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Alpharetta-based Stryten Energy has landed a joint venture with a Toronto-based supplier of vanadium, securing domestic supply for a key element used in next-generation batteries.
An affiliate of Stryten is working with a subsidiary of Largo Inc. to create Storion Energy LLC, which will supply U.S.-made vanadium electrolyte for flow batteries, a technology the companies say needs a reliable domestic supply chain to lower costs and increase adoption.
Largo, a mining company, sources vanadium from its mines in Brazil. The partnership will see Largo Physical Vanadium Corp. bringing the material into the U.S. to be incorporated into Storion’s electrolytes, all using Stryten’s manufacturing expertise.
“Through Storion, we are establishing a fully integrated vanadium electrolyte supply chain in North America, addressing a key challenge for vanadium flow battery adoption while unlocking new growth opportunities for Largo,” said Francesco D’Alessio, president of Largo Clean Energy Corp., the group entering the agreement with Stryten Critical E-Storage LLC.
Each side will own 50 percent of the venture. Stryten has paid $1 million to Largo directly and will contribute another $6 million over time. Ostensibly an even split, Stryten will get one additional seat on the board of directors.
Stryten says vanadium redox flow batteries, or VFRB modules, are useful in battery-energy storage systems like those used in solar and wind applications requiring utilities to sock away energy for at least four hours and up to a few days. VFRB projects are already in use in Covington, Ga., and Mallorca, Spain.
Securing a vertically integrated supply of the metal was key to bringing down costs and encouraging more companies to adopt the technology, which the companies hope will hasten the arrival of a carbon-free grid, the companies said.
Vanadium is “infinitely recyclable” and scalable, with the electrolyte material forming 40-70 percent of a VFRB system’s cost, according to Storion, which will operate production facilities in Alpharetta and Wilmington, Mass.
The companies did not announce whether new jobs would be created or additional manufacturing space needed.
Visit www.storion.com to learn more.