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https://www.energy-storage.news/blogs/us-solar-storage-projects-that-decarbonise-save-energy-costs-from-ameresco

A few years ago, any project with over half a megawatt of battery storage was rare and significant enough to be immediately worthy of consideration for coverage on Energy-Storage.news. Not long after that, about five or six years ago, there would comfortably be two or maybe three projects a week from around the world that exceeded the megawatt mark and one or two that might exceed 10MW.

Well, unquestionably a new era is upon us, where projects in the tens of megawatts and megawatt-hours are no longer a rarity and the world’s largest operational battery storage systems run into the hundreds of megawatts of power and even exceed the thousand megawatt-hour mark for energy capacity in some cases.

In the US, which has for some time now been the biggest global market for battery storage, we focus increasingly on these large-scale projects, many at utility-scale and front-of-the-meter, and many of them pairing batteries with renewables — more typically solar PV than wind or other generation types. Nowhere is this more true than in California, where many of those largest projects in the world, both standalone energy storage and solar-plus-storage, are located.

But it’s important to remember that the smaller projects are not necessarily lesser projects: often they can provide targeted value to behind-the-meter customers where their economic value can immediately be quantified, not to mention the value of resilience they offer. Here are three interesting new behind-the-meter California projects using solar and storage storage we’ve learned about in the past few days that combine technologies and applications to maximise the benefits of battery storage and solar...

Ameresco helps army training centre to meet net zero objective by 2022...

ENGIE North America saves non-profit group US$65 million with solar, storage and EV chargers...

Invinity wins latest California flow battery project at US Marine Corps Base...

Just got halfway through typing the same thing Stu, lol. When's he coming back lol.

Enter Stony Brook University’s Clean Energy Business Incubator Program, the university’s tech-heavy “incubator without walls.” StorEn, a multiyear CEBIP client, might have gone off the rails during the global health crisis, according to Brovero, if not for the program’s steady hand.

“CEBIP helped us keep up our research work throughout (the pandemic),” he said. “Our access to [Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center] laboratories and facilities continued as before, and we have been able to keep our payroll and cost-structure very tight.”

Bolstered by the SBU programs, StorEn has made significant progress through the teeth of the pandemic, particularly over the last six months. Among other things, Australian project partner Multicom Resources has received a federal government qualification that allows it to access a government fund for projects “with strategic significance for Australia,” Brovero noted.

Meanwhile, the Stony Brook-based company recently closed a sale with the University of Calgary in Canada, where a cutting-edge battery-storage laboratory will put the vanadium-flow tech through its paces.

The University of Calgary battery is slated to be delivered in June, with funding from the Canadian federal government’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development division pending. StorEn is also exploring a possible deal with a Brazilian university, according to Brovero, and may have identified its next international destination: Africa.

After attending 2020’s Power Africa Summit (in Miami) and the virtual Africa Mini-Grids Summit this past February, company officials are convinced that tremendous opportunity awaits on a continent where an estimated 600 million people live without basic electricity services.

“There are a lot of communities in Africa, hundreds of millions of people, that do not have access to an electrical grid,” Brovero noted. “Building a grid is not an option, because they are such remote locations, and sparsely populated – so the electrification of Africa has to be through solar, plus batteries.

“This serves a true social purpose,” he added. “Not only selling batteries, but really contributing to the social and economic development of these communities.”

https://www.innovateli.com/around-the-world-with-storen-riding-a-vanadium-flow/

StorEn Technologies is speeding toward commercialization of its vanadium-flow battery tech, conceived and created by a team of immigrant scientists: CEO Carlo Brovero, CTO Angelo D’Anzi, Senior Engineers Gianluca Piraccini and Maurizio Tappi and advisor Gabriele Colombo are all Italian nationals who pursued their vanadium-flow dreams to America.

A big step in the commercialization process is a big-time demonstration in the Land Down Under. Two years ago, the 2017 startup announced plans for a government-sponsored welcoming ceremony at the Queensland University of Technology, followed by factory-based production of StorEn’s proprietary batteries – but the global coronavirus pandemic threw a monkey in the wrench.

Flash forward two years, and the ceremonious welcome and the full-on production remain on COVID-induced hold. But StorEn’s breakthrough battery – delivered to Queensland University on-schedule and ready in January 2020 – has been doing what it’s built to do, impressing observers in a rigorous shakedown at the Queensborough-based National Battery Testing Centre.

Brovero, who noted the battery “[sat] in a crate at the university for months” due to the pandemic, said the device – which uses vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store chemical potential energy – is now meeting and exceeding expectations in its high-profile trial run, which marks the first vanadium-flow exercise anywhere in Australia.

The testing phase is scheduled to wrap up in the coming weeks. And it’s no accident that it’s happening in Australia, according to Brovero, who noted a fresh Aussie focus on technology exports.

“The whole idea is that Australia is trying to move away from exporting minerals and get into exporting technology with their minerals inside,” the CEO said. “They’re trying to export the value-added products.”

“Value-added” could be StorEn Technologies’ middle name. Batteries leveraging vanadium-flow technology have existed for a while and are used extensively by major industry – but those batteries are too big for smaller industrial uses, and way too big for residential applications.

Intent on introducing the tech to a variety of new markets, Brovero et al are working to incorporate state-of-the-art nanotechnologies and develop prototypes better suited to smaller-load end users, including residential uses.

Their work has continued unabated throughout the pandemic – a bit of serendipity for the four-year-old startup, according to Brovero, who said his company found itself in the right place during this very wrong time.

“We have been lucky, in a way,” he noted. “We’re still working on engineering and development, and we’re not heavy into manufacturing yet.”

From 2016;
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/124350/bushveld-minerals-makes-the-move-into-energy-storage-124350.html

Mine developer Bushveld Minerals Limited (LON:BMN) has taken a major step to becoming an energy storage business.

For the owner of vanadium, titanium and iron ore assets in South Africa, has signed an outline deal called a memorandum of understanding with an American firm UniEnergy Technologies (UET).

UET builds energy storage facilities that have at their core a new technology called vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB).

The AIM-listed mine developer, meanwhile, launched its Bushveld Energy subsidiary to “promote the role of vanadium in the growing global energy storage market through application in vanadium redox flow batteries”.

Bushveld chief executive Fortune Mojapelo said: “The memorandum of understanding with UET is a significant step in Bushveld Energy's development, providing a platform for collaboration with a credible technology partner that not only has a strong track record in the technology development of VRFBs but is also a commercial manufacturer of quality VRFB systems.

“This achievement also underscores the opportunity for South Africa to beneficiate its mineral resources further and as a result develop new industrial opportunities. It is just the first step in Bushveld Energy's efforts to promote the role of vanadium in the growing energy storage market through smart partnerships and innovative business models.”

The patchy power infrastructure in Africa means the continent is ripe for an energy storage solution such as VRFB, particularly with the rise of the renewable sector, the Bushveld boss added.

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/roseworthy-solar-storage-mb2008/

The University of Adelaide officially opened a $7 million solar and energy storage project at its Roseworthy campus last week.

Located 50 kilometres north of its Adelaide CBD campus and 7 kilometres west of Roseworthy, the campus is located on a 1,600 hectare property and is the major centre for animal and veterinary science research in South Australia.

The biggest PV facility for the University to date, work on the Roseworthy Solar and Energy Storage Project commenced in August 2019 and was partly funded by a $778,500 grant from the South Australian Government’s $150M Renewable Technology Fund.

The project incorporated:

A 1.2MW solar farm consisting of 3,200 solar panels.
Campus internal power network upgrade – from low-voltage to high-voltage support.
Integration of digital twin microgrid infrastructure.
420kW/1200kWh of battery storage, made up of Tesla Powerpack lithium-ion and UniEnergy Technologies (UET) vanadium flow batteries.

While officially opened last Thursday, the project has been operational since late April. On its first full day of operation, solar energy offset nearly 90% of the Roseworthy campus’s electrical load – but this occurred during mid-semester break. The system is expected to generate an average of 42% of the campus’s energy needs.

There’s a lot to power at Roseworthy – including animal hospitals, teaching labs, lecture theatres and offices, research facilities and student housing. A generation forecast wasn’t provided, but at a rough estimate a 1.2MW PV system installed in Roseworthy could crank around 5,130 kilowatt-hours a day; or 1,873,125 kilowatt-hours annually.

A “Living Laboratory”
In addition to supporting the goals of the University’s Campus Sustainability Plan, there will also be a wide range of research opportunities associated with the project.

Among them is observing how the two battery technologies perform in very hot conditions. It’s the perfect spot to do so as it can get rather toasty at Roseworthy during the summer months – on January 24 2019, the temperature reached 48.3°C. Tesla says its Powerpack (and also Powerwall) battery system is designed to withstand operating ambient temperatures up to 50°C.

Other research opportunities include energy management, grid segregation, low-cost fault detection systems, system resilience and cybersecurity. Professor Wayne Hein, Dean of the Roseworthy campus, said different aspects of the project could be incorporated into many courses – everything from engineering and space through to environmental science.

https://mg.co.za/business/2021-05-23-sa-needs-to-gear-up-for-clean-energy/

The demand for minerals needed for clean energy technology has increased, as countries worldwide shift towards low-carbon energy. Blessed with an abundance of raw materials that have been at the centre of global industrialisation, South African geologists will have to dust off their boots and find these minerals.

Michael Cronwright, principal battery metals consultant for CSA Global, an international mining consultancy, said that the country needs to think creatively about how to achieve the renewable goals with the minerals it doesn’t have and look at what is does have, for example platinum and vanadium which can be used in hydrogen fuel cells and vanadium redox flow batteries....

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/05/21/pairing-a-battery-with-solar-could-cut-its-overall-value-berkeley-lab-report-says/

New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looks at where to locate battery energy storage to provide the highest value.

The study finds that adding four-hour-duration batteries sized to 50% of the capacity of a solar or wind project raises the value by $3–$22/MWh depending on the year and region, with an average value of $10/MWh. The highest boost was found in California ($15/MWh), where the value of adding storage to solar rises in tandem with increased solar penetration.

The study said an even higher value comes from siting the same batteries separately, in a nearby high-value location.

It said this strategy results in higher value than co-located projects in nearly all markets and years. Values ranged from $2–$50/MWh, with an average value boost of $12.50/MWh. The highest values were found in constrained regions, like New York’s Long Island. Lower values occurred in Texas in certain years of the study period.
Reducing the “value penalty”
The report said that the “value penalty” of co-located projects can be reduced through a number of strategies, including recharging batteries from the grid during low-price hours, or sizing the interconnection capacity so both the generator and the battery can deliver power to the grid at the same time.

Separating generation from storage usually delivers higher value, but it may also lead to higher costs, the report said. That’s because a project developer will need multiple sites and grid interconnections, and may lose construction cost savings. A rough estimate found about $15/MWh in cost savings could be realized from using a single location.

The report said that a big part of the savings stems from the federal tax credit for renewable energy production that can also be applied to batteries, so long as the batteries are directly charged by the renewable generator. The tax credit, worth as much as $10/MWh, can tip the scale toward co-location, making coupled projects more attractive to a developer than separate locations.

The report said that at the end of 2020, 34% of solar and 6% of wind capacity were being developed in the U.S. with co-located batteries. In the West, 70%–90% of proposed solar is paired with storage, including almost all grid-scale solar projects in California. Almost two-thirds of all grid-connected batteries in California are part of hybrid solar + storage systems, rather than in potentially higher-value locations. In other regions, the share is typically less than 40%.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210520005350/en/Largo-Resources-to-Host-its-Battery-Day-on-June-9-2021

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Largo Resources Ltd. ("Largo" or the "Company") (TSX: LGO) (NASDAQ: LGO) is pleased to announce that it will host a virtual Battery Day webcast on Wednesday, June 9, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

The event will highlight Largo’s sizable growth opportunity in the long-duration battery market, our comprehensive development strategy and showcase the key technological advantages of our VCHARGE± battery system as we position ourselves towards a sustainable future.

Paulo Misk, Largo’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated: “Through our unique vertical vanadium integration, Largo has a powerful opportunity to provide potential customers with a competitive and commercial solution to the growing need for long-duration energy storage with its vanadium redox flow battery system. Largo has developed a truly disruptive business model that we believe will create a competitive moat around our business.” He continued: “The need to accelerate the transition to clean energy integration is one of the top global priorities, and Largo intends on being a leader in advancing this mission through the deployment of its safe and sustainable VCHARGE± battery system. Importantly, we also believe this crucial transformation will create long-term shareholder value at Largo. We look forward to showcasing our competitive strategy during this event and encourage everyone interested to register in advance.”

Key non-executive directors and management from Largo will present a complete overview of the business opportunity during a presentation and Q&A session. The agenda for the event is listed below:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/may/20/dogs-can-better-detect-covid-in-humans-than-lateral-flow-tests-finds-study

Dogs are better at detecting Covid-19 in humans than many fast lateral flow tests (LFTs), according to a French study which could see canines more widely deployed for mass virus screening in crowded places including airports.

The trial, conducted in March and April by France’s national veterinary school and the clinical research unit of Paris’s Necker-Cochin hospital, showed dogs were able to detect the presence of the virus with 97% accuracy.

The dogs were also 91% correct in identifying negative samples, the study showed. A recent review of 64 studies found LFTs correctly identify on average 72% of people infected with the virus who have symptoms, and 58% who do not.

“These results are scientific confirmation of dogs’ capacity to detect the olfactory signature of Covid-19,” the Paris hospital board said, adding that the study – which is due to be published in a scientific review – was the first of its kind.

“These are excellent results, comparable with those of a PCR test,” Prof Jean-Marc Tréluyer told Agence-France Presse. Tréluyer said dogs would not replace polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are significantly more reliable than LFT tests.

But, he said, “they could help identify those people who should undergo a full viral test and – because the dogs’ response is so quick – facilitate mass testing” in places such as airports, train stations and concert venues.

In the French study, researchers collected samples – cotton pads pressed for two minutes under participants’ armpits – from 335 people aged between six and 76 who presented themselves for a PCR test at testing centres in Paris.

The pads were then sealed in jars and given to at least two of the nine dogs used in the trial – none of whom came into contact with the volunteers – to be sniffed. The dogs’ handlers did not know in advance which samples were positive.

The dogs detected 97% of the 109 people whose PCR test subsequently proved positive, and 91% of those whose PCR test was negative.

Researchers in countries including Australia, Germany and Britain have experimented with dogs to detect Covid, while Finland and the United Arab Emirates last year launched trials with sniffer dogs at Helsinki and Dubai international airports.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/19/wastewater-monitoring-being-used-to-track-india-variant-says-han****

Wastewater monitoring is being used to identify cases of the India variant and track its spread, the health secretary, Matt Han****, has said.

Although coronavirus predominantly infects cells lining the respiratory tract, it is also shed in the faeces of some infected individuals. By collecting sewage samples from wastewater treatment plants, scientists can use PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) machines to detect and quantify the amount of RNA from Sars-CoV-2 in different areas – including new variants, such as the B.1.617.2 variant first detected in India, which is now spreading across the UK.

The wastewater scheme was piloted last summer, and has since been expanded to include hundreds of sites across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Speaking during the Queen’s speech debate earlier on Wednesday, Han**** told MPs that testing and vaccinations were being surged in six areas because wastewater analysis had identified places where the India variant was being transmitted.

He said: “Mobility data shows how often people travel from one area to another, and we look at this in deciding where the virus is likely to spread. And we analyse now wastewater, in 70% of the country, and we can spot the virus, and the variants in the water, to identify communities where there is spread.”

Although wastewater monitoring is not accurate enough to tell us how many individuals are infected with Covid in any given area at any given time, it can be used to understand where specific variants are circulating, and to provide an early warning of escalating cases in specific geographical areas.

This can be followed up with additional community testing and messaging, or the sewage equivalent of surge testing – where manhole covers are lifted up and samples taken from sewers in specific areas to try to narrow down the source of the outbreak

https://wap.eastmoney.com/a/202105191927898246.html

Today, the domestic vanadium market maintains a high and strong operation. The quotations of various vanadium products are strong, and the prices of raw materials continue to rise. The retail vanadium quotations are in cash of 121-122 million yuan/ton, and the actual transaction is 120,000 yuan/ton. The current vanadium nitrogen alloy factory accepts The highest is this. Some holders are bullish on the market outlook and will not offer prices temporarily.

Ammonium metavanadate has risen slightly, and the quotation has reached RMB 115-116 million per ton in cash, and the transaction has gradually followed up. The alloy market is firm and strong. Vanadium-nitrogen alloy transactions are relatively active. Intermediaries are hesitant to purchase.

Vanadium prices are rising rapidly, steel bidding is slow to follow up, and the profit margins for intermediaries are small. Manufacturers' quotations were adjusted to RMB 1.8-183,000 per ton in cash with the price of raw materials, and the steel bidding price rose slightly to RMB 179,300 per ton including tax of acceptance. The quotation of ferrovanadium remained stable, and the transaction follow-up was slow. Ferrovanadium plants were wary of production upside down and purchased high-priced raw materials according to orders. Bulk ferro-vanadium quoted cash of 125--126,000 yuan/ton, and the transaction situation was average.

https://twitter.com/Dominic2306/status/1394598167652585476?s=19

10/ I think we’ll conclude we shd have done Human Challenge trials immediately & cd have got jabs in arms summer. This is not criticism of the VTF which has been constrained in ways they shdnt be. It’s cnctd to b/ where is the public plan for how the VTF will deal with variants?

https://www.argusmedia.com/metals-platform/metal/ferro-alloys-vanadium

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2215361-investigation-brings-us-closer-to-vanadium-premium

Market participants expect a decision on the Section 232 investigation regarding vanadium by 23 May, with most predicating an affirmative determination will make the US fully a premium market.

The US Commerce Department initiated the 232 investigation on 28 May 2020 in response to a petition filed by AMG Vanadium and US Vanadium. Section 232 investigations determine the effect of imports on national security. Previous 232 investigations on steel and aluminum products resulted in 25pc and 10pc tariffs, respectively. No action was taken after a 232 investigation on titanium sponge.

The petition proposed two courses of action regarding vanadium oxides, vanadium carbonitrides, ferro-vanadium, and vanadates if the request was granted. One proposal was that the US impose a 40pc tariff on vanadium imports ad valorem. The other proposed recommendation would impose separate quota volumes with a 20pc tariff placed on shipments below a specified annual import volume and a 40pc tariff on volumes above that specified volume, with the quota declining 10pc points each subsequent year for three years.

The US consumes about 94pc of its vanadium for metallurgical purposes, mostly an alloying agent in the steel and iron industry, according to the US Geological Survey.

Most market participants expect a decision one way or the other, even though its possible the US administration avoids a determination altogether. But a slight majority of participants surveyed by Argus expect tariffs to be put in place. Depending on the magnitude of tariffs placed on vanadium products, it will likely make the US a consistent premium market in the global trade, which in recent history was not always the case despite the country's heavy reliance on imports...

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-05/14/c_139945838.htm

Xi Focus: China's water diversion project promotes green developmen

"There are 13 automatic water quality monitoring stations along the middle route. Underwater robots are widely used for monitoring aquatic organism and sediment levels, and checking water gates."

https://stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2021/05/12/vanadium-one-and-glencore-enjoin-to-support-development-of-the-mont-sorcier

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 12, 2021 / Vanadium One Iron Corp. ("Vanadium One" or the "Company") (TSXV:VONE), is very pleased to announce that it has entered into a long-term arrangement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Glencore plc ("Glencore") to support the development of the Mont Sorcier Iron and Vanadium project located in Chibougamau, Quebec. The parties have entered into a Finance Raising Assistance Agreement ("FR Agreement") and a separate Concentrate Offtake Agreement "Offtake Agreement") to support the ongoing development and the eventual construction and production of the Mont Sorcier iron and vanadium project.

Under the terms of the FR Agreement, Glencore will undertake to assist Vanadium One in raising not less than US$10 million, either directly or indirectly, in project financing to support the completion of a Bankable Feasibility study on the Mont Sorcier project. Such funding is to be secured no later than year end 2021. Glencore is expected to facilitate the arrangement of at least US$8MM of this funding requirement. The structure of such financing remains to be determined through negotiations and on terms acceptable to Vanadium One. The use of proceeds will be used to deliver the feasibility study, upgrading the classification of the resource, enhanced metallurgical test work and project engineering. In addition, a portion of the proceeds will be dedicated for community agreements, related environmental studies and the initiation of the permitting process.

Upon the successful fulfillment of the FR Agreement, Vanadium One will grant to Glencore an eight (8) year Offtake Agreement for 100% of the annual production from the Mont Sorcier iron and vanadium project..

https://investingnews.com/news/vanadium-investing/largo-resources-secures-the-advisory-services-of-energy-industry-experts-dr.bart-riley-and-dr.jeffrey-chamberlain/

Largo Resources Ltd. (” Largo ” or the ” Company “) (TSX: LGO) (NASDAQ: LGO) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement for the strategic advisory services of Dr. Bart Riley and Dr. Jeffrey Chamberlain (the “ Advisors ”). The Advisors will provide advice to the Company’s board of directors (the “ Board ”) to accelerate the development of its Largo Clean Energy business.

Dr. Bart Riley:

Dr. Riley is a global leader with over 30 years of experience advancing new materials, launching disruptive products and building innovative companies in energy storage. Dr. Riley has a track record for solving complex technical and business problems to launch products in multiple verticals, including industrial equipment, consumer electronics, automotive, and grid services. Dr. Riley was a co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of A123 Systems from its startup through a $2 billion market cap as a publicly listed company. Dr. Riley was also the former Chief Development/Strategy Officer at Quantumscape from 2012 through 2016, an $18 billion U.S. based company that produces solid state lithium metal batteries for electric cars. More recently, Dr. Riley has provided strategic guidance to companies and non-profit organizations across various industries including energy storage, packaging, aerospace, and chemicals. Dr. Riley has a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Cornell University, 85 publications, and 62 U.S. patents.

Dr. Jeffrey Chamberlain:

Dr. Chamberlain is a proven leader with a long record of industrial product R&D and commercialization success in energy, integrated circuit, and water treatment technology for mining and mineral processing applications. Dr. Chamberlain’s industrial experience is complemented by his ten years’ of leadership of energy storage initiatives at Argonne National Laboratory. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, Dr. Chamberlain led the effort to successfully transfer advanced battery technology from Argonne to LG Chem, BASF, General Motors, Toda Kogyo, General Electric, and others. Dr. Chamberlain also led the team that was awarded $120 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop advanced energy storage technologies for transportation and the grid, through a U.S. consortium of innovators including MIT, Berkeley and Stanford. Dr. Chamberlain received his Ph.D. in the Physical Chemistry of Surfaces from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01234-1

The myriad ways sewage surveillance is helping fight COVID around the world
Wastewater tracking was used before the pandemic to monitor for polio and illicit drug use, but interest in the field and its applications has now ballooned...

https://www.metalbulletin.com/Article/3988332/Mineral-demand-from-energy-sector-could-increase-sixfold-by-2040-IEA-says.html

Mineral demand from energy sector could increase sixfold by 2040, IEA says
The global mineral industry will have to rapidly scale up production to meet surging demand from the new energy sector, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.

To reach the target of net-zero emissions by 2050, the energy sector will be consuming minerals at six times the current rate by 2040, the IEA forecast in a special report on Wednesday May 5.
“Today, the data shows a looming mismatch between the world’s strengthened climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals that are essential to realizing those ambitions,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said.
“The challenges are not insurmountable, but governments must give clear signals about how they plan to turn their climate pledges into action. By acting now and acting together, they can significantly reduce the risks of price volatility and supply disruptions.”
The global drive in new energy is spurring...