Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) Awards Contract For Vanadium Electrolyte Plant

Australian Vanadium (AVL) has appointed Primero for the stage one construction of its vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant in Western Australia.

Founded in 2011, Primero is a primarily WA-based engineering group who has also expanded to Quebec, Canada. Since its inception, Primero has delivered projects in over 10 countries across five continents.

Primero will undertake the early contractor involvement which will include analysing the US Vanadium LLC plant design, layouts, making sure it aligns with Australian standards, and contract preparation for stage two. It will also work with AVL to review potential locations for the plant.

The second stage of the build process will involve engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).

AVL Managing Director Vincent Algar said he was excited to work with Primero.

“The contract award to Primero is the next step in AVL’s vertical integration strategy, cementing the company’s goal to develop downstream processing capability in Australia,” Mr Algar said.

“We look forward to delivering Australia’s first vanadium electrolyte manufacturing plant, built in WA by an Australian company.”

The vanadium electrolyte plant will initially be able to produce enough electrolyte per annum to fill vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) that can store up to 33 megawatts of energy per hour.

For comparison, a single Tesla powerwall battery stores 13.5 kilowatts of energy per hour, with the electrolyte plant producing the equivalent energy storage capacity of 2444 powerwalls per year.

As a testament to the Australian Government’s commitments to rolling out VRFBs in Australia, the Federal Government awarded AVL $3.69 million in July this year. The company is using the money for building and operating the plant.

Company shares were up 9.09 per cent to trade at 2.4 cents at 12:19 pm AEST.

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