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Realising the transition to green energy, through renewables and the vanadium redox flow battery

By Paul Vollant
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Paul Vollant is Director of Sales & Trading at Largo Resources, a producer and supplier of vanadium. 

As the world intensifies its efforts to adapt to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressing need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy cannot be ignored. Though life as we know it has been greatly impacted, life during and after this pandemic has placed more emphasis on the need for the world to be greener. Through the deployment of reliable large-scale energy storage batteries, a greener world is attainable.

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The outbreak of COVID-19 has in many regions led to complete economic shutdown. With air traffic brought to a standstill, motorways cleared, and factories closed, we have seen a significant reduction of carbon emissions by various economic sectors. This has given us a glimpse of what the world might look if decisive actions are taken.

According to a study published in the National Climate Change journal, daily global carbon emissions dropped by approximately 17% [1] by April 2020 compared with the mean 2019 levels, a direct result of the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic. As the world heals, we must use this critical juncture to make significant progress towards realizing the necessary transition to green energy.

Vanadium flakes in the supply chain. Image: Largo Resources.

Transitioning to green energy after COVID-19

While we do acknowledge the challenges faced as a result of COVID-19, we cannot afford to lose sight of the opportunity renewable energy and energy storage solutions, such as the Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) present. The VRFB is a sustainable and scalable energy storage battery that is powered by vanadium electrolyte liquid solution to store and release large amounts of energy over long periods of time. Additionally, the VRFB is able to discharge 100% without any damage to the battery and provides users with a guaranteed uninterrupted power supply.

The on-going deployment of renewable energy sources combined with the utilisation of battery storage are key elements to accelerating this transition. To further support this, renewables combined with storage solutions carry the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 70% by 2050.

As the world simultaneously fights the COVID-19 pandemic and accelerates the necessary transition to green energy utilisation, at Largo Resources, we understand our role in contributing to this transition and the clean technology solutions that can be accessed through the production of vanadium.

Our high purity VPURE+ products are required in the production of electrolyte needed for VRFBs which are the ideal solution for grid level energy storage. Our vanadium products are sourced through low impact operations from the world’s highest-grade vanadium deposits—which means that once processed, our products contain very little contaminants.

Notes:

[1] Temporary reduction in daily global CO2 emissions during the COVID-19 forced confinement – Nature climate change, 19 May 2020

[2] Investment needs for a low carbon energy system – International Renewable Energy Agency / OECD / IEA publication, 2017

A Largo Resources vanadium processing facility. Image: Largo Resources.

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