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https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3871282/Latest-news/GLOBAL-VANADIUM-WRAP-Sharp-ferro-vanadium-price-falls-in-Europe-halt-Chinese-export-market-stabilizes.html

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-ironore/chinas-iron-ore-climbs-on-firm-demand-heads-for-5th-monthly-rise-idINL3N22C0DM Restocking demand boosts iron ore, steel prices * Dalian iron ore up around 12 pct so far in April * Rebar up nearly 11 pct in April, best month in 9 MANILA, April 30 (Reuters) - China’s iron ore futures rose on Tuesday and were on track to post their fifth straight monthly gain, while construction steel headed for its best month since July 2018, buoyed by hopes that demand will remain firm after the Labour Day holidays. Falling steel inventories with mills and traders prompted a restocking ahead of a five-day weekend, helping prop up prices. The market will be closed from Wednesday and reopen on Monday, May 6. The most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange rose as much as 1.7 percent to 636.5 yuan ($94.51) a tonne, its highest in more than a week. The steelmaking feedstock was poised to end April with a monthly gain of around 12 percent, largely supported by a supply shock following a deadly mine tailings dam disaster and subsequent mine closures in Brazil in the first quarter. Iron ore prices had been further boosted in recent weeks with steelmakers ramping up their production after winter output restrictions were eased. “Ahead of the long holiday in China there are currently some restocking efforts,” said Richard Lu, analyst at CRU consultancy in Beijing. “Inventories continue to decline across the entire supply chain, indicating that steel demand remains quite good.” The most-active rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed as much as 1.9 percent to 3,833 yuan a tonne, the highest in two weeks. The construction steel has risen nearly 11 percent in April, its best month in nine. “Seasonal demand improvement will continue to support steel prices,” Lu said. “Construction activities typically pick up in May and June when the weather is usually favourable. Hot rolled coil, semi-finished steel used in cars and home appliances, rose as much as 2.7 percent to 3,798 yuan a tonne.

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/04/the-dirty-truth-about-green-batteries/ For some technologies, like solar PV, there’s an opportunity to reduce the use of rare metals through increased efficiency, according to the University of Sydney report. And Church said that for large, stationary batteries that store energy from wind and solar farms, we might be able to swap lithium-ion for a different emerging technology, so-called vanadium flow batteries which, in a delightfully nerdy blog post, she suggested might be the “Valyrian steel” of rechargeable battery tech. And the blog post link https://www.iisd.org/blog/vanadium-valyrian-steel-energy-transition In the real world, its equivalent just might be vanadium. This silvery-grey metal was once used to construct some of the most celebrated blades in the world, including the Damascus Sword, on which George R.R. Martin based Valyrian steel. The swords were known to be so sharp that they could cut a “floating feather in half.” And while swords are no longer the metal’s primary end-product, vanadium’s use in rechargeable batteries could position it for international reverence once more

http://3g.cnfol.com/auto/cheshidongtai/20190429/27444212.shtml Nanoflowcell flow battery test mileage of 350,000 kilometers is almost maintenance-free Gasgoo hearing, according to foreign media reports, the Swiss experimental car manufacturers Nanoflowcell announced that its prototype test car Quantino 48V, in any case requires little maintenance and has achieved 350,000 km mileage. In addition, the car's mysterious power conversion device can be mass produced at low cost.  Since getting approval on the road in 2016, Quantino48V has been conducting a real endurance test, which has already traveled 200,000 kilometers on the road and is still in the laboratory at 150,000 kilometers. There was no problem with the powertrain during the entire test. During the driving process, Quantino's electrolyte pump, the battery itself or any drive system did not malfunction. The company said it will update its technology further later this year.  These vehicles use a flow battery that contains unspecified active chemical components. It is said that this battery is safer and has better "environmental compatibility" than a fuel cell or a conventional lithium battery. The Quantino test car uses a 48 volt power system. During the test, with performance improvements, the average energy consumption was only 8 to 10 kWh per 100 kilometers.  The flow battery works like a fuel cell, and the material in the external cell passes through the fixed electrode under the action of the pump. Unlike fuel cells, this process is reversible and can use a variety of reactive chemicals such as sodium, sulfur or air in the electrolyte. Since the solid electrode does not chemically change with charge and discharge, the electrode is cheaper and the battery life is longer. Unlike current electric vehicles, it requires at least two pumps to deliver liquid.  Currently popular flow batteries include: lithium sulfur batteries, sulfur oxide batteries, hydrogen bromide batteries, iron chromium batteries, zinc bromide batteries and vanadium batteries. Flow batteries are not yet widely used in automobiles because they require a large amount of batteries to generate enough energy. But it has been used more successfully on large fixed facilities. The company also said that the production cost of nanoFlowcell is about $672, far lower than the battery that sells for thousands of dollars. But there is no specific description of whether this is for a single battery or an entire battery pack. This flow battery is recharged by adding a non-toxic, non-flammable and environmentally compatible electrolyte liquid (called Bi-Ion) that can be supplied through a conventional gas station. Mass-produced Bi-Ion electrolyte fluids are estimated to cost less than 10 Euro cents per liter. The battery life is at least 50,000 hours, equivalent to 1.8 million kilometers of electric vehicles.

https://youtu.be/Kf4WwL-VNac

https://www.smart-energy.com/renewable-energy/last-second-move-by-sce-gas-plant-scrapped-for-storage-renewables/ What was considered to be a done deal instead looks like a testament to the transition to renewable energy. Southern California Edison (SCE) has about-turned on its plans to procure a new 262-megawatt (MW) natural gas peaker plant to supply power to the coastal city of Oxnard, and has opted for a roster of energy storage projects around the city. The outcome has seen power producer NRG’s proposed gas plant cancelled before the final round of approvals. If regulators approve the move, Strata Solar will build and own a new 100MW/400MWh system in the city. The new system is set to tie for the position as the largest lithium-ion battery in the world, and is expected to come online in December 2020. It’s counterpart in size is the AES Alamitos plant, which is expected to be operational at around the same time. SCE plans to complement the project with a range of smaller 10MW to 40MW units in the immediate area. Developers for these sites include E.ON, Enel, Able Grid, Ormat, Alta Gas, and Swell - the latter aggregates fleets of home batteries into grid assets, and has won a 14MW contract to provide behind-the-meter demand response. Activists and others opposed the gas plant, which was viewed as an unnecessary blight on the California coastline, and has been seen as a win for clean energy providers. "The big takeaway is the power of community opposition," said Earthjustice attorney Matt Vespa. "Puente was viewed as a done deal... It was going to be on the beach, and now we have clean energy investment in that community instead of a gas plant

What was considered to be a done deal instead looks like a testament to the transition to renewable energy. Southern California Edison (SCE) has about-turned on its plans to procure a new 262-megawatt (MW) natural gas peaker plant to supply power to the coastal city of Oxnard, and has opted for a roster of energy storage projects around the city. The outcome has seen power producer NRG’s proposed gas plant cancelled before the final round of approvals. If regulators approve the move, Strata Solar will build and own a new 100MW/400MWh system in the city. The new system is set to tie for the position as the largest lithium-ion battery in the world, and is expected to come online in December 2020. It’s counterpart in size is the AES Alamitos plant, which is expected to be operational at around the same time. SCE plans to complement the project with a range of smaller 10MW to 40MW units in the immediate area. Developers for these sites include E.ON, Enel, Able Grid, Ormat, Alta Gas, and Swell - the latter aggregates fleets of home batteries into grid assets, and has won a 14MW contract to provide behind-the-meter demand response. Activists and others opposed the gas plant, which was viewed as an unnecessary blight on the California coastline, and has been seen as a win for clean energy providers. "The big takeaway is the power of community opposition," said Earthjustice attorney Matt Vespa. "Puente was viewed as a done deal... It was going to be on the beach, and now we have clean energy investment in that community instead of a gas plant

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/how-a-key-energy-technology-can-help-developing-countries/ “The global energy storage (excluding pumped hydro) market is forecast to attract over $600 billion in investment over the next 20 years. Bloomberg New Energy Finance sees the market for both utility scale and “behind-the-meter” (on-site at businesses, industrial facilities, and homes) growing exponentially to reach about 7 percent of total installed capacity by 2040. This battery revolution is happening all over the world, and its rapid growth is due to both falling prices, and the many benefits to the electricity system, ranging from helping shift demand to enabling the integration of solar power to improving reliability.” “The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its World Energy Outlook 2018, included for the first time the contribution of batteries to flexibility of power systems. By 2040 the IEA foresees a hundredfold increase in grid-connected battery additions compared to today.“ “In South Africa, the national utility Eskom is focused on developing battery storage capacity (the largest in the region) that will be used to enable the integration of current and future variable renewable energy capacity. The Gambia and the Central African Republic are looking to battery storage to help stabilize their fragile grids.“

For anyone interested in charts/graphs, these show the contribution of renewables during Q1 loadshedding https://www.csir.co.za/sites/default/files/Documents/Renewable%20Energy_Q1_2019.pdf

Interesting https://microgridknowledge.com/energy-storage-reverse-auctions/ “In a traditional auction, the seller does business with the highest bidder. But in a reverse auction, the buyer will go with the low-cost bidder. And that model has had success in the energy storage market. “Reverse auctions offer a transparent and cost effective approach for procuring goods and services,” says Maureen Lackner, a policy analyst with the Environmental Defense Fund, in an interview. “These features have made it a popular tool applied to a diverse set of needs, including fulfilling road salt contracts in Pennsylvania and purchasing ethyl alcohol for University of California research centers.” She adds: “With regards to renewable energy, reverse auctions have also gained traction. It is expected that nearly half of global renewable energy capacity between 2017-22 will come from competitive auctions.”

https://www.miningglobal.com/company/how-largo-resources-mining-worlds-best-vanadium-cheaply-efficiently-and-sustainably#

https://www.thechestnutpost.com/news/cellcube-immersa-and-hive-energy-building-green-peaker-plants/ TORONTO, April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — CELLCUBE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS INC. (“CellCube” or the “Company”) (CSE: CUBE) (OTCQB: CECBF) (Frankfurt 01X, WKN A2JMGP) is pleased to announce Hive Energy, Immersa Ltd. and CellCube have formed a consortium to jointly build and develop Solar & Storage projects at a grid scale level to offer green peaking power and reserve power capacity. HICC Energy Ltd. (“HICC”) was founded April 17, 2019 by Hive Energy to bring their joint portfolio of projects to market. HICC will be a special vehicle for development projects and financed through third party project financing or by grants offered for renewable projects. The products and services will be purchased from the partner companies and any additional terms will be determined on a per project basis. Recently the UK made announcements on derating solar and short duration storage which has created opportunities for long duration batteries. Hive Energy, Immersa Ltd. and CellCube have identified a combined long duration storage with solar to be the most competitive and commercially attractive solution under current UK regulation. While Hive Energy builds large solar plants at their own grid connected sites, Immersa Ltd. will deploy the new generation of CellCube’s long duration Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries allowing for flexible availability of stored energy across multiple hours throughout the day.

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-ironore/chinese-steel-iron-ore-futures-dip-on-demand-concerns-idINL3N2260I6 BEIJING, April 24 (Reuters) - Chinese steel and iron ore futures fell on Wednesday, pressured by concerns over weak demand in the country’s south where the rainy season is about to kick off. The most-active construction steel rebar contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 1 percent to 3,741 yuan ($556.53) a tonne as of 0206 GMT. Hot-rolled coil, a manufacturing-grade steel product, slid 0.7 percent to 3,686 yuan a tonne. “Trading on the spot market is getting tepid ... with increasing rainfall in southern China, demand from downstream sectors is starting to show signs of weakening,” said analysts from CITIC Futures in a note in Mandarin. Construction activity in southern regions typically slows down from May due to continuous rains and high temperatures. Analysts also warned of rising output in the coming weeks amid easier production restrictions in the top steelmaking city of Tangshan, which could add to downward pressure on prices. The market expects tighter restrictions from next month. Utilisation rates at steel mills in China reached 70.03 percent last week as of April 19, the highest level since July 20, 2018, data compiled by Mysteel consultancy showed. Prices of the most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange also fell on Wednesday, slipping 0.5 percent to 626 yuan a tonne. Steel mills in Tangshan are still under a temporary second-level smog alert, which requires at least a 40 percent operational restriction on sintering machines. The alert is due to be lifted on Thursday. Coking coal prices rose 0.6 percent to 1,345 yuan a tonne, buoyed by concerns over tight supply in the coal-mining heartland of Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, where local authorities are carrying out safety inspections at coal mines. The coke contract for September delivery edged up 0.2 percent to 2,044 yuan a tonne. $1 = 6.7220 Chinese yuan renminbi Reporting by Muyu Xu and Shivani Singh; editing by Richard Pullin Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://stockhead.com.au/resources/high-voltage-lithium-ion-is-on-fire-literally/ For vanadium prices, lower is better Vanadium prices have also plunged this year – but that isn’t such a bad thing, according to Mastermines boss David Gillam. Most investors believe higher prices are better. What they don’t understand is that these higher prices prompt Chinese end users to substitute or bring on more domestic supply. Gillam says that panic absolutely appears to be gone now as vanadium prices stabilise – and stability is crucial for the vanadium market. “The best thing for vanadium is that we find the ground somewhere between $US10 to $US13 a pound and get some stability there,” he says. “We see that as being very good for new entrants.”

...ESA said that the aim is “to develop best practices for potential operational hazard prevention, end-of-life recycling and responsible supply-chain practices,” with the initiative launched at the association’s annual conference in the US last week. Regarding the incident in Arizona on Friday, Energy-Storage.news has reached out for comment to the ESA and to technology provider Fluence – which has taken over operation of parent company AES’ legacy energy storage projects including those at McMicken. In recent communications, various analysts have told this site that they expect fire safety and safety, in general, to be consistently discussed by industry this year with a view to ensuring best practices, as the energy storage market and in particular the market for lithium-ion batteries continues to grow.

https://www.energy-storage.news/news/arizona-firefighters-injuries-keep-safety-top-of-storage-agenda A fire at a large-scale battery energy storage project late last week left four firefighters injured in Arizona, with two reported to be seriously injured, in an incident now under investigation. On Friday 19 April, firefighters were called to a fire at utility Arizona Public Service’s (APS) energy storage facility in Surprise, West Valley, Arizona. The fire had been reported at around 6pm. The utility tweeted shortly afterwards, at 12:06am the following morning, that there had been an equipment failure at the facility. APS said the incident is under investigation. While initial reports stated eight firefighters had been injured responding to the fire, it was later clarified that four had been examined for potential chemical inhalation injuries but were discharged. The local fire and medical service of Peoria, where some of the firefighters came from, named the firefighters with brief details of their status late at night on the following day, 21 April: Captain Hunter Clare: Severely injured-Stable Engineer Justin Lopez: Most Severely injured-stable Firefighter Matt Cottini: Injured-Stable Firefighter Jake Ciulla: Injured-stable-discharged One local report followed up today on the mens’ progress. According to a doctor quoted by press, some of the men’s injuries are “complex” in nature given that they are in some cases a combination of chemical burns, trauma and thermal injuries. The incident occurred at two twinned energy storage systems of 2MW / 2MWh at McMicken substation. The systems were deployed in 2017 to “learn how to better integrate the growing amount of intermittent renewable energy resources into the system, especially private (rooftop) solar”, according to APS. Energy-Storage.news reported that AES’ Advancion energy storage systems were being deployed as part of APS’ ongoing ‘Solar Partner Program’, which evaluates the possibilities for integrating a high penetration of PV on the grid. By coincidence, a day prior to the explosion, Energy-Storage.news received a communication from the US Energy Storage Association stating that several big companies in the energy and technology world have joined a new taskforce on safety and best practices for manufacturing and operating energy storage systems. ESA said that a total of 30 companies including LG Chem Power, Panasonic, GE Energy Storage and Duke Energy have all signed up along with a host of other names. The pledge signed emphasised the companies’ “commitment to the well-being and safety of consumers”. ESA said that the aim is “to develop best practices for potential operational hazard prevention, end-of-life recycling and responsible supply-chain practices,” with the initiative launched at the association’s annual conference in the US last week. Re

https://www.mysteel.net/article/5006665-0503/Chinese-rebar-prices-seen-staying-high-till-end-April.html The domestic price for HRB 400 20mm rebar across China reached a five-month new high on Monday of Yuan 4,260/tonne ($635.8/t). Monday’s performance contrasted with last week where the rebar price merely hovered, and led market watchers to predict such strong price momentum will continue for the remainder of this month, thanks to sound downstream demand for longs. As of Monday, the national sales volume of long steel products – chiefly rebar, wire rod and bar-in-coil – at the 237 steel traders Mysteel regularly monitors across the country was lower by nearly 10% from last Friday. Nonetheless, the daily volume was above the 200,000 tonne/day threshold at 214,997

https://www.juniorminingnetwork.com/junior-miner-news/press-releases/663-tsx/lgo/60967-largo-resources-issues-update-on-anticipated-financial-results-in-q1-2019.html TSX: LGO www.largoresources.com Mr. Mark Smith reports: TORONTO, April 22, 2019 /CNW/ - Largo Resources Ltd. ("Largo" or the "Company") (TSX: LGO) (OTCQX: LGORF) announces that its Q1 2019 financial results will be significantly impacted by the decline in the price of vanadium pentoxide ("V2O5") since the start of 2019 and the impact of the remeasurement of trade receivables under the Glencore off-take agreement during the quarter, as previously discussed in its fourth quarter and full year 2018 production results press release on March 26, 2019 and in the Company's annual filings. Under the terms of the Company's off-take agreement, vanadium prices are provisionally set at the time revenue is recognized based upon market V2O5 prices. Revenue, and a trade receivable, is recognized at the time of shipment. Changes in the measurement of the trade receivable, which is remeasured once the date that final selling prices will be determined has been set by the Company's off-take partner, Glencore International AG, are also recognized as a component of revenues in the period in which the final price is determined. Variations can occur between the price recorded on the date of revenue recognition and the actual final price under the terms of the contract due to changes in market V2O5 prices. The Company anticipates that the remeasurement adjustment will range from CDN$55 million to CDN$60 million. Consequently, the Company anticipates that its net income (loss) for the quarter will be in approximately breakeven range. The Company will release its first quarter 2019 financial results on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 after the close of market trading and will host a conference call the following day on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. EST.

https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3870161/GLOBAL-TUNGSTEN-WRAP-Concentrate-APT-prices-in-China-inch-down-again-European-market-awaits-further.html

https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-ironore/update-1-chinese-steel-iron-ore-rise-after-beijing-says-to-keep-supporting-economy-idINL3N2241B9 * China to keep econ support despite better-than-expected growth * Tangshan issued second level smog alert for April 20-25 * Market expects Tangshan to tighten production curbs (Updates with closing prices) BEIJING, April 22 (Reuters) - China’s steel and iron ore futures rose on Monday after last week recording their worst weekly performance in several months, buoyed after Beijing said it would maintain policy support for the economy. A top decision-making body of the Communist Party on Friday said that support would come as China’s economy still faces “downward pressure” and difficulties despite better-than-expected first quarter growth The world’s second-largest economy last week reported first quarter growth at 6.4 percent as industrial production jumped sharply and consumer demand showed signs of improvement. More economic stimulus policies are widely expected. Benchmark Shanghai rebar prices rose 2.9 percent shortly after the market opened. They settled up 1.6 percent at 3,773 yuan ($562.08) a tonne. The jump in steel prices was also driven by concerns over tight supply as the top steel-making city of Tangshan issued a second-level smog alert, effective from April 20 to April 25. Steel mills in the Chinese city were ordered to halve their shaft furnace operations and halt sintering machines by at least 40 percent or even shut down, based on their emission levels, during the alert. Meanwhile, analysts generally expect Tangshan to tighten its anti-smog measures in the coming months, which could curb supplies in the market. “If Tangshan strictly implements production restrictions in May, we would see steel supply falling more sharply than demand,” Gu Meng, analyst from Orient Futures, said in a note. “With increasing steel prices and therefore profit-margins at mills, prices of steel-making raw ingredients will also go up despite decreasing demand,” the analyst added. The most-traded iron ore contract on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, for September delivery, climbed 1.3 percent to 627 yuan a tonne. Coking coal prices advanced 0.6 percent to 1,330.5 yuan a tonne, while coke futures was little changed at 2,033.5 yuan. ($1 = 6.7126 Chinese yuan renminbi)