Bushveld Minerals Limited subsidiary Bushveld Energy has made significant progress with exploiting the commercial opportunity of Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) technology within the energy storage market in the first quarter of this year.
“During [the quarter], we progressed and remained on track with our two immediate priorities – preparing for the construction of our electrolyte plant in South Africa and the delivery of our first energy storage system to State-owned power utlility Eskom,” Bushveld Minerals CEO Fortune Mojapelo said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
He added that Bushveld Energy is increasingly getting requests for electrolyte supply and VRFB technology for energy storage projects, both globally and in Africa, even in the context of decade-high vanadium prices.
The prevailing vanadium price environment, coupled with the ownership of a low-cost vanadium production base, creates a uniquely attractive opportunity for Bushveld Minerals, the company noted.
“In this context, our vertical integration strategy and development of business models for electrolyte delivery into VRFBs strongly positions us to support adoption of VRFBs in the energy storage market, while creating significant value for our stakeholders,” Mojapelo stated.
Busvheld Minerals is also encouraged by the establishment of the South African Energy Storage Association, of which Bushveld Energy CEO Mikhail Nikomarov has been elected to serve as chairperson.