MW batteries, page-21

Energy Minister Angus Taylor has announced $5.7 million of funding to support what is expected to be the world's largest solar-powered "flow" battery, which uses a different technology to the lithium ion-dominated pipeline of new projects.

The 8 MWh battery will be installed by Adelaide-based Yadlamalka Energy Trust alongside a 6 MW solar farm in South Australia's far north. The $20.3 million project should produce 10 gigawatt-hours a year of dispatchable solar power, enough for almost 1500 homes.

Vanadium flow batteries, developed at the University of New South Wales in the 1980s, are bulkier than lithium ion ones but offer longer storage, last for decades and are non-flammable.

Darren Miller, CEO of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which is providing the government funding, said they "could play a major role in addressing the emerging need for medium-duration storage, complementing the role of more established technologies such as pumped hydro energy storage and lithium ion batteries in the Australian market".

The battery, which will have a maximum output of 2 MW, will be supplied by London-listed Invinity Energy Systems and will provide both energy and frequency control services to the power system.