Rah Rah Rally
Guys, the perpetual repeating of old stories is pathetic. A few months ago it was a fire at some Li-Ion battery that was supposed to jump-start VRFB sales. It didn't happen. Zero sales at LCE during the last 12 months. One battery sold. EVER! And that was 18 months ago. Now the cheerleaders resort to "pricing pressures for Li-Ion batteries". As if there were no pricing pressures for VRFBs. The inflationary environment is the same everywhere. Labor, raw materials, energy, transport, you name it. And if that wasn't enough, the infamous Largo Physical Vanadium stunt turns out to be a non-starter. Absolutely zero buying interest, no trading volume, nothing. Nobody is going to buy and own the Vanadium for us. We'll have to pay for it just as before and the upfront cost disadvantage for VRFBs remains. It might be too hard for some to accept but this is the reality.
The trends are clearly in favour of Li-Ion. LFP largely reduces fire risk and costs, eliminates Cobalt and Nickel from the equation. Evolving solid state batteries are poised to overcome the 4 hour barrier and eat away VRFB's longer duration advantage. The Chinese are not going to bail us out. They are building their own, independent, vertically integrated Vanadium supply chain. From ore to electrolyte to batteries.
But don't let reality get in the way of your feelgood stories. Bury your head in the sand and keep them coming!