Yadlamalka Energy Pty Ltd is a grid scale battery storage developer. Spencer Energy, our first project, at Bungama, Port Pirie, South Australia, is holding an Open Day on Wednesday 21 June to celebrate the completion of civil works and the commencement of commissioning of our $22m, 2MW/8MWh vanadium flow battery (VFB) and co-located 6MWp solar farm.
This battery, supplied by Invinity Energy Systems (ticker London, AIM:IES), is a major first for renewable energy in Australia. It will unlock low-cost, low-emission energy for the Australian grid, producing approximately 10 GWh of ‘dispatchable’ solar power each year. Spencer Energy is pioneering the development of grid scale, medium duration vanadium flow batteries to support the renewables transition.
Australia’s rapid uptake of renewable energy in recent years has driven the need for investment in flexible energy storage technologies to manage the variable output from those generation sources. The Spencer Energy Project provides a glimpse into the future of electricity grids in Australia and around the world. It has been supported by ARENA, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, with a significant grant of $5.7m AUD.
The vanadium flow battery will charge from excess electricity produced by solar panels when the sun is at its peak (and potentially from off-peak imports from the grid). This electricity can then be delivered when it is most needed, such as in the evening when grid loads are high from consumer demand, or when solar generation is no longer available. By using vanadium flow batteries to complete this ‘time shift’, solar power becomes ‘dispatchable’, meaning it can be deployed to the grid when it is most valuable, at any time of day or night. Storage technologies, originally developed in Australia, such as vanadium flow batteries will ultimately reduce the cost of energy to consumers whilst accelerating progress towards net zero.
First developed at the University of New South Wales in the 1980s, vanadium flow batteries are a leading alternative to more well-known lithium-ion batteries in stationary energy storage applications.
Safer and more durable than lithium-ion batteries, Invinity’s VFBs are well suited to heavy- duty applications such as ‘time shifting’ renewables because daily charge and discharge cycles do not degrade a VFB’s capacity even after decades of service. They are also non- flammable and can operate effectively in hot climates without the need for additional fire suppression systems. They do not contain conflict minerals and are almost completely recyclable at end of life, a significant advantage over lithium-ion.
The key working element inside a VFB – vanadium – is sustainably sourced. It is more abundant than some of the other critical minerals for the energy transition such as copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium, and there are deposits and electrolyte production in regions across the world, including Australia.
These characteristics make VFBs an ideal complement for utility-scale deployment alongside intermittent renewables such as solar PV, and as a future component of a decarbonized Australian electricity grid.
The Open Day will provide an opportunity to inspect the site and to learn more about this emerging technology and its contribution to the renewables transition in Australia.
Andrew Doman, Chairman, Yadlamalka Energy and Matt Harper, Chief Commercial Officer, Invinity will be available for interview on request.
For media enquiries, please contact:
- Jordina Evins – Director of Communications, Yadlamalka Energy, [email protected]
- Joe Worthington – Director of Communications, Invinity Energy Systems, [email protected]
- Matt Harper – Chief Commercial Officer, Invinity Energy Systems, [email protected]
Notes to editors
About Yadlamalka Energy
Yadlamalka Energy was founded by Andrew Doman, an Australian who splits his time between the UK and Australia. An entrepreneur, he is driven by a desire to work with innovative technologies to combat climate change and accelerate sustainable energy production. Understanding the energy challenges facing Australia and in particular, South Australia, Yadlamalka Energy has created a medium-duration energy storage solution to the intermittent power supply challenges in South Australia, using the breakthrough technology of vanadium flow batteries.
Yadlamalka Energy comprises of a leading team of global energy and construction specialists, who will develop, construct and commission the project.
The University of South Australia, is a knowledge sharing partner, who with ARENA and the project partners, will contribute to the publication of a series of reports on the performance of vanadium flow batteries, with the aim to encourage wider adoption.
About Invinity
Invinity is the world’s leading vanadium flow battery company, active in all major global energy storage markets including North America, the UK, mainland Europe, Australasia and Asia.
Developed specifically for the large-scale, high-throughput energy storage requirements of business, industry and electrical networks,, Invinity’s highly scalable, factory-built flow batteries make low-carbon renewable generation reliable and can run continually with no degradation, charging and discharging for over 25 years. Energy storage systems based on Invinity’s batteries are safe, reliable, and economical, and range in size from less than 250 kilowatt-hours to tens of megawatt-hours.
The company has a portfolio of more than 65 MWh of systems already deployed or contracted for delivery across over 70 sites in 15 countries. The company is headquartered in London, UK and Vancouver, Canada, with regional presence in the USA, Australia and China and is listed in the UK on AIM and AQSE and trades in the USA on OTCQX.
About Habitat
Habitat Energy exists to accelerate a low carbon world. We offer a fully integrated, end-to- end battery storage and renewable energy asset optimisation service, fusing AI-driven market analysis and automation with an expert in-house trading team and deep asset intelligence to maximise revenue performance. Based in Melbourne, Habitat Energy Australia brings our proven technology and deep experience of battery storage and renewable energy optimisation to the National Electricity Market (NEM). Headed by former ENGIE executive Greg Billman and Habitat Energy co-founder Ben Irons, the team has decades of experience in Australian energy markets and draws on the knowledge and capabilities we have gained operating one of the largest battery storage portfolios in the UK.
Please see the following links for more information:
Jordina Evins
Chief Communications Officer, Yadlamalka Energy
