UK energy infrastructure investment and development company Frontier Power has joined forces with UK vanadium flow battery (VFB) manufacturer Invinity Energy Systems. It gains access to up to 2GWh of Invinity’s manufacturing capacity on a ‘right-of-first-refusal’ basis.
Invinity said Frontier will act as the lead developer, securing project financing, land, connections and planning permissions. Invinity will be the exclusive supplier of the flow battery technology.
The final volumes will be dependent on what capacity is enabled by the UK energy regulator OFGEM’s 2025 window and how many projects are accepted. Frontier is targeting multiple bids using Invinity’s Endurium vanadium flow battery technology into the first application window of OFGEM’s ‘cap and floor’ support scheme.
It guarantees a minimum income for investors (and maximum cap). It is hoped this will encourage investor confidence. The scheme allows a minimum project size of 300MWh and aims to support UK businesses and create investment in green jobs.
If the bids are successful and the projects reach financial close, Frontier has agreed to pay a capacity reserve fee to support Invinity’s manufacturing costs. It did not specify how this would be.
The batteries are made at Invinity’s Scottish factory. The company claims they are designed for large-scale, high-throughput energy storage and are suitable for demanding renewable energy applications.
Frontier is active in several locations and the firms will explore further collaborative opportunities, including in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the US and the EU.
Humza Malik, CEO of Frontier Power, said: “Our alliance with Invinity marks a pivotal step in revolutionising the UK’s approach to long-duration energy storage. Frontier Power’s track record in developing critical energy infrastructure, coupled with Invinity’s innovative battery technology, creates a formidable force in addressing the UK’s energy transition challenges.”
