In the lead up to the 2025 Western Australian state election, WA Premier Roger Cook has pledged to construct a new 50-megawatt vanadium battery in Kalgoorlie.
Vanadium batteries offer a high capacity for energy storage and a long cycle life, having the ability to be charged and discharged repeatedly with minimal degradation over the long battery life.
Building the new $150 million vanadium battery is set to support the emerging vanadium market, where demand is expected to soar to 773.10 kilotons (kt) by 2050 under a net-zero emissions by 2050 scenario, according to the International Energy Agency.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) welcomed the WA Government’s announcement, with the entity having worked with its vanadium members and State Government over the past three years to find ways to support the industry.
“The project will create some 150 jobs, and a vanadium flow battery of this size provides a nice entry level to adding more batteries to WA’s energy mix,” AMEC director – Western Australia, Northern Territory and Commonwealth policy Neil van Drunen said.
“The battery will deliver 10 hours of back-up electricity storage, providing another layer of security for the Goldfields’ energy system, while strengthening the state’s energy infrastructure.”
WA is home to several vanadium resources, five of which are investment ready.
One of these projects is the Australian Vanadium project, which is one of the largest vanadium deposits globally. It is situated south of Meekatharra in WA and expected supply is due by 2027.
Earlier this week, Australian Vanadium Limited – owner of the Australian Vanadium project – announced it would join the WA Government’s ‘Green Energy Major Projects’ group while it continues the next phase of its optimised feasibility study.
Another emerging vanadium project in WA is Tivan’s Speewah vanadium project, which recently produced high-purity vanadium pentoxide at 99.86 per cent grade without the need for solvent extraction.
Australia currently holds 8510kt of vanadium economic demonstrated resources and 2971kt in vanadium ore reserves, representing 32 per cent of the world’s vanadium resources.
A total of 62 per cent of Australia’s vanadium resources are located in WA, with 35 per cent in Queensland and three per cent the Northern Territory.
While there are currently no active Australian vanadium mines, the critical mineral is available in the country for the taking. It is these resources that will be key to meeting the rising global demand for vanadium batteries.
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