A vanadium flow battery for Horizon Power’s long duration energy storage (LDES) pilot is the first to complete its factory testing.
The milestone marks the first successful utilisation of a vanadium flow battery (VFB) containing vanadium electrolyte manufactured by Australian Vanadium Limited (AVL) in Western Australia.
Invinity Energy Systems completed the battery testing, which is now being transported to Horizon Power’s site in Kununurra, Western Australia for installation and site acceptance testing.
The 220kWh VFB can deliver up to 78kW of power and contains vanadium electrolyte.
Horizon Power CEO, Stephanie Unwin, said, “It’s great news the vanadium redox flow battery is on its way to Kununurra for our long duration energy storage pilot.
“This is an exciting trial, which supports our focus on exploring technologies which can solve the technical problem of long duration storage in extreme temperatures, while providing long periods of 100 per cent renewable energy.
“Vanadium batteries are designed to deliver large amounts of energy over a long period of time and are temperature resilient, a critical benefit for our regional and remote networks.
“We look forward to learning more about the potential for this technology to be effectively integrated into our network, supporting future battery deployment across our footprint.”
AVL CEO, Graham Arvidson, said, “We are pleased to report that the VFB purchased by Horizon Power has now completed the factory acceptance testing (FAT) process and is operating successfully.
“Over the past months the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, VSUN Energy, has collaborated closely with Horizon Power to successfully integrate its preferred 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. This is a true testament to our vertical integration strategy, with the ultimate goal of using vanadium oxides processed from the Australian Vanadium Project in our vanadium electrolyte.
“We are particularly pleased that leading VFB manufacturer, Invinity, has approved our electrolyte for use in the battery and confirmed that our electrolyte meets its stringent standards. We look forward to the successful commissioning and operation of the battery as part of Horizon’s project in regional Western Australia.”
Featured image: Horizon Power and VSUN Energy staff post FAT completion. Image: AVL.
