Vanadium, Flow Batteries, and the Periodic Table of Death and Mystery

With the rise of variable renewable energy like solar and wind, the term “variable” became an immediate problem. Solar creates electricity when the sun shines, but at night? Back to electrical generation with fossil fuels. When the wind blows there’s power, but when it doesn’t, coal and gas fill in the gaps. Thus began a concerted push for a new generation of batteries for use during downtimes. Was there a periodic table element that could be safely used in renewable power generation? Why, yes, there was! Vanadium.