Member Info for SloppyGuiseppe

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/microsmallcap.com/vanadium-price-potential-comeback-2020/amp/

Vanadium had a stellar year in 2018, with prices reaching highs not seen in over a decade. Unfortunately, 2019 took a turn for the worst, and the vanadium price dropped significantly throughout the year.

Since reaching a peak in November 2018, European FeV prices dropped 35% in December 2018 as market speculators began to unwind their positions, and the markets reacted to weaker-than-expected demand from Chinese steelmakers.

During the same period, the Chinese price for vanadium pentoxide peaked at $US33.90 per pound in November 2018 before sliding more than 57% to US$14.40 per pound in the spring of 2019.

Despite the downturn, analysts still have high hopes for the battery metal’s long-term potential and see the market reaching US$56 billion by 2026. But, is vanadium a good investment in 2020?

Let’s take a look at what caused the vanadium price to decline in 2019 and key catalysts that could boost the vanadium market in 2020 and beyond.

What Caused the Vanadium Price Tumble in 2019?

To understand the reason for the vanadium price drop in 2019, it’s essential to look at the factors that sent the vanadium market skyrocketing previous years.

One factor that greatly increased the demand for vanadium was the People’s Republic of China’s high-strength rebar standard, which came into effect in November 2018 in an effort to reduce the use of substandard steel and make buildings in China more earthquake resistant.

China’s new standard greatly increased the country’s demand for vanadium, which is used to strengthen steel, and was expected to boost the vanadium price significantly.

Unfortunately, the vanadium price surge in 2018 caused Chinese mills to turn to a more cost-effective alternative. China greatly increased imports of ferro-niobium in 2019, which led to a substantial drop in the price in the first half of the year.

At the same time, oversupply from China led to further price weakness. In the first half of 2019, China produced roughly 57,000 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), which was 29.5% more than Q1 2018.

Add the higher-than-expected supply with the lower-than-expected demand, and it becomes clear why the market took a turn for the worst in 2019.

But, despite supply and demand imbalance, the most challenging aspect of the vanadium sector is the historically volatile market price, which controls the share prices of the publicly traded vanadium companies.

Moving into 2020, vanadium market watchers will be keeping an eye on China, where increased demand or lower-cost supply could help balance out the volatility experienced in 2019.

However, other applications for vanadium shouldn’t be discounted. Although the metal is primarily used in steel applications, it has also gained significant attention for its energy storage potential.

With lower costs and more experience, utilities could be able to plan beyond pilot projects, some of which have never been scaled up in the past.

Utilities already plan increased energy storage deployments in their IRPs.

PacifiCorp’s plan, for example, projects deployment of almost 3 GW of new solar capacity together with nearly 600 MW of battery storage by 2025, and 6.3 GW of solar plus 2.8 GW of storage by 2038.

NextEra Energy’s chairman and CEO James Robo said in a 2019 earnings call last week that more than half of the company’s new solar backlog added in 2019 included a battery storage component.

“We also increasingly see storage as an important stand-alone business in its own right, as we were viewing a number of opportunities to add storage to our existing solar sites to take advantage of the ITC and enhance the value of our existing projects for customers,” Robo said.

“This highlights the rapid transition to the next phase of renewables development that pairs low-cost wind and solar energy with a low-cost battery storage solution,” the manager added.

This decade, batteries and battery technology are set to play an increasingly important role in bringing more renewable energy and electric vehicles to the market, analysts say. Continuously falling battery costs, and rising capacity and usage of clean energy are set to result in booming global stationary energy storage over the next two decades, which will require total investments of as much as US$662 billion, BloombergNEF (BNEF) said in a report last year.

The energy storage market is set to be one of the winners amid the energy transition and calls for curbing emissions.

WoodMac said in an April 2019 outlook:

“Over the last five years, the world began to experiment with storage; in the next five, storage will become a key grid asset.”

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Utilities-Rush-To-Procure-Energy-Storage-Capacity.amp.html

A growing number of U.S. utilities plan to add energy storage to their resource plans this decade, as declining renewable energy costs and investor and public pressure to curb emissions have significantly changed the market over the past few years.

More and more utilities across the United States plan to add more wind and solar capacity and retire coal-fired power plants to start addressing climate change and to take advantage of falling renewable energy procurement costs. And a growing number of those utilities are combining battery energy storage with their new solar and wind capacity plans.

The utilities’ integrated resource plans (IRPs) for the next few years include significant growth in battery energy storage. Battery storage deployments are even expected to exceed the utilities’ expectations in their IRPs, according to a new analysis by Wood Mackenzie.

The energy consultancy’s analysis of the plans of 43 utilities showed “exponential growth in expected utility demand for battery energy storage system procurements, as utilities adopt more aggressive clean energy portfolio strategies,” WoodMac says.

Last year was a crucial year in battery energy storage plans as the utilities with plans to add energy storage increased their combined expected storage deployment five times compared to the 2018 plans, WoodMac’s analysis showed, as carried by Greentech Media.

Currently, utilities in the United States expect 6.3 gigawatts (GW) of battery deployment this decade.

Utilities are starting to move from pilot projects to wider deployment of battery energy storage because they gain experience with the technology, according to Wood Mackenzie’s storage researcher Gregson Curtin.

“Once utilities test energy storage and like it, they keep procuring more and more,” Curtin tells Greentech Media, a unit of Wood Mackenzie.

One of the key obstacles to mass battery deployment is the lack of operational experience with the technology, according to the analyst.

Another hurdle was the fact that utilities couldn’t accurately assess the value of energy storage batteries in their resource planning, due to lack of both reliable cost data and established industry modeling and planning practices, a report from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) showed in April last year.

“The technology and policy around new energy technologies are changing so rapidly, utilities have a hard time nailing down concrete values for their planning forecasts,” Jeremy Twitchell, a PNNL energy analyst and one of the report’s authors, said last year.

But utilities now see improved project economics for battery storage and falling battery prices, which makes them bolder in their energy storage plans, WoodMac’s analysis says.

For those that missed in December.

http://www.mondaq.com/Article/887214

DoD Finalizes Interim Rule on Restriction on the Acquisition of Certain Magnets and Tungsten
On December 31, 2019, the DoD adopted as final, effective immediately, an interim rule published at 84 FR 18156 on April 30, 2019, that implemented Section 871 of the NDAA for FY 2019. Section 871 prohibits acquisition of samarium-cobalt magnets, neodymium-iron-boron magnets, tungsten metal powder, and tungsten heavy alloy or any finished or semi-finished component containing tungsten heavy alloy melted or produced in North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran. These materials play an essential role in national defense. For example, the magnets play a role in many military applications, particularly in aviation and navigation, such as sonar radar and guidance systems. Tungsten, as another example, is heavily used in military applications, such as bullets, shrapnel head, and bullet-proof vehicles. Section 871, which was effective in August 2018, imposes significant new restrictions at 10 U.S.C. § 2533c on the use of foreign magnets in the military supply chain.

DoD views these restrictions as similar to those found in the Specialty Metals Amendment (10 U.S.C. § 2533b). 10 U.S.C. § 2533c, however, prohibits "covered material" that was "melted or produced" in China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran. The prohibition in 10 U.S.C. § 2533c applies to where the alloy is melted and the subsequent sintering operation takes place. The prohibition does allow for exceptions, including when covered materials from non-covered countries cannot be acquired at a reasonable price within the required time frame and an exception for commercially available off-the-shelf magnets incorporated into end items for electronic devices.

Production of tungsten.
Added a description of the production of tungsten at DFARS 225.7018-2(c), to explain the applicability of the restrictions on the production of tungsten.

Added a tailored explanation of "required form" to the nonavailability exception for tungsten heavy alloy and certain magnets at DFARS 225.7018-3(d) and 252.225-7052(c)(2). No explanation of required form is necessary with regard to tungsten powder.

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/off-the-grid-for-businesses-load-shedding-south-africa-eskom-red-tape-nersa-licences-2020-1

Larger businesses could be getting relief from regulatory red tape holding them back from generating their own power – and could then free themselves from load-shedding, as long as they have R25 million or so lying around.

At the moment self-help electricity installations of less than 1MW require only municipal or Eskom technical sign-off around grid issues. But plants between 1 megawatt (MW) and 10MW are required to undergo a time-consuming Nersa licensing process that can mean delays of between 9 months to a year before an off the grid facility can even get off the ground, says the South African Photovoltaic Association (Sapvia).

That could soon change. Business Day reported that the African National Congress (ANC) has approved plans to allow municipalities to buy their own electricity and to make it easier for businesses to generate their own electricity. A similar intention was expressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa at Business Unity South Africa’s second yearly Business Economic Indaba.

If the current 1MW cap is raised to 10MW, Sapvia believes up to 2,000MW from small-scale capacity could be added to South Africa's energy mix in a year.

That would reduce the load on the grid from businesses like mines, airports, farms, and large shopping malls said David McDonald managing director of SolarAfrica, that sells solar solutions in South Africa.

“We have a number of clients who consume large amounts of energy that will immediately benefit from increasing their solar PV systems beyond 1MWp. Given the current regulations, we are unable to commit capital to these projects without significant evidence that we are able to obtain these licences,” said McDonald.

There is pressure to cut the red tape – fast.

In a presentation released last week, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) found that government needs to start the process of getting energy onto the grid by the end of first quarter of this year.

The CSIR looked at Eskom's energy availability factor (EAF) and found that between now and 2023, Eskom needs to find more power or SA will have to cut back more on its electricity use - even if Medupi, Kusile and independent generating plans currently under construction all come online as expected.

It is important to remember that every installation is different. Renewable energy is reliant on a range of factors such as location, technology, roof type, space availability, battery capacity, seasons, and other related factors.

Here are some of the solutions currently on offer.

New Southern Energy: Solar PV and battery storage – R105 million
Regenergy: Solar PV with back up generator and battery storage – R115 million
SolarAfrica: Private power purchase agreement – R0.65 per kWh (without full backup)

https://www.edie.net/library/Net-zero-cities--Oxford-s-mission-to-become-carbon-neutral-by-2030/6958

Net-zero cities: Oxford's mission to become carbon-neutral by 2030

In response to the Assembly, the Council has pledged that at least a quarter of the council’s vehicles will be electric by 2023 at the latest. More broadly, an “Energy Superhub” in Oxford will play host to the world’s first transmission-connected 50MW lithium-ion and redox-flow hybrid battery systems as well as a network of 320 ground-source heat pumps. The scheme is just one of the initiatives totalling more than £80m in investment to support carbon reduction.

Around 400 electric vehicle (EV) chargers will power new EV capacity. Transport accounts for three-quarters of the nitrogen dioxide pollution in Oxford, and 50 tonnes of CO2 are emitted by road traffic in the city every morning rush hour. However, over the past 10 years, air pollution levels in the city have decreased by more than 36%.

https://www.wr.de/staedte/dortmund/tu-dortmund-saeure-ausgelaufen-feuerwehr-rueckte-aus-id228224825.html

The acid vanadium has leaked out at TU Dortmund. There was no danger to people. The fire brigade was still there with some force.

The fire department moved out to the Technical University (TU) Dortmund on Thursday. There the chemical substance vanadium had leaked from a battery. Nobody was injured, the mission ended around 3 p.m.

As the university reports, the acid leaked around noon from a "commercially available battery unit that was in a container". Thereupon "sulfurous smell" developed. The container was part of an experimental setup at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.

Acid leaked at TU Dortmund University - leak is plugged
The fire department said there was no danger to people. The emergency services were able to plug the leak.

https://www.miningreview.com/investment/hot-topics-at-the-investing-in-african-mining-indaba-2020/

This year’s programme and discussions are focused on forging the future direction of the African Mining industry. Under the theme ‘Optimising Growth and Investment in the Digitised Mining Economy’, key topics include green and sustainable technology, investment opportunities in African mining, resource nationalism, climate change and youth challenges.

Innovative solutions to increase the sustainable supply of battery metals

leveraging precious metals to create economic stability and thriving communities
what practices can end users and investors put in place to support sustainable mining practices?
the rise of cobalt and where next for the mining code and mining under new administration in the DRC?
examining China’s electrification strategy and its subsidies in African mining
increasing copper production to boost Africa’s stake in the vital global battery market

https://www.energy-storage.news/blogs/pivot-power-qa

It’s interesting and we do support it. In terms of our approach, there are some sites where it might make sense and we’re currently looking at how we could expand from 49.9MW. There are two key considerations; one is what would the cost be for that substation to go from 50MW to substantially more than that, and that is where we’re going through and evaluating our portfolio and seeing if that does stack up. The second element is from a land perspective. The physical footprint of a 50MW battery is roughly half a football field. If you’re looking at 100MW, or 150MW, or 200MW, that obviously becomes substantially larger, and land availability is obviously a key consideration.

What are the other barriers to deploying large-scale storage that you’re seeing?

The slight irony is that while we’re trying to unlock the electrification of transport i.e. EVs, the vehicles are hoovering up all of the cells in the market. We don’t see that as a big issue now, but it has been over the course of the past 12 - 24 months.

One of the other things is that more renewables coming onto the market creates an opportunity. For batteries, that variability is essentially a good thing. We’re advocates from an environmental standpoint that we need more renewables deployed, but if that doesn’t happen and that volatility doesn’t exist then that is a concern, which leads back to policy certainty. There are other components, for example interconnections into Europe and what will those look like moving forward. But they’re all things the industry is keenly aware of.

I think the good thing about this country is that it’s across party lines that this is a climate crisis. I’m glad we’re starting to change that narrative from climate change, which is a bit wooly. This is a crisis, and when you have a crisis you act in a very different way and I think that is widely understood here in the UK.

Pivot is currently focused on lithium-ion. Would you consider other chemistries as we move towards a net zero system by 2050?

Currently, our first two projects are lithium-ion based and one hour in duration. A big part of this comes down to what investors are comfortable with. We get approached all the time with another solution that is better or more reliable or less from a cost standpoint, but the big question is: is it investable? I am all for technical innovation and advancement but this is a crisis, so let’s deploy the stuff that is ready and investable and has that confidence.

We’ll always keep our eye on other solutions. It’s super interesting, great conversation, but let’s come back to now.

I couldn’t tell you exactly what 2050 will look like. There will be a lot of storage and what type of storage that will be, will it be large pumped hydro or more distributed battery storage? Will it be connected to the transmission system, will it be the distribution system, who knows? But there will be a lot of it in many di

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-50-million-for-clean-energy-projects-across-africa

Green energy supply in Africa is set for a major boost after the UK government announced winners of an investment package for the continent’s clean energy infrastructure at the African Investment Summit today.

Solar farms in Kenya, geothermal power stations in Ethiopia and clean energy storage across sub-Saharan Africa will receive funding and see leading UK scientists and financial experts working with their African counterparts to realise the continent’s huge potential for renewable energy.

With African energy demand set to rise by 60% by 2040, UK experts will help deliver green solutions for the continent’s growing energy needs, bringing clean energy to thousands of people and creating jobs and increased prosperity.

Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:

Our world-leading scientists and financial experts will work hand in hand with African nations to support their quest for energy security, powering new industries and jobs across the continent with a diverse mix of energy sources while promoting economic growth.

Speaking at the summit, Ms Leadsom emphasised the opportunity for many African countries to leapfrog coal power to cleaner forms of energy but stressed that more needed to be done to unlock investment.

A world-leader in reducing carbon emissions at home, today’s investment in global clean energy comes after the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced the £1 billion ‘Ayrton Fund’ for British scientists last Autumn to help developing nations reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce their carbon emissions.

As part of the initiatives announced today, the UK will support African countries with the technical skills and expertise they need in order to attract investment in renewable projects, getting innovative projects like wind and solar farms up and running. Close collaboration with African countries will be key as the UK gears up to host the UN climate talks (COP26) later this year.

UK funded projects in Africa include winners of the Energy Catalyst Competition, which has seen solar plants, energy storage batteries and hydro-power built in countries such as Botswana and Kenya; a £10 million programme which matches UK based green finance experts with project developers from developing countries to facilitate investment in clean energy projects; and the Nigeria 2050 calculator, a modelling tool designed by UK scientists to support the Nigerian government’s sustainable development planning.

Kenya is also set to benefit from a £30 million government investment in affordable energy-efficient housing which will see the construction of 10,000 low-carbon homes for rent and sale. This will support the creation of new jobs in Kenya’s green construction industry and help tackle climate change.

https://www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/coal/011720-feature-uk-set-for-mining-revival-post-brexit-if-overseas-investment-flows-developers

https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/trump-administration-lowers-import-tariffs-on-chinese-batteries

The White House halved import tariffs on batteries manufactured in China as part of the larger trade deal signed this week.

The tariff on batteries, just part of $300 billion in Chinese goods targeted by the White House last year, will fall from 15 percent to 7.5 percent, effective February 14. The move will incrementally improve economics for grid storage projects planning to use battery cells, modules and packs made in China. However, the decision does not end policy interference in the energy storage marketplace. The reduction came in response to a Phase One trade agreement; further negotiations may lead to additional changes.

“For sure, this is a step in the right direction, but we believe lithium-ion batteries shouldn’t have been listed for tariffs on Chinese goods in the first place,” said Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the Energy Storage Association, in an email Friday.

A few years ago, battery system integrators typically preferred top-tier cell manufacturers in South Korea or Japan. But as supply for those products tightened up in recent years, buyers increasingly turned to China, where a maturing supply chain alongside a booming electric vehicle industry had achieved the levels of quality U.S. clients were looking for.

TOP ARTICLES
MOST POPULAR MOST COMMENTS

What Would It Take for the US to Become an Energy Storage...

Polysilicon Industry Awaits Certainty on U.S.-China Trade...

Canada’s e-Zn Raises Millions to Commercialize...
WHITE PAPERS
Sign Up For The Grid Edge Newsletter
DOWNLOAD >
U.S. Energy Storage Monitor
DOWNLOAD >
Related Reports
US non-resi storage system prices: Trends from 2019 to 2024
LEARN MORE >
Global energy storage outlook: Q3 2019
GET THE REPORT >
Now, about 40 percent of lithium-ion battery projects for U.S. grid storage import from China, Speakes-Backman said. Those projects had to absorb sudden cost fluctuations when the tariffs went into effect September 1. The U.S. Trade Representative announced the tariffs August 20 at a rate of 10 percent, then upped them to 15 percent on the eve of implementation, “at the direction of the President.”

“This tariff, especially considering the timeline of implementation, caused unnecessary uncertainty in the market, and what’s more, runs counter to the many policies the federal government has put in place to encourage the widespread deployment of energy storage technologies,” Speakes-Backman added.

Energy storage, with its applications for grid resilience and more efficient operation of the energy system, has enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington. Just last week, the Department of Energy unveiled an energy storage “Grand Challenge” to mobilize funding and institutional resources to build a thriving domestic storage industry by 2030.

Currently, almost all of the battery capacity installed in the U.S. comes from other countries

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-ironore/update-1-china-steel-futures-post-4th-weekly-gain-on-firm-demand-idINL4N29M1R2

Steel rebar, hot-rolled steel coil hit 1-week highs

* China’s 2019 crude steel output rises to record (Recasts; Adds graphic and comment; Updates with closing prices)

SHANGHAI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Benchmark steel rebar futures in China rose on Friday, posting their fourth straight weekly gain, after data showed a resilient property market and robust demand from the infrastructure sector.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange’s most-traded steel rebar contract climbed to a one-week high of 3,608 yuan before easing to close 1% higher at 3,595 yuan ($524.08) per tonne. It rose 0.7% for the week.

Crude steel production climbed to a record 996.34 million tonnes in 2019 as real estate investment increased while a push on infrastructure spending also fuelled demand for steel as a vital building material.

Shanghai’s hot-rolled steel coil, used in cars and home appliances, rose to its highest in a week, gaining 1.1% to 3,635 yuan per tonne.

Improvement in manufacturing and optimism associated with the Phase 1 Sino-U.S. trade deal helped prices, said Richard Lu, an analyst with CRU in Beijing.

Meanwhile, iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose after Vale SA halted operations at a Chilean mine.

The most-traded iron ore contract with May expiry gained 0.8% to 669.5 yuan per tonne, adding 1.6% for the week.

Brazilian miner Vale SA has halted the tailings operations at the Esperança mine, which can process about 1.2 million tonnes of iron ore per year, citing the need for a technical evaluation and to potentially carry out work to improve safety at the site.

https://www.ecogeneration.com.au/chinas-hydro-giant-tests-the-limits-of-pv-integration/

One of the world’s largest PV power plant operators, China’s HHDC, is pushing the R&D dial so that hybrid clean energy solutions can be understood and actioned, writes Jeremy Chunn.

With abundant water resources from three rivers – including the Yellow River – and 100,000 square kilometres of unutilised land, SPIC Huanghe Hydropower Development Co (HHDC) chairman Xie Xiaoping says Qinghai Province has the potential to provide all of China’s power.

It’s a huge claim, and one Xie won’t have to deliver. Clean energy developers all over the country are pulling together in their bid to meet President Xi Jinping’s Paris Agreement commitment for China to use renewables resources to meet 30% of its energy needs by 2030.

HHDC, a subsidiary of China’s State Power Investment Corporation, started its journey into solar in 2010 with completion of a 10MW PV power plant in Tibet. “We started to build benchmark plants each year since then,” Xie says, including a 200MW PV plant in Golmud in 2011 and the 850MW Longyangxia hydro-solar power plant in 2014.

“Our company’s total installed capacity will hit 17,950MW at the end of 2019, clean energy making up 93%,” he says. “We are one of the largest PV power plant operators in the world now.”

Hybrid solutions
A priority for HHDC is understanding the possibilities of hybrid energy solutions, which explains its investment in a 100MW demonstration plant, where 148 different technologies are being tested, all monitored by 4,000 measuring devices across 32 data categories.

It’s a work in progress, Xie says, but early indications show small differences in generation in summer and large differences in winter. Regarding module technology performance, panels with N-type cells are delivering 11.68% higher output than a reference module.

Storage is also under the microscope at the demonstration base, with 20MW PV connected to 16MWh of battery technology, including LFP cells, ternary lithium cells, zinc bromine flow batteries and vanadium redox batteries – all up, 16 distributed energy storage systems and six concentrated energy storage systems.

https://www.miningscout.de/blog/2020/01/16/vanadium-neuer-optimismus-nach-turbulentem-jahr/

The steel and battery raw material vanadium has had a roller coaster ride. In 2019, the metal chart went back and forth. But investors should see this development in the mirror of 2018. At that time, vanadium was one of the fastest-growing metals. Experts like Jack Bedder from the analysis house Roskill have expected the price losses of Vanadium 2019, but are surprised by the strong losses. Bedder points out that both supply and demand for vanadium increased in 2019.

Electricity storage with vanadium are becoming increasingly important
Since the end of 2018, Chinese reinforcement steel, which is used in the construction industry, has to contain more vanadium than before - actually. However, the guidelines were implemented less rigorously than expected, which led the experts to believe that the demand from the steel industry ultimately turned out to be lower than expected. Many steel producers also used niobium instead of vanadium.

With regard to 2020, however, experts like Bedder are cautiously optimistic and point out that especially in China, demand could grow and supply could shrink. However, the market would currently suffer from the short-term increase in supply, which will keep the price of vanadium low after the turbulent market phase last year. Although the price of vanadium is closely related to steel production, the increased demand for vanadium redox flow batteries could also become a determining factor for the vanadium price in the near future. This type of battery is primarily used to store energy from renewable sources. The largest electricity storage facilities of this type are located in Japan, China and the USA, Some projects in Germany are already connected to the power grid.

In the future, this new source of demand for vanadium could meet a market that is not very elastic from the perspective of experts. Today the majority of the vanadium comes from China, South Africa, Brazil or Russia. There are no signs of an expansion of production at the present time. For these reasons, the existing vanadium production facilities could no longer be sufficient to meet demand over the next few years.

Vanadium is considered a critical raw material
Profits from this market situation could in the medium term be young companies such as Australian Vanadium Ltd. (ASX: AVL, ISIN: AU000000AVL6; WKN: A2ABRH) . The company operates three vanadium projects in Australia . The company itself assesses the most promising of the Australian vanadium project, for which a preliminary feasibility study is already available. This provides for a production period of at least seventeen years and calculates with favorable dismantling costs. Australian Vanadium has been recognized as a major project by regional authorities in Australia since September 2019 and is funded accordingly. Vanadium is considered a critical raw material in Australia and the USA.

https://www.pm-review.com/roskill-reports-on-the-advancement-of-tungsten-feedstock-projects/

Roskill Information Services, London, UK, has reported that a number of tungsten concentrate projects have reached commissioning milestones recently, including Saloro and W Resources in Spain, and Speciality Metals International (SMI) in Australia.

According to Roskill, the first concentrates from Saloro’s Barruecopardo project were produced in October, and in an operational update on November 25, Saloro’s 30% owner, Ormonde Mining announced that first sales of 20 t shipments to international buyers had been concluded. Ormonde also noted that initial access to the south end of the main orebody had been planned for early Q4 but had been delayed by the discovery of previous backfilled mine workings, where high-grade tungsten mineralisation had been expected.

Ormonde noted that mining had reached the base of these workings and ore grades were now expected to improve. However, the company cautioned that ore grades may continue to be impacted by old workings as mining advances northwards until the main orebody below the historic pit is reached.

Additionally, on November 28, W Resources stated that it had commenced production of on-spec tungsten and tin at its La Parrilla project. The company reported that initial tungsten concentrate grades met the shipment criteria levels and that it expects grades to improve as the plant moves into steady-state production. W Resources plans to move to a twenty-four-hour operation in December. A further update on December 5, noted that the company had secured a €0.5 million (US $0.6 million) revolving credit facility with Spanish bank CaixaBank to provide working capital.

Roskill explains that with prices sitting at an average of US $235/mtu for ammonium paratungstate (APT), which represents the industry price benchmark and the main traded form of tungsten, it remains a challenging environment for new feedstock projects to operate in. The company states that key for many of these will be sufficient access to working capital while operations are ramping up.

According to Roskill, the outlook for the tungsten market in 2020 remains overshadowed by high stocks of tungsten metal and carbide powders, as a result of the slowdown in cemented carbide tool production. A quick recovery in vehicle production, one of the main end-use markets for tungsten, could potentially see optimism return rapidly to the sector. Market participants will also be keeping an eye on news of a possible US-China trade resolution, which would likewise help to shore up demand.

https://stockhead.com.au/resources/avl-advances-potential-offtake-and-project-investment-deal-with-worlds-3-vanadium-producer/

SHARE
Special Report: Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) is progressing serious vanadium offtake and/or project investment discussions with a subsidiary of China-based HBIS Group Chengsteel, the world’s #3 vanadium producer.

A Letter of Intent (LOI) has been signed with Yanshan Vanadium Titanium to negotiate and sign a “binding technical service and purchase agreement” for AVL’s vanadium products, the company said today.

This is a big deal. HBIS Chengsteel is part of leading steelmaker HBIS Group, which had almost 120,000 employees globally in 2018.

HBIS Chengsteel alone has been involved in a number of ground-breaking projects.

It recently supplied more than 240,000t of vanadium bearing anti-seismic rebars and fine steel plates for the 55km-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – the world’s longest sea crossing bridge.

It produces and uses vanadium in a wide range of products, including wire for skyscraper construction, vanadium aluminium alloys for aerospace applications, and electrolyte for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB).

Subsidiary Yanshan Vanadium Titanium is also keen to help with AVL’s Australian Vanadium Project processing design, which it says could result in cost improvements.

The Chinese firm has already started due diligence on AVL and the project through the company’s online data room.

“We were invited by Yanshan Vanadium Titanium to attend a conference in Hebei last year and to meet with the company,” AVL managing director Vincent Algar says.

“Discussions were productive and highlighted a desire by Yanshan Vanadium Titanium to become more involved in AVL’s project.

“We are now visiting Chengde this month to further these discussions and move towards a formal agreement.”

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/mining-stocks-tips-2020-ii510189

If I look at another stock, Bushveld Minerals (LSE:BMN), a very exciting larger company, about £300 million market cap. Good cash flow generation, it's producing vanadium in South Africa, produces about 4 or 5% of the world's vanadium right now. 

And although that's a relatively small market, it's very important, because vanadium is the alloy that hardens steel. So if there's going to be a lot of new infrastructure development, HS2, Crossrail 3, more vanadium will be required for that, but not only for that, with all the new renewable energy resources that we've got - the new windmills and solar farms - that needs battery backup, otherwise what happens is the lights go out when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine.

So, we need vanadium redox batteries to provide that grid support. And they use a lot of vanadium. In fact, when I say a lot, they use a lot of valuable vanadium. And what can happen is the market can run short quite easily, so I suspect what will happen is orders will be placed, these vanadium batteries will be built and put into the grid systems, which is brilliant for us, from a consumer perspective.
And I think the price will go better. And more to the point, Bushveld Minerals, as a relatively large primary producer, will be able to produce more and sell more vanadium at ever high margins, and that's what we're looking for.

https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/companies-and-deals/the-credible-actions-needed-to-fix-eskom/

Procurement of new capacity

Politicians, ministers, officials, Eskom board members and executives who think that the solutions to energy and capacity constraints in South Africa are to be found in playing Tetris with generation unit maintenance completely misunderstand the current state of play.

New Section 34 ministerial determinations based on IRP 2019 are urgently required, and the IPP Office needs to restart the procurement of utility-scale wind and solar farms within identified renewable energy development zones, as well as gas-to-power and battery energy storage capacity, without delay.

To expedite and facilitate renewable energy power plants in the depressed former mining areas – the Mpumalanga coalfields, the North-West Province platinum fields and the Free State goldfields – utility-scale wind, solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage plants planned for installation on disturbed mining land should be exempted from any restrictive regulatory requirements of the National Environmental Management Act.

Embedded generation and battery energy storage

Everything possible should be done to facilitate the rapid uptake of embedded generation on customers’ premises through expediting the finalisation of the long-delayed South African Bureau of Standards mandatory safety standards, and removal of unnecessary bureaucratic regulatory processes and red tape.

Government needs to support sector-driven initiatives for training, accreditation and certification of installers, such as the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association Green Card initiative; provide positive messaging and encourage customers to become part of the solution through tax breaks and other incentives.

Similarly, everything possible should be done to unlock the policy, regulatory, registration, licensing and technical barriers currently inhibiting the installation of battery energy storage systems on customers’ premises and within the transmission and distribution grids.

It’s also important to develop and simplify appropriate regulations and standards specifically applicable to battery energy storage systems, as opposed to applying complex, inappropriate generation regulations and licensing requirements to these systems.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/01/10/new-organic-redox-flow-battery-aiming-for-e0-05-kwh-cycle-by-2030/

CIC EnergiGUNE, a Spanish research center that specializes in storage technologies, is leading the Affordable High-performance Green REdox floW batteries (Higreew) research project to produce cheap, efficient redox organic flow batteries.

The project, which the European Commission is financing with a sum of €3.8 million, includes scientists from other European universities such as the Autonomous University of Madrid and the University of Bohemia, as well as Czech redox battery specialist Pinflow and electrochemical equipment supplier C-Tech, among other parties.

The new battery will be based on water-soluble organic electrolytes, which the scientists claim will be low cost and compatible with optimized low-resistance membranes and fast electrode kinetics. The new technology will allow researchers to develop more environmentally sustainable redox flow batteries with higher power and energy densities, while also offering longer duration.

The researchers are aiming for a levelized cost of storage below €0.10/kWh/cycle by the end of the 40-month project, which started last month, and €0.5/kWh/cycle by 2030. The final target corresponds with the European Strategic Energy Technology (SET) Plan – the technology pillar of the EU’s energy and climate policy.

The three key materials of the new device, including membranes, electrolytes and electrodes, will now be submitted to initial validation tests. “In 2021, work will begin on integrating the new developments into a prototype designed by the British engineering firm Heights and by Gamesa Electric, a leading Basque partner in renewable energies,” the researchers said.

At a later stage, the battery will be tested at a Gamesa facility in Spain. The company is a unit of German industrial conglomerate Siemens. “The project aims to demonstrate that organic flow batteries can be a sustainable alternative to vanadium batteries, a material included in the list of critical raw materials by the European Commission,” the scientists said.

Unlike vanadium redox flow batteries, the devices are more environmentally sustainable because they do not contain heavy metals or hazardous acids. They are also said to offer additional advantages in terms of cost, as prices are independent of commodity markets and are therefore more dependent on scaling.