VanadiumCorp Resource Inc. reports that the progress of the construction of the Company’s first facility for manufacturing vanadium electrolytes, announced on March 29, 2023, is on track. The Company has taken possession of its site at the CIMMS facility in Val-des-Sources, Québec. Engineering designs are complete.
All major equipment is procured and ready for installation upon arrival of the electrochemical equipment from the UK in early October. The Company has contracted for the initial feedstock supplies for the manufacturing process. The Company expects production to begin in Q1 2024.
As previously announced, VanadiumCorp’s first electrolyte facility is located at the Carrefour d’Innovation sur les matériaux de la MRC des Sources (CIMMS), in Val-des-Sources, Québec. CIMMS provides technical support services to innovative mining, metals and eco-materials companies active in Québec. The Company and CIMMS have signed a cooperation agreement to produce initially up to 360,000 litres/year of high-quality vanadium electrolyte for use in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFB). The initial test facility is sufficient to provision 6.8 MWh of VRFB storage per year.
Contingent on sales to international battery manufacturers, potential production in Quebec can expand incrementally according to market needs using our modular production-line design. each module with a capacity of 3 million litres/year, each providing about 57 MWh of VRFB storage per year.
The development of the electrolyte facility has been greatly facilitated by a grant from PRIMA Québec, the agency of the Government of Québec supporting innovation in critical and strategic metals. See the news release from the Company dated July 31, 2023.
VanadiumCorp’s CEO, Paul McGuigan, P. Geo., stated “As we move towards assembly and commissioning of our first electrolyte facility, VanadiumCorp can now turn our attention to how best to support VRFB manufacturers with their key ingredient for success in deploying the best long-duration batteries on the market.”