Flow battery firm ViZn to target Africa market

ViZn will work with EPC firm Jabil Inala in the African market. Source: ViZn.

Flow battery manufacturer ViZn Energy Systems will target the African market after forming a partnership with EPC firm Jabil Inala.

The company will offer its battery systems as a diesel generator alternative focusing on microgrid, agricultural and remote mining applications.

“Africa represents an enormous market both in terms of the potential growth for supplying power and the ability to positively impact the lives of millions of people,” said Ron Van Dell, CEO, ViZn Energy. “Since much of the centralised distribution infrastructure does not exist across the continent, it is ripe for the establishment of distributed microgrids to power villages that currently don’t have electricity and also to replace diesel generators at remote mining and agricultural facilities.”

Manufacturing giant Jabil purchased Inala in January to facilitate its own entry into the African market.

“In the African market, it is critical for a microgrid to have the ability to operate in harsh environments while maintaining industrial power quality,” said Howard Earley, managing director, Jabil Inala. “ViZn’s 20-year expected operational lifetime and ability to perform both high-power and long-duration applications delivers very attractive economics in these demanding applications,” claimed Earley.

Africa has 600 million people without access to power, according to IEA statistics.