Australian Vanadium Limited (AVL), a Perth-based vanadium resource and energy storage company, has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alcoa of Australia Limited to evaluate the deployment of vanadium flow battery technology at Alcoa’s alumina refinery operations in Western Australia.
Under the MoU, AVL and its wholly owned subsidiary, VSUN Energy, will undertake a scoping-level study to assess the financial and technical merits of a vanadium flow battery energy storage system (BESS) with a nominal power output of 50-80MW and a storage duration of 6-8 hours, extendable beyond 8-hours.
The total storage capacity of the proposed system would be between 400MWh and 640MWh.
The study will consider deployment at Alcoa’s refinery sites and associated landholdings in Western Australia. AVL and VSUN Energy will be responsible for system design, technical specifications, costings, electrolyte supply considerations, project financing options and assessment of potential government funding opportunities. Alcoa will provide support for the study.
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The MoU has an 18-month term. It is non-binding, except for customary provisions covering confidentiality and intellectual property, and does not obligate either party to enter into a future commercial agreement.
AVL chief executive Graham Arvidson said the collaboration would allow the companies to examine how long-duration energy storage (LDES) could support operational flexibility, energy cost management and decarbonisation objectives.
“This MoU with Alcoa represents an important opportunity to demonstrate the value of vanadium flow batteries in utility-scale industrial applications,” Arvidson said.
“Long-duration energy storage will play a critical role in enabling industrial electrification and increasing the utilisation of renewable energy, and VFB technology is particularly well suited to these applications.”
The study is expected to draw on AVL’s V-NOMAD electrolyte technology platform and VSUN Energy’s Lumina utility-scale vanadium flow battery development platform.
Alcoa operates three alumina refineries in Western Australia at Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup, as well as the Huntly and Willowdale bauxite mines in the Darling Range.
Alumina refining is an energy-intensive process, and Alcoa has committed to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030, relative to a 2015 baseline, as part of a broader decarbonisation programme.
A busy period for AVL as Kalgoorlie bid also advances
The Alcoa MoU was announced just over a week after AVL submitted its Stage Two proposal to the Western Australian government for the Kalgoorlie Vanadium Battery Energy Storage System, a 50MW/500MWh, 10-hour-duration project designed to improve grid reliability in the state’s Eastern Goldfields region.
AVL’s Stage Two submission follows its participation in Stage One of the government’s expression-of-interest process, announced in January 2026. The proposal is for AVL to build, own and operate the facility, with commercial operation targeted for 2029.
Arvidson described the submission as reflecting substantial technical, commercial and development work.
“Our proposal combines AVL’s integrated Western Australian vanadium industry capability with globally recognised battery technology, engineering, construction, asset management and energy market expertise,” he said.
The Stage Two submission does not guarantee that AVL will be selected as the preferred proponent. The WA Government will evaluate proposals from AVL and other participating entities before selecting a preferred proponent and entering negotiations.
The Kalgoorlie project is one of the most-watched long-duration storage procurements in Australia.
In February 2026, AVL secured an exclusive partnership with Sumitomo Electric Industries to provide vanadium flow battery technology for the Kalgoorlie project bid, combining established Japanese flow battery technology with local vanadium supply chain capabilities.
The arrangement carries up to AU$150 million (US$99 million) in Western Australian government investment.
As readers of Energy-Storage.news will be aware, Western Australia has prioritised long-duration energy storage in its latest clean energy funding rounds, showcasing the state’s need to firm its rapidly growing renewable energy generation with assets capable of dispatching power across extended periods rather than the 2-4 hour durations typical of lithium-ion batteries.
The state government’s decision to seek local vanadium content for the Kalgoorlie project also highlights Western Australia’s position as home to a third of the world’s recoverable primary vanadium reserves.
For instance, AVL’s Gabanintha project holds a mineral resource of 395.4 million tonnes at 0.77% vanadium pentoxide, including a high-grade zone of 173.2 million tonnes at 1.09%.
In an exclusive interview with ESN Premium last year, the Western Australian government’s 500MWh vanadium initiative was described as a “pivotal moment” for the technology’s commercial deployment, given the scale of the procurement and its explicit requirement for local content.
More than 30 million litres of vanadium electrolyte would be required to support the 500MWh system, a volume that would require manufacturing capacity expansion if supplied locally.
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