Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) subsidiary VSUN Energy will install a 5kW/30kWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) for use on a trial basis to power a water purification chlorinator for Water Corporation WA.
The VRFB will be installed at Water Corporation’s innovation hub in Shenton Park, WA at its Water, Research and Innovation Precinct.
It will initially be trialled for use on a mobile water purification unit and will provide 100% renewable power to the system via a solar PV and VRFB standalone power system (SPS).
Assessing potential future use
VSUN Energy will work with Water Corporation to test, collect data and provide suitable options for potential future use cases for VRFBs throughout Water Corporation’s operations.
Of particular interest are remote pumping applications and for supplying power to remote off-grid energy loads that are currently powered by diesel generators.
“Energy storage solution”
AVL managing director Vincent Algar comments, “Companies such as Water Corporation have a multitude of settings where a 100% renewable long-life asset SPS is well suited. Being able to reduce or eliminate diesel usage almost entirely is a key step to cost optimisation and decarbonisation.
"Modern VRFBs provide a sustainable, technically advanced and proven energy storage solution that is safe and reliable and can be replicated many times over.”
Rollout of VRFB systems
The trial forms part of VSUN Energy’s rollout of systems demonstrating commercial and technical viability of VRFB in long-duration energy storage and carbon footprint reduction through displacement of fossil fuel-based systems.
Water Corporation is the principal supplier of water, wastewater, drainage and bulk irrigation services in Western Australia and is owned by the Western Australian Government.
The corporation manages almost 35,000 kilometres of water mains across an area greater than 2.6 million kilometres and has a commitment to reducing its environmental footprint, with the use of renewable energy being one of the solutions for doing this.
VSUN Energy, a 100% subsidiary of Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) focused on development of the renewable energy and VRFB market in Australia, will provide the battery free of charge to Water Corporation for the duration of the trial, with an option to purchase at Water Corporation's discretion.
About Australian Vanadium
AVL is developing a mine and processing plant in WA's Mid-West to produce 5% of global new supply of vanadium pentoxide which is a key ingredient in high-strength low alloy (HSLA) steel and VRFB systems. Both uses of vanadium contribute significantly to CO2 emission reduction.
Vanadium is listed as a critical mineral in Australia, the US, UK, Japan and Korea.
The company is developing its world-class Australian Vanadium Project at Gabanintha, which is one of the most advanced vanadium projects being developed globally, with 239 million tonnes at 0.73% vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), containing a high-grade zone of 95.6 million tonnes at 1.07%.