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LONDON (Alliance News) - Bushveld Minerals Ltd on Monday said its energy subsidiary signed a memorandum of understanding with US-based UniEnergy Technologies for a "framework of cooperation" to develop market opportunities for vanadium-redox flow batteries in Africa.
The AIM-listed company, which owns 84% of Bushveld Energy, said the agreement aims to identify and develop "immediate" business opportunities in Africa for large and medium-sized vanadium-redox flow battery installations.
The pair will focus on large commercial customers, as well as industrial and utility applications, where energy storage either reduces energy costs or adds "additional value" for the energy user.
Secondly, the pair will aim to develop a strategy to create a vanadium "value chain" in South Africa that includes vanadium electrolyte manufacturing, vanadium-redox flow battery manufacturing and local component sourcing in the medium term.
The companies see South Africa as having "favourable competitive advantages" to become an additional base for vanadium-redox flow battery manufacturing to meet forecasted growth in energy storage adoption.
Fortune Mojapelo, chief executive officer of Bushveld Minerals, said the memorandum of understanding marks a "significant step" in Bushveld Energy's development, providing a "platform for collaboration with a credible technology partner".
"This achievement also underscores the opportunity for South Africa to beneficiate its mineral resources further and as a result develop new industrial opportunities. It is just the first step in Bushveld Energy's efforts to promote the role of vanadium in the growing energy storage market through smart partnerships and innovative business models," Mojapelo said in a statement.
"Partnerships are key to our business model. We look forward to developing this relationship further to reach our aspiration to assemble and eventually manufacture VRFB systems in South Africa, which will go a long way in further reducing costs of the VRFB systems while maximising the beneficiation dividend of locally mined and produced vanadium," Mojapelo said.
John DeBoever, vice president of Eastern Sales of UniEnergy Technologies, said: "The rapidly growing interest and market opportunities in Africa for UET's medium- and large-scale advanced vanadium redox flow batteries, combined with Bushveld Energy's South African local presence, and an extensive knowledge of, and network within, the African energy market, offer unique synergies between our respective operations to provide long-term solutions to address today challenges and tomorrow future ambitions of the African continent's electric grids."
Shares in Bushveld Minerals were up 5.7% at 2.33 pence on Monday morning.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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