The all-vanadium redox-flow battery is a promising candidate for load leveling and seasonal energy storage in small grids and stand-alone photovoltaic systems. The reversible cell voltage of 1.3 to 1.4 V in the charged state allows the use of inexpensive active and structural materials. In this work, studies on the performance of inexpensive active materials for use in vanadium redox-flow batteries are reported. Additionally, a cost analysis for a load leveling and a seasonal energy storage system is given based on a flow battery technology well established in Zn-flow batteries. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.