Manufacturing milestone for North’s vanadium sector

Vecco Group's vanadium battery electrolyte manufacturing plant has officially opened in Townsville as Energy Queensland commits to trial the energy storage capacity the technology offers. Vecco Group managing director Tom Northcott said vanadium flow batteries would play a significant role in the Queensland SuperGrid. Vecco Group managing director Tom Northcott. Vecco Group expected to see deployments of this proven technology accelerate as the local supply chain expanded, he said. Energy Queensland has inked a deal to trial a vanadium battery in South-East Queensland, with Vecco to produce the vanadium electrolyte and Sumitomo Electric to supply the battery hardware. Energy Queensland and Vecco Group will also work together to assess the benefits and technical considerations for connecting more vanadium batteries to the electricity network. Major mine-to-grid supply chain opportunity The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) congratulated Vecco on the deal - describing vanadium flow batteries as Australia’s opportunity to establish the full battery supply chain, from pit to battery and into the grid. AMEC chief executive officer Warren Pearce. “Development of a mine-to-grid supply chain for Queensland is the industry equivalent of running the full field to score," AMEC chief executive officer Warren Pearce said. "It’s fitting that the day after the men’s State of Origin and on the morning of the women’s game in Cowboy Country that the team at Vecco Group score this winning try in Townsville. “AMEC also commends Energy Queensland and the Queensland Government for deploying the vanadium flow battery and taking the next step in firming up a pit to grid battery supply chain.” The remote areas of Julia Creek and Richmond hosted some of the richest vanadium deposits globally, he said. But while Geoscience Australia sdata shows that Australia has 31 per cent of global vanadium and the potential to be the No.2 global supplier, it doesn’t currently mine any. Related: Townsville charged up as battery supply base Townsville MP and Resources Minister Scott Stewart said there was enormous potential for vanadium mining and production in North Queensland as demand for vanadium batteries rose and a local supply chain was established. Vecco Group’s $26 million Townsville facility will produce the electrolyte used in grid-scale vanadium flow batteries used for energy storage. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Vanadium redox battery (VRB) systems offer advantages over lithium-ion batteries including a longer life with very high charging and discharging cycles possible. VRB systems can also fully discharge, and charge, without damaging the battery and have negligible capacity degradation over time. In addition to its Townsville electrolyte plant, Vecco Group is advancing the Debella critical minerals project near Julia Creek, with substantial backing from Idemitsu Australia. The project is targeting production in 2024 of vanadium, rare earth elements, and high purity alumina. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she wanted to see vanadium mined in Queensland, processed in Queensland, and made into vanadium batteries in Queensland. “This is just the beginning of the manufacturing and mining jobs boom that our investment in CopperString 2032 delivers for North Queensland," she said. “Queensland has unique deposits of many of the minerals needed for the global energy transformation, along with the best mining and manufacturing workforce.”

Manufacturing milestone for North’s vanadium sector

Industry Queensland

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