Australian energy grid technology company EcoJoule Energy has completed an installation of its EcoVAR Static Compensatory in the UK – marking a step in its international expansion and global growth strategy.
EcoVAR is a pole-mounted static compensator that uses power electronics and software to regulate voltage levels on low-voltage networks in real time. The technology enables network operators to integrate more distributed energy resources and electrification technologies without the need for costly grid upgrades.
The EcoVAR project, delivered in partnership with the UK Power Network (UKPN) and EcoJoule’s UK partner Fundamentals, represents the first of five units to be deployed across the UKPN. The deployment is part of a trial aimed at assessing the technology’s capability to manage voltage variability in the grid.
The first unit has been installed in Graveney Bridge, with data collected during the trial being used to assess how effectively the system improves network efficiency. Each unit can be monitored and updated remotely.
All five EcoVAR units aim to keep the network balanced and operating efficiently at a low-voltage level, where most homes and businesses are connected.
The technology works by managing the flow of electricity across the network’s three separate lines, known as phases. EcoJoule says sometimes one phase can become overloaded while others are under-used.
EcoVAR automatically redistributes electricity to the quieter lines, helping the network accommodate more clean energy technologies without spending customers’ money on infrastructure where it is not needed.
EcoJoule CEO Mike Wishart says the installation reinforces the company’s position as a global innovator in voltage management and grid stability.
“The challenges facing electricity networks in the UK and Australia share a common theme – rapid electrification and the transition to cleaner energy,” Wishart says.
“Our technology is helping utilities adapt to that transition cost-effectively and sustainably.”
UK Power Networks head of innovation Luca Grella says being the first to install this kind of technology in the UK highlights the commitment to working with partners who share the same vision.
“The EcoVAR trial is helping us understand how digital solutions can deliver real improvements for customers at street level,” Grella says.
A ‘critical’ global strategy
This news comes after Mining.com.au reported that the UK has been active in building new partnerships internationally.
Speaking to this news service, Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre Director Gavin Mudd says for the UK, important issues remain the cost of energy, planning and approval processes, and financing – all of which are being reviewed to explore ways to address them in a sustainable manner.
“There has been progress on supporting activity in the circular economy as well as new mines for lithium and tungsten in the UK, but much remains to be done,” he says.
The UK has been playing catch up with the rest of the global economy in terms of its critical minerals strategy.
However, the UK Government has revealed that lithium, tin, tungsten, nickel, copper, cobalt, rare earths, and zinc projects are all at various planning and pilot stages. Some of these projects are expected to reach production by 2030.
Vision 2035: Critical Minerals Strategy sets out an ambition to turn supply vulnerability into an economic opportunity.
Under the plan, the nation aims to meet at least 10% of annual demand for critical minerals domestically by 2035, including producing 50,000 tonnes of lithium per year. A further 20% of demand is expected to be through recycling, while no more than 60% of total supply should come from any single country.
As previously reported on Clean Energy Day (26 January), the global energy transition is no longer considered a distant ambition. It is reshaping supply chains, investment flows, and the very definition of what it means to be a mining company.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) reports that global demand for critical minerals is expected to double by 2030 under current climate conditions, driven by the acceleration of clean energy technologies.
Annual clean energy investment worldwide will need to more than triple by 2030 to around US$4 trillion, according to the IEA. This is a figure that highlights how pivotal mining will be in supplying the necessary resources for that transformation.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: EcoJoule
