Largo Resources taps Brazil in vanadium battery push
04/05/2021 19:07
By Luciano Costa
SAO PAULO, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Largo Clean Energy
is preparing to produce batteries using vanadium extracted from
northeastern Brazil, the company's chief executive said on
Tuesday, in a bid to capture a chunk of the fast-growing
renewable energy storage market.
The company, whose parent Largo Resources Ltd LGO.TO is
mining the elemental metal in the Brazilian state of Bahia, is
in advanced negotiations with potential clients, said Paulo
Misk, CEO of the Largo group. He says the firm's vanadium
batteries are lower cost and last longer than rival solutions,
such as lithium.
"Our battery isn't competing with car batteries," he said in
a video interview. "Our battery is meant to make renewable
energy, particularly solar and wind, viable in the sense of
making up 100% of the energy matrix."
While vanadium battery technology is not new, it is widely
viewed as an up-and-coming industrial solution for renewable
energy providers looking to scale up.
The energy storage market grew at a record pace in 2020,
driven by the Asia-Pacific region, according to a report from
Wood Mackenzie. The consultancy sees the Americas region
becoming the industry's center by 2025, driven by activity in
the United States.
The company should begin delivering its first vanadium
batteries next year and is in conversations with potential
clients in Europe, Australia and Africa, Misk said.
Largo Clean Energy was created in 2020 after Largo Resources
acquired vanadium battery patents and hired specialists
experienced with the technology.
Misk said Largo's vanadium batteries will have an effective
life of 20 years, versus seven years for many lithium batteries.
The company will offer leasing contracts to clients, in order to
attend to shorter term commercial needs.
(Reporting by Luciano Costa; Writing by Gram Slattery; Editing
by Steve Orlofsky)
((gram.slattery@thomsonreuters.com; +55-11-95057-1453))