- Australian Vanadium (AVL) teams up with listed mining big-cap IGO (IGO) to trial a renewable energy system at the IGO Nova Nickel Operation in WA
- Under the deal, IGO will trial a vanadium redox flow battery (VFRB) standalone power system (SPS) to power its operations with renewable energy for much of the year
- AVL, through subsidiary VSUN Energy, will supply the system to IGO free of charge for 12 months, after which IGO will have the option to buy or rent the tech for future use
- AVL Managing Director Vincent Algar says the project with IGO will help the broader mining industry move towards carbon neutrality
- Shares in Australian Vanadium are up 8.7 per cent at 2.5 cents each, while IGO shares are up 7.02 per cent to $9.52
Australian Vanadium (AVL) is teaming up with listed mining big-cap IGO (IGO) to trial a renewable energy system at the IGO Nova Nickel Operation in Western Australia.
Through AVL subsidiary VSUN Energy, IGO will trial a vanadium redox flow battery (VFRB) standalone power system (SPS) to power its operations with 100-per-cent renewable energy for much of the year.
AVL will supply the system to IGO completely free of charge for 12 months, after which IGO will have the option to buy or rent the product for future use.
AVL said it planned to fund the development of the SPS with part of a $3.69 million government grant awarded to the company in July under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Processing National Manufacturing Priority roadmap.
The news comes just one day after AVL announced a deal with Spanish VRFB manufacturer E22 to collaborate on energy generation and storage technology. The SPS to be provided to IGO will be based on a 300-kilowatt-hour VRFB from E22.
Effectively, SPS technology is typically designed to supply power independently to an electricity grid through a combination of wind, solar and battery energy, with a backup generator using diesel or gas.
For the IGO system, AVL is targeting total renewable penetration of between 85 per cent and 90 per cent, with a diesel generator set available as a backup power option only in periods of long cloud cover.
The SPS will be redeployable for use on several mine sites in different locations over its life span of more than 20 years. Further, the system itself will be fully recyclable once its service life comes to an end.
AVL Managing Director Vincent Algar said the project with IGO will help the broader mining industry move towards carbon neutrality.
“The robustness of VRFB energy storage makes it perfectly suited to the tough environments found on many Australian mine sites,” Mr Algar said.
“The installation of an SPS based on vanadium technology for pumping applications enables diesel to be almost entirely eliminated, helping reduce overall carbon emissions and providing reliable green power.”
IGO Chief Operating Officer Matt Dusci shared similar sentiments, saying one of the company’s key strategic focuses is on products that enable clean energy solutions.
“As part of our strategy to deliver those products, we aspire to be carbon neutral across our business and to do this, in part, by leveraging renewable energy solutions and innovation to reduce emissions at our remote exploration and mining operation,” Mr Dusci said.
AVL said VSUN Energy was also in discussions with other mining companies, as well as customers in the agricultural sector, for the VRFB technology.
Shares in Australian Vanadium were up 8.7 per cent at 2.5 cents each at 11:44 am AEDT. At the same time, IGO shares were up 7.02 per cent to $9.52.