No doubt about it taking a bit of time, I remember reading about PLS and everyone saying lithium boom was “a decade away” in 2015 and that only “the majors” would exist, “Pilbara would never make”, well we all know what’s happening now with PLS, AJM, TAW,KDR,NMX,CRE, BGS, AVZ etc etc.
The issue for other vanadium plays is the CAPEX in my view. Look at many rare earth plays needed $700mil+ capex, it’s hard enough to get funding for $300, let alone a lot more.
About 90 per cent of global vanadium production is used to make high-strength steel right now, but future demand stems from its role in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRBs), which can store more power and discharge it over a much longer period than lithium-ion batteries (see where I’m going here...)
China is already building a couple of large batteries to store power. Rongke Power in Dalian province is building a 200MW/800MWh battery, which is going to need about 7000 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide.
It is anticipated that forecast increase in battery usage for large scale energy storage (the Chinese will be leading the way here just like EV’s will lead to a significant increase in the demand for vanadium.
The advantage of VRB batteries over other batteries is that they last up to 20 years, substantially longer than most current batteries, and they can hold charge for as long as 12 months and discharge 100 per cent of their charge without damage.
I’d rather be at the start of the curve then at the end chasing it. I hope we all make a killing over time, adoption will happen fast and when it does quality assets will certainly be needed.
