A 25kW (100kWh) V-KOR vanadium battery has been installed in Western Australia as part of a trial micro grid energy storage project backed by a South Korean-Australian partnership.
Perth-based Protean Energy said the battery installation, at the site of an industrial manufacturer in Perth, will be isolated from the main electrical grid and used in combination with a 21-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system and a 21kW diesel generator.
“Demonstrating the V-KOR vanadium battery in a micro grid situation is the first phase of the Australian trial,” Protean said. “The next phase of the trial will be to incorporate the integration of the solar system and the V-KOR battery with the Western Power electricity grid.”
The micro grid aims to demonstrate how the V-KOR battery operates as part of an off-grid solution in commercial/industrial premises, Protean said.
The V-KOR demonstration battery comprises two electrolyte tanks, two 12.5kW battery stacks, a 25kW inverter and associated electrolyte pumps combined with a power management and conditioning system. The battery is housed in a shipping container.
Protean said the V-KOR systems use vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store energy in the form of two liquid electrolytes. “VRFBs are proven to have excellent durability and life spans up to 20 years,” the company said.
The proprietary V-KOR technology is 100% owned by battery developer Korid Energy— which is 50-50 owned by Protean and South Korea-based DST Company. KORID received a grant from a South Korean government agency towards the development and testing of the V-KOR range of vanadium batteries in Australia.
The V-KOR technology and batteries are scaleable with built solutions from 2kW to 20MW or larger, Protean said. The battery offers customers energy certainty and also the option to store energy when it is either available from the grid at off peak rates or when a solar system or wind farm is generating power for free.”