Australia’s first vanadium flow battery manufacturing supply chain 

Industry leaders have signed a deal to establish Australia’s first vanadium flow battery manufacturing supply chain in Queensland.  

Idemitsu Australia, Sumitomo Electric Industries and Vecco Group signed a collaboration agreement to build a complete manufacturing supply chain, from mining to energy storage, expected to be operational in 2026. 

Under this non-exclusive agreement, Idemitsu plans to market, sell and deliver vanadium flow batteries to Australian customers using Sumitomo Electric hardware and Vecco’s electrolyte made from vanadium mined in Queensland’s north west minerals province.  

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. general manager of energy systems division Mr Kamada says “we are very pleased to be able to participate in this framework together with Idemitsu Australia, which has a great track record in this country and Vecco Group, which has started manufacturing the first Australian-produced electrolyte”.  

“Through this framework, we hope to contribute to the spread of renewable energy and decarbonisation in Queensland and Australia,” he said. 

The manufacturing of battery electrolyte will be undertaken in Townsville with final assembly completed at customer sites.  

With the successful operation of the 35MWh production facility in Townsville, Vecco has now secured a 3.2hectare site at Cleveland Bay Industrial Park (CBIP) for its 300MWh commercial production facility. 

Idemitsu Australia chief executive officer Steve Kovac says “Idemitsu’s involvement with this venture is another exciting extension of our collaboration with Vecco Group”.  

“Idemitsu Australia continues to strategically invest in renewable and clean energy projects,” he said.  

“We believe that our participation in the complete vanadium flow battery manufacturing supply chain will create opportunities for Australia and serves the growing global demand for renewable energy storage.” 

Vecco Group managing director Tom Northcott says “demand for vanadium flow batteries is rapidly increasing to meet the world’s energy storage demands”.  

“Over 7.4GWh of vanadium flow battery projects globally are currently under construction or have been announced in the last 12 months,” he said. 

“The decision for Idemitsu to market and deploy vanadium flow batteries using Sumitomo and Vecco products acknowledges the scale of the opportunity.”