Milestone payment received supporting the development of the Australian Vanadium Project.
KEY POINTS
• Milestone payment of $14.7 million* received from Australian Government grant under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative – Manufacturing Collaboration Stream.
• The grant provides up to $49 million* to support the Australian Vanadium Project to enable new critical mineral production which will support the domestic vanadium supply chain in the battery market.
Australian Vanadium Limited (ASX: AVL, ‘Company' or ‘AVL') is pleased to announce the receipt of the second milestone payment of $14.7 million* from the Federal Government under a Commonwealth Grant Agreement as part of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative - Manufacturing Collaboration Stream (‘Grant'). AVL has now received a total of $24.5 million in milestone payments related to the Grant.
On 30 May 2023 the Company announced the execution of a Commonwealth Grant Agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.1
The Grant provides up to $49 million* in funding support for the Australian Vanadium Project to assist the Company, in collaboration with industry partners, to create an Australian vanadium battery industry. The first milestone payment of $9.8 million* was received in June 2023.2
The Grant funds eligible activities required to construct and commission a crushing, milling and beneficiation plant and a high-purity vanadium processing facility capable of using green hydrogen to partly fuel the extraction process for the project.
This critical mineral extraction process is a key precursor for vanadium electrolyte manufacturing which AVL is already undertaking at its vanadium electrolyte manufacturing facility in Perth.3
The scope of the Grant encompasses support for all stages of the vanadium production value chain, from mining and concentrating to vanadium processing for use in electrolyte production, a key enabler for the Australian vanadium flow battery (VFB) industry.
CEO, Graham Arvidson comments, “AVL continues to work closely with the Australian Government and we are grateful to receive this second milestone payment. It is testament to the outstanding work being undertaken to progress the Australian Vanadium Project, which will benefit not only the Mid West region of Western Australia where the Project will operate, but Australia more broadly, as we continue to realise the onshore vanadium value chain from pit-to-battery that will support Australia's energy transition ambitions.
“Our project is expected to create hundreds of jobs in mining and processing and will expand to battery manufacturing value chains around the country, as vanadium flow batteries are more widely adopted to meet the long duration energy storage requirements of renewable energy generation. We continue to collaborate with industry partners and look forward to sharing these developments as they advance.”
The receipt of this second milestone payment follows the release of the Federal Government's recent Budget 2024-25 Future Made in Australia strategy, which provides support for the refining and processing of critical minerals and manufacturing of clean energy technologies, including battery supply chains. Support provided by this strategic initiative will be in the form of a proposed Critical Minerals Production Tax Incentive from 2027-28 to 2040-41,4 which is expected to be applicable in relation to eligible production costs at two stages of the Company's vertically integrated operations: at the processing stage of vanadium oxide production at the vanadium processing facility and in the production of vanadium electrolyte at its vanadium electrolyte manufacturing facility.
Payment of the remainder of the Grant remains subject to milestones and compliance by the Company with its obligations pursuant to the Grant.
AVL Price at posting:
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