Western Australia is putting public money behind a critical upstream link in the vanadium flow battery supply chain. Australian Vanadium Limited (AVL) has signed a funding agreement with the Western Australian Government for up to A$15 million to support the design, construction and commissioning of its first proposed vanadium electrolyte manufacturing facility.
How the funding works
The WA Government will contribute up to 50% of the project cost, capped at A$15 million, with AVL funding the balance. The grant comes through Round 2 of the Investment Attraction Fund's New Energies Industries stream. The facility is intended to produce high-capacity electrolyte for vanadium flow batteries (VFBs), a long-duration energy storage technology.
The grant is an important milestone for AVL and recognises progress in developing vanadium electrolyte manufacturing capability in Western Australia, said CEO Graham Arvidson.
V-NOMAD and the GWh-scale ambition
The plant will use AVL's V-NOMAD electrolyte production technology platform. V-NOMAD is designed as a relocatable manufacturing solution that can be co-located with VFB energy storage systems to reduce electrolyte costs. The planned facility is intended to support gigawatt-hour-scale VFB projects, a material expansion of AVL's existing electrolyte manufacturing capability.
According to the WA Government, the facility's modular and relocatable design will allow it to be deployed across regional and industrial centres throughout Western Australia. That flexibility could help projects avoid long electrolyte transport distances and lower costs for grid-scale battery installations.
Building a local supply chain
AVL's strategy links WA vanadium production, electrolyte manufacturing and utility-scale VFB deployment. Its wholly owned subsidiary VSUN Energy focuses on developing the Australian market for VFBs for long-duration storage. The project is also expected to create skilled jobs and training opportunities across advanced manufacturing, chemical processing, engineering, construction, commissioning and plant operations.
WA ministers said the investment supports the state's Made in WA plan and positions Western Australia at the forefront of long-duration energy storage technologies. The facility is a supply-chain play as much as an energy project: without domestic electrolyte production, Australia's flow battery ambitions would rely on imported material.
This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.