Australian Vanadium Ltd. has appointed a Western Australian engineering company to begin the first stage of what it says will be the country’s first vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant.
Australian Vanadium Ltd. (AVL) has appointed Western Australian-based engineering group Primero, a subsidiary of NRW Holdings, to begin the process of constructing a vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant, which will importantly include negotiating its precise location within Western Australia.
In July, AVL secured a AUD 3.69 million ($2.7 million) federal government grant to design, build and operate a AUD 7.4 million commercial vanadium battery electrolyte plant, as well as vanadium redox flow battery prototypes for off-grid and residential settings. Conditions of the grant dictate that the manufacturing project must be fully completed by March 31, 2024.
Shortly after obtaining the grant, AVL signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with specialty chemical producer U.S. Vanadium LLC (USV) for the supply of vanadium oxides. This, the company says, will simplify the design, construction, and startup of its future manufacturing plant. The goal with the plant, AVL Managing Director Vincent Algar said, is to “cement” AVL’s downstream processing capability in Australia.
While this plan has only just entered its first stage, the company is far more progressed with the vanadium mine it is establishing in Gabanintha, almost smack bang in the middle of Western Australia. The Australian Vanadium Project, as its called, has been awarded Major Project Status by the federal government.
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