VSUN Energy pushes ahead with residential flow battery plans
PV Magazine Australia
Vanadium flow battery specialist VSUN Energy is pushing ahead with plans to develop a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) for the Australian residential market.
VSUN, a subsidiary of Australian Vanadium Ltd (AVL), this week appointed Western Australian engineering firm Cadds Group to undertake design and consultancy work on its 5 kW/30 kWh residential VRFB.
Manufactured by Chinese firm CEC, the VRFB has arrived in Australia but in a MOU signed with the Chinese manufacturer in September last year, AVL agreed to further develop the battery for the Australian market.
Another Vanadium redox flow battery to be installed in WA as market interest grows
PV Magazine Australia
A vanadium redox flow battery will be installed at a Western Australian caravan park in the new year. Supplied by VSun Energy, the installation is advances their parent company’s vanadium endeavours.
A 5kW/30kWh vanadium redox flow battery has been ordered from the Singaporean manufacturer V-Flow Tech and will be installed in the Beverly Caravan Park in WA’s wheatbelt region. Paired with a 6 kW of solar system, the vanadium flow battery will be fitted once it arrives in state in June 2021.
The system was commissioned by the Shire of Beverley council, who own the caravan park and are looking to extend its powered sites. VSun Energy’s Business Development Manager, Samantha McGahan, told pv magazine Australia the company was approached by the council, who wanted to use a vanadium flow battery because it is non-flammable and has longer duration.
MoU signals strong growth opportunities for the Australian VRFB market
Energy Storage Publishing
Australian Vanadium has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore based vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) manufacturer, V-Flow Tech.
The MoU includes potential formal agreements in relation to sales, service and maintenance of V-Flow’s VRFBs in Australia, vanadium pentoxide off take arrangements, vanadium electrolyte manufacture and supply in Australia.
The MoU is for a term of two years with an option to renew for a further 12 months.
V-Flow’s small VRFB is now available via Australian Vanadium’s 100% owned subsidiary VSUN Energy to small commercial and residential market sectors in Australia.
Dr Avishek Kumar, CEO of V-Flow said: “Australia has great potential for small to mid-size batteries for household and remote microgrid application.”
V-Flow’s technology can operate between -10°C to +55°C without active cooling. The batteries have a lifespan of 25 years, with a stable performance guarantee.
VSUN cracks home battery market with off-grid vanadium flow system
One Step Off the Grid
Australian vanadium flow battery specialist VSUN has marked its first ever off-grid, residential sale in Australia, providing the energy storage component for a stand-alone power system for a home in regional Western Australia.
VSUN Energy, which is an offshoot of ASX listed resources outfit Australian Vanadium, said it had supplied a battery from Singapore-based manufacturer V-Flow Tech for the W.A. stand-alone power system (SPS), which would be paired with 12kW of solar and 18KVa of diesel backup.
The V-Flow vanadium redox flow battery system provided comprises a 5kW/30kWh VRFB with a maximum discharge of 7kW, which VSUN says the customer chose for its “particular strengths” of reliability, depth of discharge, safety and longevity.
Interest grows in going with the vanadium flow
PV Magazine
The choice of battery storage technologies in support of solar energy supply is broadening to suit a variety of emerging applications. VSUN has just made its first power play for vanadium-redox-flow batteries in the off-grid residential market.
VSUN Energy, an organisation formed with the express intent of increasing awareness of the benefits of vanadium-redox flow batteries (VRFB) has taken to selling systems using the technology; its first residential case study came about because equipping a new farmhouse with a VRFB-based standalone power system was cheaper than connecting that rural home to the grid — nevermind the savings that will ensue as the farm lives through its first quarter without receiving a power bill.
The standalone power system (SPS) tailored for this property consists of 12 kW of solar PV, a 5 kW/30 kWh VRFB with a maximum discharge of 7 kW; an Australian-made Selectronic inverter and an 18 KVa diesel redundancy back-up system. The SPS is designed to provide an uninterrupted, clean, safe source of energy, primarily generated by direct and stored solar energy.
AVL just sold its first residential vanadium battery system
Stockhead
Special Report: Australian Vanadium has hit a milestone with its wholly-owned subsidiary VSUN Energy selling the first standalone vanadium flow battery system to a residential customer.
The customer in regional Western Australia acquired the standalone power system (SPS) due to the high cost of connecting to the grid and lack of reliable power in the region.
Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) added that the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) system was selected due to its particular strengths of reliability, depth of discharge, safety and longevity.
The VRFB was provided by Singapore-based manufacturer V-Flow Tech.
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Residential vanadium flow battery systems under development for Australia’s solar-storage market
Energy Storage News
Residential vanadium flow battery systems under development for Australia’s solar-storage market
Energy storage systems based around vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) are being developed for residential use in Australia by partners Australian Vanadium (AVL) and Gui Zhou Collect Energy Century Science and Technology.
AVL made an announcement of the news to the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday. While the vast majority of new household battery systems are based around lithium-ion, an AVL representative told Energy-Storage.news that the advantages of a flow battery could include the ability to “store a lot more energy”, while the product is “inherently non-flammable”. The spokesperson also pointed out that the vanadium electrolyte can be reused at the end of the battery’s mechanical lifetime.
A 5kW / 30kWh system will be installed in Perth, Western Australia, to test out the technology and concept and provide feedback for product development. The system is being connected to the grid using an inverter approved by the national Clean Energy Council, which means it can be connected to a solar PV system and used to store energy for self-consumption at the site or for export.
‘Local supply chain and value creation’ for flow batteries established in Australia
Energy Storage News
An agreement to support the manufacture and sale of vanadium flow batteries has been struck between Australian Vanadium and Enerox, which makes and markets systems under its CellCube brand.
Australian Vanadium has a subsidiary called VSUN Energy which markets and installs vanadium flow batteries from a range of manufacturers. VSUN has now signed a ‘Value Added Reseller Agreement’ with Enerox. VSUN Energy will supply and install CellCube and related services in Australia under the agreement. Enerox markets the CellCube systems into both grid-connected storage and off-grid / microgrid market segments.
Image copyright Enerox GmbH
Cleantech: Hazer cashed up to build hydrogen plant, VSUN sees ‘significant increase in enquires’ for vanadium batteries
Stockhead
Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) subsidiary VSUN Energy has been included in a group of companies working with the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF), which has been awarded $654,807 to assess the advantages of battery ‘microgrids’.
VSUN will provide energy analysis and modelling for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) as a potential battery storage solution on four virtual microgrids.
The notion that safer, longer-lasting VRFBs are better suited for large stationary storage than lithium-ion is well established.
In 2020, VSUN has seen a “significant increase in enquiries and interest for microgrids and stand-alone power systems (SPS) in agricultural settings and in the mining sector”, AVL managing director Vincent Algar says.
“VSUN Energy’s focus on building strong relationships with major VRFB manufacturers over the last few years has enabled the company’s ability to provide robust and detailed modelling of various microgrid and SPS opportunities,” he says.
VSUN Energy Included in Microgrid Grant Recipient Group
Australian Vanadium Ltd ASX Announcement
Federal grant for Regional and Remote Communities with project evaluation to include vanadium redox flow battery modelling
– The Queensland Farmers’ Federation has received a grant from the Federal Government’s Regional and Remote Communities Reliability Fund
– VSUN Energy is included in the recipient group to provide energy analysis and modelling for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) as a potential battery storage solution
– Project to consider the benefits of microgrids and energy storage to Queensland and New South Wales agricultural energy consumers and networks
– Analysis will commence on four virtual microgrids
– VSUN Energy’s storage opportunities continue to grow, as focus shifts to sustainable, long duration storage alongside renewable generation deployment
Click here for the full announcement