Pu N4 Apr 2018 12:10
Old news, but I had not seen this - did not realise there was a large Chinese VRFB project underway (by company called Pu Neng), and that China sees VRFB as part of its clean air strategy.
Vanadium outlook 2018: Battery excitement
Vanadium is used to produce high-strength steel and chemical catalysts, but much future demand excitement stems from its role in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs).
�We think there�s a revolution coming in vanadium redox flow batteries,� Robert Friedland told the Northern Miner in an April interview. Among his other high-profile pursuits, Friedland is CEO of HighPower Exploration, a private firm with a controlling interest in Beijing-based Pu Neng, which has invested about $90 million in VRFB systems.
In November, Pu Neng was awarded a contract to build �the largest vanadium flow battery in China.� The project is part of the country�s efforts to move away from coal-fired power plants towards renewable energy sources in order to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
In fact, the China National Development and Reform Commission released a policy document on the issue in late September called �Guidance on the Promotion of Energy Storage Technology and Industry Development.� The document calls for the launch of pilot projects such as multiple 100-MW-scale vanadium flow batteries by the end of 2020.
The goal is to have larger-scale deployment over the ensuing five years. Friedland said the policy, �will result in vanadium flow batteries revolutionizing modern electricity grids in the way that lithium-ion batteries are enabling the global transition to electric vehicles.�
Roskill�s Bedder said, �VRFBs have reached a stage of larger-scale commercialization, as demonstrated by Rongke Power�s Dalian project. While the technology is becoming increasingly mature, it remains highly price sensitive and may struggle to compete with lithium-ion technology.�
In terms of how quickly VFRBs may gain more of the spotlight, Bushveld Minerals (LSE:BMN) notes in a December presentation that VRFBs could account for up to 20 percent of vanadium consumption by 2030.
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