TWO Singapore-headquartered firms, energy storage solutions provider VFlowTech and bunker trading company Sing Fuels, will be setting up a new joint venture to serve the energy storage market in Africa.
Under the new entity VFlowTech Africa, the companies will sign power purchase agreements with mobile network operators, mining companies and other infrastructure owners to provide clean energy as a service, they said in a press statement Wednesday (Feb 9).
By deploying its renewable energy battery storage systems, VFlowTech Africa also aims to enable energy storage generated from variable energy sources like solar or wind. This energy will be integrated in a standalone renewable microgrid to meet electrification needs, it added.
Microgrids are self-sufficient standalone power installations that provide energy to remote areas that do not have a central grid or have unreliable electricity supply.
VFlowTech Africa will also sell and distribute VFlowTech’s Vanadium redox flow scale batteries, a type of rechargeable flow battery, in the Africa market.
The batteries have an expected life span of 25 years and its battery storage power can be scaled based on the battery stack and volume of electrolyte stored in the tanks, as well as have long-duration energy storage capabilities, the statement noted.
Vida Technologies, which is a part of Sing Fuels Group, will lead market expansion for VFlowTech Africa through partnership with telecom operators in Africa such as Airtel, Vodafone and Econet, as well as independent power producers.
Avishek Kumar, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of VFlowTech, said access to electricity previously required massive investment and infrastructure and that traditional battery technologies, such as lead-acid and lithium-ion, are not suitable for long-duration energy storage due to performance degradation and thermal run-away.
“Vanadium flow technology addresses these issues, thanks to the significantly low cost of ownership,” he said, adding that microgrids are “much more affordable” than traditional energy infrastructure.
Vikash Dhanuka, CEO of Sing Fuels, said the joint venture is part of its focused solutions to benefit large communities through decarbonisation efforts.
“This partnership with VFlowTech to build renewable microgrid solutions allows us to offset the carbon emission of the maritime industry. It will also have a wider impact on improving the livelihoods of people as we drive rural electrification in Africa and help communities in the region become diesel-free,” he added.
Sing Fuels had previously invested in VFlowTech as part of the latter’s pre-Series A financing round led by Wavemaker Partners on Oct 6, 2021, which raised a total of US$3 million.
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