Energy
period, and then discharged in the morning. The stored energy would be
ready for consumption in the morning during the peak period.
The battery would be charged again during the day because of a
trough and typically, weather conditions would be ideal for solar
energy to produce energy in the afternoon. During this time, the
battery would be charged to only be discharged in the evening for
consumption during the peak period from 17:00 to 21:00. “So, you
have a daily cycle that is basically three hours and then four hours,”
Frampton said. He added that the lifespan of the battery did not
depend on the number of cycles it produced. “You can do two
cycles like that a day and it will last for 20 years.”
Advantages of the VRFB
There are various aspects that make the VRFB impressive as an
alternative power supplier as well. One of them is the battery’s
20-year lifespan. During this time, the battery can be repeatedly
charged and discharged more than 35 000 times.
would be supplying batteries for industrial use only. “Flow batteries
are best suited for utility or large-scale energy storage,” he said.
In addition to producing VRFBs, the company also plans to
manufacture vanadium electrolyte in South Africa. Together with
the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC),
Bushveld Energy is building an electrolyte facility in East London.
According to Nikomarov, the facility is expected to produce an
initial 200MW hours of annual capacity for electrolyte.
The largest high-grade primary vanadium resources are found in
South Africa. This, combined with the increase in the demand
for energy in the country, puts Bushveld Energy in a good
position to capitalise on VRFB technology. In addition to solving
the energy demand challenges facing the country, VRFBs could
also potentially open doors for large-scale beneficiation with the
development and operation of a vanadium electrolyte production
plant, which will supply not only local, but international VRFB
projects as well. b
From a safety aspect, the VRFB is non-toxic and non-flammable
because it uses water-based electrolyte chemistry. Another
advantage of the battery is that it is able to store large quantities of
the energy in the megawatt range.
Once the battery reaches the end of its lifespan, all the vanadium
in the battery can be reused. “The value of the vanadium stays
there,” commented Frampton. Where batteries are involved, there
is always the risk of theft. Unlike lead-acid batteries, VRFBs are
not prone to theft. Frampton also mentioned that the battery has
good frequency regulation, where the VRFB reacts instantly to
changes in power on the grid.
The battery is reliable as power supply for unexpected power
outages — removing the need for an uninterruptible power supply
(UPS) or a diesel generator. Frampton pointed out that with diesel
generators, there is always a risk of the diesel being stolen from the
generator, meaning that the generator would not be able to supply
backup power in the event of a power outage.
Electrolyte manufacturing
Bushveld Energy CEO Mikhail Nikomarov mentioned that
although the battery is suitable for domestic use, Bushveld Energy
www.africanmining.co.za
Bushveld Energy CEO Mikhail Nikomarov.
MAY - JUNE 2019 AFRICAN MINING
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