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https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/isgec-heavy-engineering-jv-firm-bags-order-for-renewable-energy-project-in-us/2116089

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) Isgec Heavy Engineering on Wednesday said its joint venture (JV) firm has bagged an order for supply of reactors for a renewable energy project in the US.
"Isgec Hitachi Zosen received a prestigious order for the supply of 4 reactors of vanadium modified low alloy steel, for a renewable energy project in the USA," Isgec Heavy Engineering said in a regulatory filing.

Isgec Hitachi Zosen is a joint venture of lsgec Heavy Engineering and Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Japan, (HITZ) located at the port town of Dahej, Gujarat, on the west coast of India.

The scope of work includes mechanical design, material procurement, fabrication, testing, and supply of equipment, the company said.

Isgec Heavy Engineering said this is the first order for Isgec Hitachi Zosen for supplying such reactors to the US.

The company, however, did not disclose the value of the order received.

The renewable energy project, which is under execution, will convert vegetable oils to synthetic transport fuels. PTI SVK ANS ANS

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/batterystorage-podcast-interview-with-79200/

Troutman Pepper energy partner Bill Derasmo talks with battery and storage experts from across the industry. The podcast shares the unique perspectives of industry veterans and thought leaders, exploring how they are deploying this new and exciting technology.
In this episode, Troutman Pepper Partner Bill Derasmo interviews Largo Resources CEO Paulo Misk, where they explore Largo’s long duration energy storage solution, which uses a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). This episode represents a bit of a departure from previous episodes, which have focused largely on shorter duration lithium ion-based storage. The podcast also includes a discussion on Largo’s unique “vertically-integrated” business model.

The Logistics Node is approved and endorsed by the World Bank, as an industrial and commercial strategic point for the entire northern region of Argentina and the mining industry will be a part of this great project,” he said.

The Güemes Industrial Park is projected as one of the most important industrial development poles in the Northwest, due to its strategic position within the bi-oceanic corridor.

The realization of the Logistics Node will facilitate logistics and distribution of goods, both for domestic and international trade, while the Dry Port will allow exports directly from the NOA.

https://en.mercopress.com/2021/07/06/mining-company-pledges-to-invest-us-34-million-in-lithium-plant-in-northern-argentina

Mining company pledges to invest US $ 34 million in lithium plant in northern Argentina
Tuesday, July 6th 2021 - 09:15 UTCFull article0 comments


Ganfeng Lithium is arguably among the largest in the world in the production of lithium and batteries.
Ganfeng Lithium is arguably among the largest in the world in the production of lithium and batteries.
A local subsidiary of China's Ganfeng Lithium has purchased a 23-hectare property in the General Güemes Industrial Park in the northwestern Argentine province of Salta, it was announced.

The company reportedly plans to achieve a production capacity of 20 thousand tons of lithium chloride per year under the local franchise Litio Minera Argentina, which is expected to generate 195 jobs.

The Chinese firm has pledged to invest US$34 million in their new plant, which is expected to be operational in five years.

“Today we are moving forward with the acquisition from the province of 23 hectares of land in the General Güemes Industrial Park, which will be used for the construction of a lithium chloride industrial plant,” said Simón Pérez Alsina, Vice President of Litio Minera Argentina.

Ganfeng Lithium is arguably among the largest in the world in the production of lithium and batteries.

The documents related to the purchase of the land to settle the factory were signed Monday by Pérez Alsina on behalf of the developers and Pablo Outes, Coordinator of Liaison and Political Relations of Salta's provincial government.

“It is important the impulse that we can give from the State as an incentive and the control that we exercise over the companies, in the hiring of local workers and the support to SMEs, so that they become suppliers for this activity,” said Outes.

It is estimated that the plant will be fully operational in approximately five years and that the construction process of this industry will have an enormous economic impact at the local level since the vast majority will demand local suppliers.

Pérez Alsina concurred, adding it was company policy to hire local suppliers and labour.

Salta Secretary of Industry, Commerce and Employment Nicolás Avellaneda, highlighted that in the last ten days this is the second company to have purchased a property in the Güemes Industrial Park. “We are satisfied because it is an investment of US $ 34 million and this will bring greater investments, which in the coming years will be reflected,” he said.

Avellaneda also explained that the bidding documents which will allow the construction of the Multimodal Logistics Node in Güemes, adjacent to the Industrial Park and the Free Trade Zone, are to be finalized soon.

https://www.***************************/ferro-alloy-resources-qa-the-world-needs-us-to-supply-this-vanadium-lonfar/4121008152

Q5: Now, you touched on the vanadium price. How do you see that price moving?
It’s well known, two big drivers, both in a way related to the greening of the economy and reduction of fossil fuels. The traditional one, steel, add a kilogram of vanadium into a tonne of steel and you can almost double it strengths which means use half as much. Making steel is a huge user of fossil fuels, a huge single pit on world energy is making steel, so much of the world economy depends on steel that it’s very, very important.

So, vanadium has a big part to play in reducing that amount of steel, reducing fossil fuels and of course, it’s an economic no-brainer because if you can halve the amount of steel you use in a given application then you’ll save money because saving half the cost of the steel is a lot more expensive than that kilogram or two of vanadium that that’s needed to achieve it. That’s been a growth factor for many years now and the intensity of vanadium used in the world per tonne of steel used in the world has been rising and driving the vanadium industry.

On top of that, we’re now layering another factor, which could, estimates vary, but could at an outside, double the amount of vanadium the world needs and that’s vanadium redox flow batteries. They’re just getting going, but they seem to be getting going very strongly and in the vanadium industry, because it’s small, there isn’t much stock holding, a little increase in demand can greatly affect the price as we found in 2018. So, the price is going to be strong, the pressure is upwards, vanadium is in abundant supply in the world, but it’s all in the form of magnet type, which is very high cost to develop.

If you look where the world is going to get it’s vanadium from, they can get it from these high cost magnetite projects, which need a price of $10/$12/$15 per pound to support it, or it can get it from Ferro-Alloy Resources. We’re very happy with today’s prices, which $8.5/$9, in fact our forecast production cost is down not much over$1.50.

So, the world needs us to supply this vanadium without making it prohibitively expensive for flow batteries, all that demand is going to underpin in the price of vanadium. I think it’s in everybody’s interest that there should be stability in the price of vanadium so that the flow battery industry can get going without having the stop/start caused by the 2018 peak when vanadium went up to $30 a pound compared with its usual price of $6/$7/$8.

So, I’m looking forward to stability, I’m very happy with today’s price, the pressure is going to be upwards and we have a deposit that can really be expanded, there could be a phase II, phase III, phase IV and, and we will run with whatever demand there is.

https://www.africanreview.com/energy-a-power/renewables/unlocking-the-potential-of-battery-storage

At the Financing and Deploying New Technologies: Battery Storage session of EnergyNet’s Powering Africa Summit 2021, key panellists were joined by a host of industry experts to discuss the potential of energy storage for the African continent.

Carlo Brovero, CEO, StorEn Technologies, took the opportunity to talk about vanadium flow battery technology, which has both residential and industrial applications. He said, “The vanadium technology has a number of advantages that makes it suitable to the environment of Africa. It is easy to recycle (close to 100%) and this can be done without the need for specialised solutions. Although the cost is slightly higher than lithium batteries (although we are trying to close that gap) in terms of cost per cycle they are 60-70% lower than lithium. This is because they can do around 15,000 full cycles (which will last for about 25 years) whereas lithium can usually manage 2,000-3,000 and, in Africa, sometimes less.

“In terms of developing local content, vanadium is a local mineral, available in several different African countries. With our technology the only key component is the stack, which we will have to manufacture, but the rest can be built by local partners with very little investment on their side. This would increase our local impact via the creation of local jobs.”...

https://upnewsinfo.com/2021/07/02/vrb-energy-announces-us24-million-investment-from-bcpg-one-of-asia-pacifics-largest-renewable-energy-companies/

VRB Energy Chairman Robert Friedland and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mianyan Huang are pleased to announce an investment of US$24 million by BCPG to accelerate growth of VRB Energy’s global energy storage business.

The investment by BCPG PLC (BCPG:Bangkok) – a Thailand-based developer and owner of renewable energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region, with 900 megawatts (MW) in operation and a pipeline of over 2,200MW, across Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia – will support rollout of VRB Energy’s Gen3 VRB-ESS® product, expanded manufacturing capacity, and vertical integration of vanadium processing to meet growing global demand.

“BCPG is a leader in Asia’s green energy revolution, and this investment reinforces our belief that VRB Energy’s game-changing technology will be a catalyst for integration of massive amounts of renewable energy around the region,” said Mr. Friedland.

“Countries around the world are now committed to net-zero carbon solutions, which will require vast capital investment over the next 25 years in energy storage. We’re extremely proud to be bringing forward vanadium-based batteries as a key solution for this global transformation,” added Mr. Friedland.

Developers and utilities are attracted to the low levelized cost of energy (LCOE) that VRB-ESS® deliver – with no cycle limits and no degradation of the vanadium electrolyte they are an ideal fit for the “heavy duty” daily cycling required for solar and wind integration to utility grids.

“In addition to welcoming BCPG as an investor, we are also working with them to add storage to their existing and planned projects to optimize system performance and enhance revenues, as well as to explore other business development opportunities with them in Thailand including localization of manufacturing,” noted Dr. Huang.

Mr. Bundit Sapianchai, BCPG CEO, commented: “We have been determined to strengthen our position as a leader in the green energy sector through investment in smart energy solutions, and VRB Energy’s long-duration batteries are a perfect fit to meet increasing demand for renewable energy, grid stability, and microgrid development.”

Mr. Pichai Chunhavajira, BCPG Chairman, will be appointed to the Board of Directors of VRB Energy upon the completion of the transaction.

Beyond the Asia-Pacific region, VRB Energy is in discussions with numerous developers and utilities in the U.S., Europe and South Africa for 100MW-class PV+VRB projects, and has noted an increasing demand for projects of 8-hours duration and longer.

https://www.miningmx.com/trending/46628-eskom-in-talks-with-lenders-to-raise-10bn-for-coal-fired-power-station-closures/

ESKOM, South Africa’s state-owned power utility, was in talks with lenders in an effort to raise $10bn it needs to shut its coal-fired power stations by 2050.

Bloomberg News cited the head of Eskom’s Just Energy Transition office, Mandy Rambharos, as saying the utility was in talks with development finance institutions.

The power plants may be re-purposed and the sites used to produce power from renewable energy or natural gas, Rambharos has previously said.

Reuters, which reported the amount earlier, said the site of Komati power plant may be used to produce solar energy, which would be coupled with battery storage.

South Africa is the world’s 12th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and Eskom accounts for two-fifths of its emissions, said Bloomberg News.

In May, Eskom said it had reduced its debt by nearly 20% after paying matured loans whilst also benefiting from a more favourable exchange rate. Debt fell to R401bn at the end of March from R488bn a year earlier.

Eskom had also achieved savings of R13.5bn over the financial year. For the current financial year, 15% tariff increase granted by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) would assist the company in reaching sustainability, it said.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/29/water-scarcity-why-some-of-the-worlds-biggest-companies-are-worried.html

In a research note published June 14, analysts at Barclays identified water scarcity as “the most important environmental concern” for the global consumer staples sector, which includes everything from food and beverages to agriculture and tobacco.
Sustainable investors, meanwhile, seem to be prioritizing other environmental concerns.
“Water scarcity is really important because when it runs out you have really serious problems and because of its low price, it is one of those classic externality risks,” Beth Burks, director of sustainable finance at S&P Global Ratings, told CNBC via telephone.

LONDON — Major companies from across a range of sectors are increasingly concerned about the cost and availability of the world’s ultimate renewable resource: water.

The availability and relatively low cost of water does not tend to capture much attention until it effectively runs out. Yet, with the climate crisis seen as a “risk multiplier” to water scarcity, analysts warn that even companies with relatively limited financial exposure to water risk should brace for disruption.

It comes at a time when water prices are rising around the world. The average price of water increased by 60% in the 30 largest U.S. cities between 2010 and 2019, according to data compiled by Barclays, while California Water Futures have regularly jumped as much as 300% in recent years.

In a research note published June 14, analysts at Barclays identified water scarcity as “the most important environmental concern” for the global consumer staples sector, which includes everything from food and beverages to agriculture and tobacco.

Consumer staples, which was said to be the most exposed of all sectors to water risk, faces a $200 billion impact from water scarcity, analysts at the U.K. bank said.

This came down to a strong reliance on agricultural commodities, an extreme vulnerability to water price fluctuation and operational risks — including disruption from extreme events such as droughts and flooding, and fines and lawsuits linked to pollution....

Additionally, Wiggington’s work with Stanford University has informed the methodology for the solid sampling procedure and analysis that they will conduct with these four communities in Michigan. Her work has shown that solid sampling can offer a more precise detection of COVID in wastewater.

Both projects are part of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and MDHHS’ COVID-19 wastewater coordinated surveillance network established in the fall of 2020 as a pilot project. The SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology – Wastewater Evaluation and Reporting Network will continue utilizing locally coordinated projects to conduct surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 virus shed into Michigan public sewer systems.

According to MDHHS, the pilot project included 3,204 wastewater sample tests between April and December with 62.5 percent of the samples being positive

https://record.umich.edu/articles/researchers-get-5-3m-to-expand-covid-19-wastewater-monitoring/

University of Michigan researchers surveying wastewater systems for SARS-COV-2 will be able to increase testing sites and continue monitoring until 2023 after receiving more than $5 million from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The funding, announced this week, is part of MDHHS’s $49 million to support 19 projects to continue COVID-19 wastewater surveillance and implement COVID-19 variant strain testing of wastewater.

The grants include $2.5 million for Krista Wigginton, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and Kevin Bakker, an assistant research scientist at U-M’s School of Public Health; and $2.7 million for Chuanwu Xi, a professor of environmental health sciences at the School of Public Health.

“This new grant will allow us to monitor more frequently and for an extended period of time the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, including a few variant strains, in sewage from several buildings off campus in addition to sites on campus that we have been monitoring,” Xi said. “Data collected will allow us to evaluate the situation of COVID-19 spread in the community and the effectiveness of vaccination and other public health interventions.

“Our data will be shared in a real-time fashion with our county and state health departments and the university COVID-19 response committees to assist the development of data-driven public health policies.”

Xi’s research team also includes Rick Neitzel, Tim Dvonch, Marisa Eisenberg, Peter Song and Al Franzblau, all professors at the School of Public Health. Xi said project partners included the U-M Environment, Health & Safety Department, the city of Ann Arbor and Hamburg Township. Xi’s team has focused on testing wastewater at the Ann Arbor campus and was instrumental in setting additional public health interventions last year with an initial support from the Provost’s Office and SPH Dean’s Office.

Wiggington said the grant will allow them to add three new members to her team and to expand their current work with the wastewater treatment systems in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to Jackson and Flint. It will also allow them to analyze daily, or near daily, influent and solid samples to monitor for the prevalence of COVID within these communities.

Data from the sample analysis will be shared to a statewide dashboard, but the team is also partnering with local health departments in Washtenaw, Geneessee and Jackson counties to inform their local responses to COVID.

“We’re excited to participate in this important project for the State of Michigan to continue fighting COVID-19,” Wiggington said. “Wastewater-based epidemiology has shown to be a valuable tool to inform public health officials of case levels and infection trends in a community.”

Behind a paywall so that's all can see, but makes for a nice headline.

https://www.africaintelligence.com/mining-sector_state-strategy/2021/06/25/johannesburg-gripped-by-vanadium-fever,109675671-art

With vanadium prices constantly breaking new records, miners of this mineral in which South Africa is rich are striving with the blessing of Pretoria to win back a market share that has been lost to China in recent years.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/deepverge-trials-identify-covid-19-in-wastewater-in-real-time-1.4602287

London-listed scientific research group DeepVerge said it had successfully completed trials to detect Covid-19 in wastewater treatment plants in real-time, providing another potential weapon in the fight against the global pandemic.

The group, which was founded by Irishman Gerry Brandon, said it had completed phase three field trials in which its water contamination system, Microtox PD, successfully detected in real-time Covid-19 in wastewater treatment plants at multiple sites. The system could act as an early warning system for outbreaks of the disease.

Mr Brandon said the success demonstrated Microtox PD’s capability and value in identifying dangerous pathogens in real-time. “By establishing a permanent anonymised mass surveillance of wastewater, DeepVerge claims a world first real-time defence against this global pandemic,” he said. “The installation of Microtox PD wastewater units will enable live data to simultaneously identify the source of Covid-19 cases as well as identify Covid-19 clusters with the ability to indicate the size of each cluster. As the data grows, the central AI system has the potential to predict the trajectory of growth of future clusters of Sars-CoV-2 or any future dangerous pathogen.”

DeepVerge’s environmental health division Modern Water has agreed a deal with EPS Group that could see Microtox PD units installed in multiple European countries. EPS Group is an Irish, privately owned wet infrastructure specialist, focused on water, wastewater and clean technology.

“Having achieved this major milestone, we are delighted to enter this agreement with EPS Group who complete the final step of installing, retrofitting and maintaining our Microtox PD equipment,” Mr Brandon said. “With this level of established technical engineering support and distribution, DeepVerge can now offer an end-to-end solution for public and private clients across the European wastewater sector.”

DeepVerge, which is headquartered in Cambridge, England, is listed on the AIM in London, and earlier this year agreed a major deal with China Resources Group to form a joint venture for the manufacture and sale of environmental monitoring equipment.

TNG partnered with the Singaporean-based battery technology developer in April with the intent to jointly develop a VRFB storage business initially targeting applications in remote regional sites in Australia. Under the agreement, TNG would provide the high-purity vanadium electrolyte from its Mount Peake project required to operate the batteries.

Negotiations between the parties on a formal joint venture arrangement are “well advanced”, according to TNG

https://smallcaps.com.au/tng-develop-vanadium-redox-flow-batteries-malaysian-green-energy-collaboration/

Resource and mineral processing technology company TNG Limited (ASX: TNG) has inked a deal to work with Malaysian green energy company AGV Energy & Technology to develop vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) and hydrogen technology.

According to a heads of agreement, the pair will collaborate on the proposed integration of VRFB with AGV Energy’s green hydrogen production technology, which it has been developing with a pilot project planned in Malaysia.

This green hydrogen technology, known as ‘HySustain’, is designed to produce green hydrogen and oxygen using the electrolysis of demineralised water and renewable energy. AGV Energy plans to use VRFB as its preferred energy storage system for HySustain at its Malaysian project.
In addition, the companies have agreed to explore formal collaboration opportunities for the commercialisation of HySustain in Australia, as well as other opportunities for the application of VRFB in Malaysia.

AGV Energy is a subsidiary of the Malaysia-based environment, sustainability and climate change consultancy AGV Group.
AGV Energy is planning a phased rollout of its scalable HySustain technology with the first commercial application planned at an advanced project in Malaysia.

As the production of green hydrogen relies on electricity wholly produced from renewable energy sources, AGV Energy intends to use purpose-built, project-specific solar farms to provide this green electricity.

The company considers VRFB as the preferred battery system for integration with HySustain as it offers large, scalable and long-life energy storage for solar power generation.

TNG managing director Paul Burton called the collaboration another key step in the company’s ongoing green energy strategy to reduce net carbon emissions, including future emissions from its flagship Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project in the Northern Territory.

“HySustain is a great opportunity to showcase an integrated VRFB storage solution.”

“We also intend to work with AGV Energy on the potential rollout of HySustain in Australia, given the significant momentum within Australia and the resources industry to move towards a hydrogen-based economy,” he added.

TNG and AGV Energy are now advancing discussions to formalise business planning and commercial arrangements for its collaboration.

AGV Energy claims it is also in talks with potential hydrogen offtake partners in the Asia Pacific region.
TNG said its new agreement with AGV Energy is an “excellent and complementary” opportunity for the planned VRFB product being developed and commercialised by TNG in joint venture with V-Flow Tech.

https://environmentjournal.online/articles/government-face-court-action-over-river-pollution/

WWF, the Angling Trust and Fish Legal have renewed their legal challenge over harmful pollution in England’s rivers.

The case, which was first brought to court in 2015, is based on the government’s failure to use ‘Water Protection Zones,’ a regulatory power available since 2009.

Despite targets to restore 75% of rivers to Good Ecological Status by 2027, only 14.6% of England’s rivers achieved this status in the latest assessment.

The legal challenge will focus on Defra and the Environment Agency’s failure to comply with a Consent Order, agreed in 2015, requiring action to gather evidence of pollution and plan to protect 37 key sites across England.

These sites are protected by law and are some of the most sensitive areas for nature in the country.

The government is expected to argue that the Consent Order ‘did not impose a legal obligation the Secretary of State to prepare to Diffuse Water Pollution Plans’ – the three organisations have said they will strongly contest this in court.

Kate Norgrove, executive director of advocacy and campaigns at WWF, said: ‘Rivers are lifelines for people and wildlife but year after year and despite promises from the government, England’s rivers are left in a dire state as a result of pollution, including from poor farming practices.

‘With nature in freefall, we cannot allow the UK government to keep shirking its responsibility when it comes to protecting these vital habitats. Ministers need to walk the talk when it comes to UK nature recovery – and that’s why we are back in court today.

‘With the right measures in place – including adequate funding, and a cast-iron target in the Environment Bill to halt the decline of species and to restore nature by 2030 – the government can, and must, accelerate progress towards restoring the health of England’s rivers. Success here will not only benefit nature but our economy too.’

Not sure what happened with that copy and paste...
Probably easier to just click the link.

https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/sea-swimming-and-water-quality-5460689-Jun2021/

THERE HAS BEEN an explosion of sea swimming in Ireland in recent times, and with that comes a demand for the best, up-to-date and detailed information about water quality.

Some 73% of the 148 beaches and lakes which are formally designated as swimming spots are deemed to be of an excellent standard under EU testing rules. Overall, 96% meet the minimum standards.

But there is a deeper and more detailed way to analyse the level of pollution, which is not only more revealing but also more concerning. We, a group of researchers at NUI Galway Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Ecology (ARME) group have done just that.

As well as that, in three pieces of research since 2017 we have reported the detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in swimming spots that are designated as of good or excellent quality.

Flawed testing

This raises the question as to whether the EU sanctioned testing regime is good enough. The sampling and analysis for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Bathing Water Quality Report are based on the EU Water Framework Directive. Those regulations require local authorities to carry out sampling and testing at least once a month between 1 June and 15 September.

THE42
NOTEWORTHY
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AUTHOR
Professor Dearbháile Morris & Dr Liam Burke
Opinion: Our water quality tests in Ireland are not good enough - the real picture is a lot worse
Professor Dearbháile Morris and Dr Liam Burke of NUI Galway say the EU-backed water pollution tests being used here do not give an accurate reading.

Image: Sam Boal
7 hours ago 16,272 11

Updated 7 hours ago

THERE HAS BEEN an explosion of sea swimming in Ireland in recent times, and with that comes a demand for the best, up-to-date and detailed information about water quality.

Some 73% of the 148 beaches and lakes which are formally designated as swimming spots are deemed to be of an excellent standard under EU testing rules. Overall, 96% meet the minimum standards.

But there is a deeper and more detailed way to analyse the level of pollution, which is not only more revealing but also more concerning. We, a group of researchers at NUI Galway Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Ecology (ARME) group have done just that.

For several years, our team has been taking 30 litre samples from swimming spots and beaches around Galway, Cork and north Dublin. Our fieldwork and lab analysis found organisms of public health concern in bathing waters – some of which are designated as of excellent quality.
As well as that, in three pieces of research since 2017 we have reported the detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in swimming spots that are designated as of good or excellent quality.

Flawed testing.

https://www.asktraders.com/analysis/bushveld-minerals-bmn-shares-are-down-22-9-in-2021-can-they-bounce-back/

Shares of Bushveld Minerals Limited (LON: BMN) are down 22.9% this year, with the latest decline fueled by the lower production figures reported in Q1 due to the 35-day maintenance shutdown Vametco plant.

On the bright side, the miner reported that it had completed the scheduled maintenance on time and within budget, demonstrating the fiscal prudence of its management team. However, investors paid more attention to the lower production figures.

Since January, the vanadium mining company’s shares have fallen significantly but have been trading sideways for the past few months as the bulls and bears fight to control the share price.

The markets seem to have discounted the fact that global demand for vanadium has risen significantly since last year and is projected to keep rising over the next few years, given the metal’s use in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs).

Bushveld Minerals shares have been falling despite its positive milestones, including its $7.5 million investment in Enerox GmbH, a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) manufacturer.

The company’s investment in the VRFB manufacturer is about to pay off significantly after the South African government raised the threshold for companies to produce and store their power without a license up to 100MW from the previous 1MW limit.

Most South African businesses cheered the government’s policy shift given that it will allow more companies to quickly generate their electricity plugging the country’s massive electricity deficit.

Bushveld Minerals is set to benefit from the new policy given its investment in VFRB manufacturers, whose batteries shall be used to store the electricity generated by private businesses.

I’m still long-term bullish on the company, and the sideways trading is quite frustrating. Still, the company’s fundamentals remain solid, which bodes well for its investors over the long term. In addition, BMN shares are currently trading at support and could rally higher if the level holds.

Largo said on Battery Day that it too will offer a leasing model, again to lower capital cost of storage for the customer but also to increase the long-term revenue stream available — unlike in steel production where the vanadium is simply sold for one time revenues and earnings. In the meantime it will build up an asset portfolio of vanadium electrolyte, while it will also sell VRFB systems directly to customers.

The company revealed that from mining and selling vanadium which costs it about US$3.50 per lb, it makes a US$4.25 margin for that US$7.75 sale. Under its energy storage business model however, the company expects to be able to command US$5.05 upfront revenue, plus US$4.97 per lb net present value from leasing, while the pound of vanadium retains a net present value of US$2.36 to Largo. Added together, that gives the US$12.39 figure, which minus the same US$3.50 cost of vanadium is a US$8.89 margin.