the charged electrolyte solution stored in the filling tank ( A measuring unit (230) for measuring Eb),
A condition setting unit (240) that sets the electrolyte exchange condition based on both the prediction result by each of the power amount prediction unit and the filling amount prediction unit and the measurement result by the measurement unit;
An electric power management system (1).

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