The chief executive of Australian Vanadium says the turning point towards more rapid take-up of batteries that use vanadium as an electrolyte is already here as he eyes a $217 million merger with Technology Metals Australia.
Technology Metals Australia and Australian Vanadium jointly own a high-purity vanadium resource south-east of Meekatharra. Vanadium is the raw material for vanadium redox flow batteries and is on critical minerals lists in Australia, the United States and the European Union. VRFB have languished behind the runaway success of lithium-ion batteries, but Australian Vanadium’s Graham Arvidson says they’re better for long-duration storage, don’t catch fire, last longer with minimal degradation and are recyclable.
“ I think it is an important turning point. And it really is just about people seeing what we see and getting the word out that this technology is a great fit, and people like us can be a really big part of that vertical integration story here in Australia,” he said.