Milestone for vanadium flow battery technology after electrolyte tests for Australian project

Factory acceptance testing of a long-duration energy storage battery has been successfully completed in a potential breakthrough for a local supply chain.

Already being ramped up in China, vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) could play a key role in storing and time-shifting energy generated from solar panels and wind turbines.

Australian Vanadium announced on Monday the first instance of its vanadium electrolyte being used in an operational VFB, with the product also meeting stringent quality standards for use by leading manufacturer Invinity Energy Systems.

The nonflammable flow batteries, whose underlying technology was developed in Australia, could play a key role in replacing diesel generators, particularly in harsh and remote locations.

The 220 kilowatt-hour battery will be installed at a Horizon Power site in Kununurra, Western Australia, as part of a pilot for powering regions with sustainable microgrids and off-grid power systems.

AVL’s chief executive Graham Arvidson said the company’s subsidiary VSUN Energy had worked closely with Horizon Power in recent months to integrate its hardware with the battery. 

“This is also a significant milestone for AVL as it marks the first use of vanadium electrolyte produced at our Perth facility in a functioning battery,” he said.

With a vanadium project in the Mid West of the state, the emerging company recently commissioned the electrolyte manufacturing facility in Perth as part of a “pit to battery” strategy.

“We look forward to the successful commissioning and operation of the battery as part of Horizon’s project in regional Western Australia,” Mr Arvidson said.

Horizon Power is a regional energy provider in WA, where the use of VFBs could speed up the decarbonisation of the utility’s 140 energy networks spread throughout a service area covering 2.3 million square kilometres.

AAP