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In a project that the World Bank hopes will be a catalyst for implementing its climate change strategy in low and middle-income countries, Eskom, South Africa’s 100% state-owned electricity utility, will launch a tender for a 1.4 gigawatt-hours battery energy storage system (“BESS”). The tender will likely be issued in the first or second quarter of 2020, pending final governmental approval. The completed BESS will have a daily capacity of 1.4 gigawatt-hours of energy output (which is sufficient energy to power 1.4 million homes for an hour). The project is the first of its kind on the African continent.

The BESS is a key component for meeting South Africa’s long-term renewable energy goals. It will be linked to solar and wind energy generation plants so that energy generated during periods of low generation costs and demand can be stored for distribution during periods of high costs and demand. This programme should improve the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy generation.

Funding for the project is part of the World Bank’s $1 billion battery storage investment programme. During the first phase of the project, the African Development Bank (AfDB) will work with the World Bank to provide a loan. During the second phase, European DFIs will supply more funding.

Eskom have already developed the BESS specifications, acquired sites, and secured environmental and regulatory approvals for the first phase of the project, which should achieve 200 MW of distributed battery storage by December 2020. The second phase will include 160 MW of distributed battery storage, together with an asset performance management system. Completion of phase 2 of the project is due one year later.

The tender covers the construction, operation, and management of the BESS, as well as the provision of security for the operational sites. Eskom expects the winning bidder to verify Eskom’s technical studies and provide detailed designs for the battery plant. In addition, Eskom expects the successful bidder to meet the ambitious construction deadlines, manage hazardous material generated by the project and provide product and performance guarantees for 20 years. Finally, the tender expects a minimum 20% of local content requirement in the first phase of procurement, including subcontracting to local suppliers and skill development programmes for local workers.

https://www.lexology.com/hub/south-africa

Folks may find this helpful.

Cheers RK

Eskom have just secured a £320 million load for 360MW of Energy Storage from Brics!
I will wonder who the supplier will be.
Bear in mind the full BESS project phase I is 1440MWh! That is one and the same based on 4 hours.
So what happened to the world bank loan?

Here is a reminder!

The full least of income streams are:
Nitrovan - two grades - Vametco
V205 - Vanchem
V203 - Vanchem
FeV - Vanchem
Vanadium Chemicals - Vanchem
Vanadium Ore - Bushveld Mokopane - Comming!
Iron Ore - Bushveld Mokopane - Potential
Vanadium Electrolyte - Bushveld Energy
Electrolyte Leasing - Royalties from Bushveld Energy
Bushveld Energy - VRFB Sales in Africa working with VIP Partners and others
Bushveld Energy - Renewable Energy Projects and MicroGrid Projects in Africa
Bushveld Energy - Enerox VRFB Manufacturer
Afritin - Income from the 8.1% stake in the business
Lemur - Either income from the sale of the business or progress and long term income from the substantial power generation project in Madagascar

So if anyone thinks that Bushveld Minerals is a one-trick pony then think again!

Last years huge profits gained from a surge on vanadium prices helped Bushveld Minerals leapfrog the other market potentials and now even with low prices it helps us jump even further ahead as the other players are held back from huge investments right now. That's why the Bushveld Energy VIP program is so important to Bushveld Energy and also so important to Avalon, REDt and others to give the market long term supply.

The Battery Energy Storage market is looking to be the most exciting sector as the world changes from fossil fuels to renewables and VRFB look like taking a larger slice of this market than we thought might be possible.

They may not be in every home, but they are likely to play a huge role in both Grid storage and Mini-Grid storage systems around the world, the ability to make renewables work will be globally significant!

These are exciting moments for Bushveld Minerals investors. It beggars belief that the market still has not seen this opportunity, but the time is coming when it will.

In the meantime get excited at what is coming:
- Mokopane Licence and operation explanation
- BESS tender news
- Bushveld Energy Projects
- Bushveld Energy Electrolyte Plant update
- JSE Listing and possible move the FTSE

All the exciting news!
Cheers RK

Sorry me message is not correct!
If people want to donate this is a kind gesture and people should do as they want! We are are kind and considerate group! Please do as you wish!
Don’t be angry Faramog please. But we are not where we though we would be and people should not feel any pressure. Each have very different circumstances.
Thant is my point.

Ophidian, I 100% agree with all your statement. The Sp is 20.5p not over £1. Those pledges were made based on the target figure. There was no winner.
If people wish do don’t Nate this is a kind gesture and people on this board have helped many causes and many do so through the year as I know as many have been through tough times this last year.
Please do as each wants to do.
Kindest regards RK.

Vertical Integration

Bushveld Minerals’ vertical integration, anchored in a high-quality, low-cost production base, enables the Company to play a critical role in the burgeoning, multi-billion-dollar energy storage industry. Vertical integration is key not only to strengthen the vanadium demand profile, but it also unlocks significant economic opportunities for the Company along the vanadium value chain. Bushveld Minerals’ vertical integration strategy provides a natural hedge against volatility in the vanadium price.

Leadership Team

Bushveld Minerals’ highly-experienced leadership team pools a range of skills and depth of experience that will help to achieve its goals and growth targets. The team has the necessary vanadium mining and processing experience to ensure operations remain in the lowest cost quartile globally and achieve targets. The team has a proven track record of value-creating transactions that have generated strong returns for shareholders. Board composition is constantly reviewed to ensure strong corporate governance.

Sustainability

We are dedicated to maintaining sustainable mining and processing practises across all our operations and projects. This includes ensuring our employees enjoy a healthy and safe working environment, operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, and adding value to all stakeholders we work with. The Company considers corporate social responsibility to be a fundamental part of Bushveld Minerals’ business and seeks meaningful and deep partnerships with its multiple stakeholders.

Shareholder Returns

Bushveld Minerals is committed to delivering attractive returns to its shareholders. The Board is supportive for Bushveld Minerals to adopt a consistent and disciplined approach to capital allocation to manage the Group’s growth initiatives. Furthermore, the Board has approved a dividend policy based on a free cash flow pay-out ratio, reflecting Bushveld Mineral’s commitment to return cash to shareholders in a sustainable manner while prioritising its stated growth strategy.

Fortune has repeatedly told investors “this story is not even have told”

If you have some Bushveld Minerals facts share them!

Cheers RK

Brownfield Based Growth Strategy

Bushveld Minerals’ strategy for growing low cost production capacity targets the unique access to existing brownfield processing infrastructure in relatively close proximity of its high-grade primary vanadium deposits. This allows the Company to develop production and thus cash generation capacity at a fraction of the cost and time it would take to develop on a greenfield basis. Following the refurbishment programme at Vanchem and expansion programme underway at Vametco, the Company will have created a portfolio of processing assets supplying approximately 10% of the global vanadium market at a cost of less than 40% of their replacement costs of >US$500 million while leveraging cash generated by the same assets for as much as 50% (~US$100 million) of the cost of creating that capacity.

Quality Vanadium Assets

Bushveld Minerals’ primary vanadium resources consist of large, high-grade opencast deposits, with grades of 1.5 – 2.02% V2O5 in magnetite, which are among the highest grades in the world. The Company’s 540 Mt combined primary resource is among the largest in the world and is complemented by low-cost, scalable processing capacity that is positioned in the lowest quartile of the cost curve.

Upon completion of Vanchem and Vametco’s expansion initiatives the Group’s production platform will be in excess of 8,400 mtVp.a, increasing Bushveld Minerals market share of the vanadium market.

Attractive Commodity

Market Fundamentals: The vanadium price has risen by over 700% from the lows of US$13.50/kgV in December 2015 to a high of US$127/kgV in November 2018. Despite recent softening in the price, driven by largely temporary factors, vanadium remains a commodity with compelling fundamentals. The vanadium market remains in significant structural deficit, driven by robust and growing demand, while supply remains concentrated and constrained, with limited new production on the horizon.

New rebar standards, introduced in China in November 2018, to limit and eventually eliminate the use of inferior steels are expected, when fully enforced, to increase China’s vanadium demand by over 30%, the equivalent of 10 to 15% of global demand. The enforcement of the new standard is expected to accelerate during 2019. The resulting increasing vanadium intensity of use in steel is expected to see a Compound Annual Growth Rate of demand for vanadium from the steel industry of 2.5% until 2027.

However, demand “upside” from the energy storage applications of vanadium may increase the CAGR of vanadium demand from 2.5% to 8.4% over the same period.

Meanwhile, the supply response has been slow, with production shrinking by as much as 6% between 2015 and 2018. Supply from co-production pig-iron/steel plants, which accounted for 70% of vanadium feedstock in 2018, driven by steel market dynamics that have been constrained. The majority of projects that have been announced or are under development are high capex plants designed to produce vanadium as a co-product from pig iron/steel plants or hydrometallurgical iron vanadium and titanium plants. These projects will have to overcome a number of constraints, such as high capital intensity, funding availability and the fact that other commodities primarily drive their economics.

Faramog,
I wonder what John Meyer from SP Angel might be hinting at in this -“ SP Angel forecasts that VRFB demand in Southern Africa alone could consume over 5 percent of global vanadium production over the next few years, creating significant new demand in a market where supply is relatively consistent.”
Could it possibly be the new BESS project phase I?
That needs just over 7000 mtV!
Once the world see’s the technology installed it will really wake up.
Cheers RK

Thanks VV! It is clear which is the right technology! As Alfa said would you really want a huge fire risk strapped to your home! It is best to chose very wisely!

Bring on the VRFB!
Cheers RK

The lack of cross-contamination, combined with the lack of degradation of the vanadium electrolyte over the lifespan and the simple architecture of the VRFB that allows for the removal and re-use of the electrolyte, opens up the technology to innovative financial solutions such as electrolyte rental that could be a significant catalyst for adoption by reducing the upfront capital costs of these systems.

According to Navigant Research, the global stationary energy storage demand is forecast to grow to 100 GWh in annual deployments by 2027. A mere 10% share of this market by VRFBs would see VRFB deployments of 10GWh per annum by 2027. With a 1 GWh VRFB system, requiring approximately 5,500 mtV in electrolyte, more than 5% of current annual global vanadium consumption (2018 vanadium production of ~96,000 mtV), this would add 55,000 mtV to annual vanadium demand by 2027. Navigant’s own forecast calls for an 18% market share for flow batteries, which could increase demand to in excess of 80,000 mtV.

The VRFB market opportunity is attractive, not only for its diversification and strengthening of the vanadium demand profile, but also for its own commercial opportunity. There is significant economic value in the VRFB value chain to justify the downstream integration that would unlock these solutions. For these reasons, Bushveld Minerals initially established Bushveld Energy Limited to exploit the multi-billion dollar commercial opportunity that the energy storage industry presents.

Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

VRFBs are well positioned to take a significant share of the stationary energy storage market, on account of their unique features that give them an edge in large scale, stationary and long-duration energy storage applications.

These features include:

- Long lifespan cycles: Ability to repeatedly charge/discharge over 35,000 times for a lifespan of over 20 years;
- 100% depth of discharge: Without material performance degradation is unique to VRFBs;
– Low cost per kWh when fully used at least once daily makes VRFBs today cheaper than Li-ion batteries;
- Safe, with no fire or smoke risk from thermal runaway;
–100% of vanadium is re-usable upon decommissioning of the system, making VRFB’s the most sustainable major battery technology;
- Scalable capacity to store large quantities of energy;
- Flexibility that allows for capturing the multi-stacked values of energy storage in grid applications;
- Very fast response time of less than 70ms; and
- No cross-contamination, with only one battery element that is unique among flow batteries.

3. Developments In South Africa’s Energy Regulation Framework

South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”), which outlines the country’s future electricity needs and the technologies that will be used to meet that need is expected to be released

in mid-2019. The new IRP is broadly expected to support more renewable energy, especially wind and solar, and acknowledge the need to support integration of that variable generation through storage technologies. The recently announced decision by South Africa’s Minister of Energy to permit significant “small scale embedded generation” of up to 10 MW, will open up the “behind-the-metre” market for energy storage in South Africa. Additionally, the South African Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (“REIPP”) has been restarted to continue to add renewable energy to the grid, creating opportunities for long-duration battery storage, either as standalone facilities or co-located with solar or wind generation. In an environment of a constrained South African power system, including the significant financial constraints facing the national utility, Eskom, the emerging approach by the government will unlock private sector participation, in the form of the REIPP programme, the development of embedded generation solutions and/or partnerships with the utility with significant opportunities for energy storage as a part of the solution mix.

Three important developments reinforce Bushveld Minerals’ African focus:

1. World Bank Group Commitment Of Us$1 Billion For Battery Storage

The World Bank Group has announced a US$1 billion programme to support the deployment of energy storage in low- to middle-income countries. The programme is expected to mobilise a further US$4 billion in concessional climate financing and public and private investments to deliver 17,500 MWh of energy storage in these countries by 2025. This is not only positive for energy storage globally, but for Bushveld Energy and its focus on African markets. Since typically over one-third of World Bank funding is directed towards sub-Saharan Africa, the programme could expect to deliver 5,000-6,000 MWh of storage in Africa alone, or an average of 1,000 MWh per year. Similarly, most of the storage deployed

for future projects under the programme will be to ensure greater integration of renewable energy, which requires long-duration, daily storage and fits into the technical and commercial superiority of the VRFB technology.

2. Eskom’s Battery Energy Storage Systems Programme

In 2018, Eskom announced a programme to install 1,400 MWh of battery energy storage in South Africa by 2022. The first phase of that programme is expected to start in 2019. Once started, the programme could propel South Africa into one of the top five energy storage markets globally. Although the structure of the programme and its projects are not yet public, the nature of South Africa’s peak demand, which lasts for six hours a day and peaks twice a day, makes the economics especially favourable for long-duration, limitless recycling technologies such as VRFBs.

Stationary energy storage applications include:

Enhancing grid stability where intermittent renewable energy sources are used;
Smoothing a power system’s load distribution by shifting power demand from high peak areas to low peak areas (load shifting); and
Storing power generated during off-peak periods when excess electricity is can be generated to supplement peak periods when electricity generation needs to be supplemented with expensive “peaking” generation sources.
Supporting remote electricity users without access to transmission infrastructure to connect to the main grid.

Multiple trends are also impacting the usage of stationary storage:

Long duration energy storage applications are expected to account for up to 90% of energy storage deployments by 2027 (excluding pumped hydropower). To date, most battery energy storage installations have been of short duration, with sufficient energy to last for 15 to 60 minutes. Long duration storage, requires typically from 3 to 10 hours of daily energy storage capacity;
Deploying energy storage systems can be utilised for multiple purposes and benefits rather than just one application. Traditionally, batteries have only provided frequency control, due to their ability to respond to power fluctuations near instantaneously. While this use case remains important, it is increasingly coupled with provision of system reserves, peaking capacity, deferral of transmission and distribution expansion and ancillary services;
Finally, as the industry matures the focus is shifting from pure technical and financial capability to safety. Significant fires in South Korea over the past 18 months and multiple high profile fires in Europe and the United States at large battery sites using lithium ion technologies from well established developers and manufactures, have increased focus on the safety of stationary energy storage. While car and computer batteries have been known to catch fire before, the amount of damage and potential human harm from fire and smoke is significantly greater from larger stationary energy storage installations.

Energy Storage And Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

Electricity’s share of global energy consumption has been and will continue, to grow at a rapid pace, already doubling from 10% in 1980 to 20% today. By the middle of this century, it is expected to account for 45% of all energy consumption. This has huge implications not only for global energy production but also for all minerals involved in the electricity value chain.
At the same time, the contribution of renewable energy to the electricity generation mix continues to grow, aided in large measure by the falling costs of renewable energy generation and the growing push for clean forms of electricity generation. These changes have led also to the growth of distributed electricity generation, including mini-grids, decreasing the reliance on centralised power systems featuring massive power plants and expansive transmission networks, which has created the opportunity for hundreds of millions of people across the world to obtain access to “green” electrical energy cheaper and faster than before.
Energy storage, a process in which energy generated at one point in time is preserved for use at another time, plays a critical role in this energy transition. While the broader energy storage market, comprising of consumer electronics, mobility (e.g. electric vehicle applications) and stationary applications is expected to grow at a CAGR of 36% between 2018 and 2027, the fastest growth rate among all three belongs to stationary energy storage. Navigant Research forecasts stationary energy storage to grow at a rate of 58% p.a. exceeding 100GWh and US$50 billion in market size by 2027.

The World’s Demand For Vanadium

Bushveld expect vanadium market’s structural deficit to persist in the near to medium term driven mainly by the growing intensity of use of vanadium in the steel sector, as well as burgeoning demand from the energy storage market in an environment of limited supply growth.

Vanadium demand in the steel market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 2.5% through to 2027. Although forecasts for VRFBs vary widely, they indicate that VRFB demand could increase vanadium demand from 2.5% up to 8.4% CAGR up to 2027.

While co-production accounted for 70% of global vanadium feedstock supply in 2018, it continues to face significant constraints, including low profitability arising from high input and processing costs where producers have no leverage on steel prices, and environmental-related restrictions that adversely impact producers’ competitiveness. Moreover, several efforts by the Chinese government to reshape its steel industry can be expected to impose further constraints on vanadium co-production steel plants. These initiatives include the reduction of excess steelmaking capacity targeting highly pollutive high cost plants, and the conversion of more than 200 Mtpa in blast furnace operations to electric arc furnace technologies which will increase the role of scrap iron in steel making and reduce the overall demand for iron ore.

Secondary production will increase or decrease supply based on both vanadium price and feedstock availability. However, it remains a higher-cost form of production than primary and co-production and thus is unlikely to add significant vanadium units for prolonged periods.

Supply from greenfield projects also faces significant hurdles. Most of the recent greenfield projects that have been announced for development are of a co-production type due to their low in magnetite grades and thus require large capital investments. The primary projects under development also face significant capital constraints made worse by the volatility seen in the vanadium price historically.

It is Bushveld’s view that the best opportunity to address the structural deficit in the vanadium market lies with existing primary producers that are economic at both prevailing and the long term forecast vanadium price and are capable of increasing production at their facilities on a lower-cost, brownfield basis - think Vametco and Vanchem!

For more detailed information on the Volterion residential use VRFB system which will use 63 kg of V205 within the electrolyte:
https://www.volterion.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/VOLT_powerRFB_Productsheet.pdf
This is surely the safest format. Volterion will sell to the UK, which currently Voltstore will not based on discussing with them in late 2019!