AVESS Energy has successfully commissioned its first vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) in Perth, Western Australia, signifying the first commercial-scale single-module VRFB to be built in Australia.
The 50kW module – locally assembled by renewables partner Avora Energy – is differentiated by its higher power output, made possible by combining two of their proprietary world-class KORID Energy 25kW stacks.
The commissioning of the VRFB was completed between the 15th and 19th of January.
Perth-based engineering design company Continuum Engineering – with the support of New Zealand-based South Pacific Synergies – was instrumental to the success of the commissioning.
Continuum Engineering Principal Engineer(s) Dr Gordon Fisher and Adrian Gatland designed AVESS Energy’s maiden battery, while South Pacific Synergies Director Joel Davey designed and programmed the battery’s power management system.
AVESS Energy invited a delegation of South Korean VRFB experts to provide procedural and technical support to the commissioning. The delegation – led by KORID Energy President Paul Kim – included Vice-President Noh Heesook, Technical Director Dr Song Jaehoon, R&D Director Song Byonghyun and R&D Fellow Back Jongchan.
Commenting on the successful VRFB commissioning, AVESS Energy Managing Director Young Yu said:
“Our successful commissioning was a great exercise, and we are now more confident than ever in our capability to assemble VRFB technology locally, and progress towards manufacturing our batteries on Australian soil.
“We began this process 12 months ago. Today, we have Australia’s first commercial-scale class VRFB, which is now operational and capable of charging and discharging at 50kW of power for up to 5 hours.
“Importantly, we have collected plenty of data to optimise the current system and refine future designs. Our next step is to secure a commercial demonstration for this battery in the mining sector to leverage our successful Carbon Innovations Grant Program application.”
“The commissioning is a special milestone for the team, and we thank Avora Energy, Continuum Engineering, KORID Energy and South Pacific Synergies, whose insights were instrumental.”
AVESS Energy is the majority shareholder (50%) of KORID Energy Co Ltd and its world-class stack technology, providing the Company with a significant competitive advantage as it expands its domestic and global presence in the energy storage sector.
