Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) is collaborating with Alcoa to assess vanadium flow battery technology application at Alcoa’s alumina refinery operations in Western Australia.
Along with AVL’s wholly owned subsidiary, VSUN Energy, the companies have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly evaluate a vanadium flow battery (VFB) energy storage system with a nominal capacity of 50–80 megawatts and a storage duration of six to eight hours, extendable beyond eight hours.
AVL and Alcoa will undertake a scoping-level equivalent study to assess the financial and technical merits of deploying the technology across Alcoa sites and landholdings in Western Australia.
The study covers system design, technical specifications, costings, electrolyte supply, project financing options, and potential government funding opportunities, with support from Alcoa.
CEO Graham Arvidson says the collaboration represents an important opportunity to demonstrate the value of VFBs in utility-scale industrial applications.
“Long-duration energy storage will play a critical role in enabling industrial electrification and increasing the utilisation of renewable energy, and VFB technology is particularly well suited to these applications,” Arvidson says.
“Working with a globally recognised industrial operator such as Alcoa provides an opportunity to evaluate how long-duration energy storage can support operational flexibility, energy cost management, and decarbonisation objectives.”
AVL also notes that the 18-month non-binding MoU aligns with its strategy across the vanadium value chain.
Upon completion, the parties may explore further Feasibility Studies and potential commercial energy offtake arrangements.
Australian Vanadium is a resource company advancing its namesake project at Gabanintha, WA.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
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