Townsville vanadium battery electrolyte facility opens

Miner and manufacturer Vecco Group has officially opened its Townsville facilty to manufacture electrolyte for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs).

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) was on hand for the opening and went on social media to call it a ‘big win for Queensland’.

Palaszczuk said: “We officially opened Vecco Group’s Vanadium Battery Manufacturing Facility, which we backed through our Queensland Jobs Fund.

“These workers are making the batteries that are essential for the world’s transition to renewable energy.

“Vanadium batteries last longer than lithium-ion batteries, and they’re almost 100 per cent recyclable.”

VRFBs were invented by University of New South Wales electrochemist MEmeritus Professor aria Skyllas-Kazacos and have some advantages over lithium-ion, they have a greater energy density and are not flammable.

However they are heavier than lithium batteries and thus are best suited for stationery uses such as at mines and remote communities.

Vecco Group is developing the Debella Critical Minerals Project as well as its integrated vanadium battery electrolyte manufacturing facility.

Stage 1 of the plant development will produce approximately 30MWh per annum of vanadium electrolyte with stage 2 increasing this capacity to over 100Mwh per annum.

Further reading:
Maria Skyllas-Kazacos – an innovator we should all know better

Picture: Annastacia Palaszczuk