Two news articles came out this past week regarding Vanadium Redox Batteries (VRBs) that I thought worthwhile to pass on.
The first article below highlights the expected demand surge for vanadium, particularly if VRBs become commercialized. It cites that vanadium demand is expected to double by 2025 based on traditional steel applications alone. Factor in the amount of vanadium that will be required should VRBs become commercialized and it points toward a significant supply shortage on the horizon. How significant a supply shortage could VRBs create? Hold that thought for one paragraph.
The second article is a press release from U.S.-based VRB manufacturer, Ashlawn Energy. They have announced the opening of their VRB energy storage system final assembly facility in Painesville, Ohio.
You will recall from our previous updates that Ashlawn Energy was the company recognized in a speech by President Obama this past year for being selected by the U.S Dept. of Energy to install a 1 megawatt, 8 megawatt-hour VRB at the City of Painesville Municipal Power Plant. This latest announcement from Ashlawn Energy represents a significant milestone in completing what will be the largest VRB installation in North America. The installation is reportedly ahead of schedule and expected to be complete in 2012.
Now back to the question of "How significant a supply shortage could VRBs create?". To help answer that, Energizer Resources put together a presentation titled, "Vanadium: A 10-year Off-take Vision", which can can be accessed on our website by clicking here. It illustrates the potential off-take for vanadium vis-a-vis EVs and VRBs.
I'll share one of those VRB application off-take examples with you now.
The 1-megawatt VRB that Ashlawn Energy is building in Painesville takes over 10 tonnes of battery-grade vanadium (V2O5). The 61,000 tonnes of vanadium produced annually equates to 107,000 tonnes of V2O5
Assume ten years from now, there are 50,000 commercial installations (power plants, factories, parks, etc.) world-wide of one-megawatt VRBs
10 tonnes vanadium x 50,000 VRBs = 500,000 tonnes of vanadium (V2O5) required
Dividing 500,000 tonnes by the annual production of V2O5 (107,000 tonnes) equals 4.7 times the current world production. Amortize that over a 10-year period and VRB manufacturers would require half of all of the vanadium produced globally each year.
What makes the above scenario even more dramatic is the fact that 95%+ of total vanadium produced globally is used for steel-making and is not the battery-grade quality required for VRBs.
When it comes to the commercialization of VRBs, we at Energizer Resources firmly believe it is not a question of if, but when. Developments such as these reaffirm that the VRB is a leading storage technology - one that is continuing to move closer and closer to mainstream acceptance and deployment.
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