VanadiumCorp Resource Inc (TSX-V:VRB) (CVE:VRB) (OCTQB:APAFF) announced Thursday that commercial development work has commenced for the first phase of key design and engineering of next-generation vanadium redox flow-battery systems (VRFB Battery) for marine propulsion applications.
In a statement, the company said Phase I work will be managed by the company’s wholly owned EU subsidiary, VanadiumCorp GmbH, under the direction of its chief technology officer, Dr GY Champagne.
The company said a multidisciplinary engineering team located in Germany, Netherlands, and North America is focusing on VRFB system architecture, components/parts design, and other required tasks leading up to delivering VRFB cells and stacks of incremental sizes for testing to local research and development partners near the established VanadiumCorp GmbH facility in Germany.
READ: VanadiumCorp Resources forms trilateral partnership to commercialize vanadium redox flow-battery systems for the shipping industry
In addition to this effort, VanadiumCorp said R&D partners will conduct some specific lab-level material and electrolyte tests to support the engineering work and integration of the VRFB in marine vessels.
Phase I work is part of multi-phase development schedule that forms the basis of definitive agreements required to officialise a trilateral partnership with Conoship International Projects BV from the Netherlands and Vega Reederei and Partners GmbH (VEGA) from Germany targeting zero-emission shipping markets with next generation redox flow batteries.
Key advancements in energy density form a strong business case and stem from VanadiumCorp’s research and development cooperation with CENELEST (The German-Australian Alliance for Electrochemical Technologies for the Storage of Renewable Energy that combines the strengths of both the Fraunhofer ICT (Institute for Chemical Technology) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in redox flow battery systems.
VanadiumCorp said its role is to develop the main components of the VRFB system that include a battery stack of appropriate power size and an optimized electrolyte formulation of favourable energy density. VanadiumCorp will enlist its skilled partners in electrolyte production, VRFB Battery manufacturing and R&D in subsequent stages of work.
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