Australian Vanadium Limited (ASX: AVL), in conjunction with its 100% owned subsidiary VSUN Energy, has signed an agreement with ASX 100 listed mining company IGO Limited for a project utilising a standalone power system (SPS) based on VRFB energy storage technology.
An SPS supplies power independently to the electricity grid and typically comprises a combination of solar, wind, battery and backup generation from diesel or gas.
The SPS being installed at IGO’s nickel operation will be based around a 300kWh VRFB from Spanish manufacturer E22. The system has been designed to provide a 100% renewable energy supply for much of the year, with periods of long cloud cover being supported by a diesel genset.
Managing Director, Vincent Algar, said total renewable penetration of 85-90% is being targeted for the trial of the VRFB based SPS system. The SPS is redeployable for use on multiple mines sites and locations over its 20+ year service life. The target of long periods with diesel-off will not only significantly reduce the carbon emissions of diesel generator powered bore fields, but also offer substantial reductions in operating hours for service personnel. These two significant benefits indicate a potentially rapid growth market segment for this robust technology.
Working with IGO on this project will accelerate the objectives of the companies and broader mining industry towards carbon neutrality. The robustness of VRFB energy storage makes it perfectly suited to the tough environments found on many Australian minesites,” Mr Algar said.
“The installation of an SPS based on vanadium technology for pumping applications enables diesel to be almost entirely eliminated, helping reduce overall carbon emissions and providing reliable green power. We look forward to trialling and then duplicating this system based on an Australian invention and with Australian made vanadium electrolyte from AVL in WA.”
IGO’s Chief Operating Officer, Matt Dusci, said the company’s strategic focus is on those products that are critical to enabling clean energy solutions, to create a better planet.
“As part of our strategy to deliver those products, we aspire to be carbon neutral across our business and to do this, in part, by leveraging renewable energy solutions and innovation to reduce emissions at our remote exploration and mining operations. We are excited to be collaborating with AVL on this pilot at our Nova operation.”
The IGO Nova Nickel Operation is located approximately 160km east-northeast of Norseman and 360km southeast of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. The mine produces nickel, copper and cobalt.
In July 2021 AVL was awarded a $3.69M Federal Government manufacturing grant under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing National Manufacturing Priority roadmap. Part of the matched funding is allocated to development of the SPS that will be installed at IGO’s Nova Nickel Operation. The remainder of the grant will be used to finalise the high purity processing circuit for the Australian Vanadium Project; build and operate a commercial vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant producing 33MWh per annum and manufacture a prototype of a residential VRFB.
The agreement with IGO will end 12 months from the date of system commissioning and first power production, unless extended or terminated in accordance with the agreement. The SPS is being provided to IGO at no charge, with the option to purchase or rent the system at the end of the trial period. The project will enable IGO to analyse the performance of the SPS for potential use in its dewatering and bore pumps systems.
VRFBs are particularly well suited as an SPS due to the following attributes:
VSUN Energy is in discussions with other mining companies and customers in the agricultural sector and will be able to share the findings from the IGO project with them.