Australia’s biggest vanadium flow battery planned for clean energy precinct at former coal mine

A proposed 108 megawatt (MW), eight hour vanadium flow battery has been proposed for the Hunter Region in New South Wales at the site of the former Muswellbrook Coal Mine.

The plan has come from Idemitsu Australia, the local subsidiary of Japanese energy giant Idemitsu Kosan, as a centrepiece of the new Muswellbrook Clean Industries Precinct that will replace the shuttered coal mine it once operated.

A vanadium redox flow battery, a type of rechargeable flow battery that uses vanadium ions as charge carriers – a technology first patented by Australian chemical engineer Maria Skyllas-Kazacos at the University of New South Wales in the 1980s.

Proponents say that Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) offer a longer lifespan than conventional lithium-ion batteries and increased safety thanks to their low flammability. They are also easily scalable and fully recyclable.

The 108 MW vanadium flow battery would boast storage of at least 8 hours, equivalent to 864 megawatt-hours (MWh).

If successfully built, the battery is expected to be the largest of its kind in Australia, bigger than the 50 MW, 500 MWh vanadium redox battery planned by the Western Australia government to boost grid reliability in its gold mining capital of Kalgoorlie, and to support a new vanadium industry in the state.

The Hunter Vanadium Flow Battery would create 100 jobs in construction, and a further 5 ongoing roles, and is one of several clean energy technologies being built at the Muswellbrook Clean Industries Precinct.

Already announced are the Muswellbrook Solar Farm and Battery under development by Idemitsu Australia in partnership with Swedish developer OX2 and the Bells Mountain pumped hydro energy storage project being developed between AGL and Idemitsu.

All proposed clean energy projects that make up the Precinct will be built on and around the former Muswellbrook coal mine site.

Idemitsu Australia has also launched a $40,000 community benefit fund to deliver early community benefits and support practical local initiatives.

The fund will provide grants of up to $5,000 for eligible community organisations including schools, sporting clubs, volunteer groups, First Nations organisations, and local service providers. More information is available here.

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