RE:RE:RE:Winning From Higher Vanadium Pricesst_esteban wrote:
When V prices are high, Largo might be better off selling into the market to make a profit right away.
....
If V prices were high they would make VRFB uneconomic thus very unlikely that Largo could be selling its batteries into the market. Leasing is a more affordable financial solution when V prices are high.
You should read the following 2 articles:
1) Are lower vanadium prices triggering a wave of giant new VRFB developments?
https://stockhead.com.au/resources/are-lower-vanadium-prices-triggering-a-wave-of-giant-new-vrfb-developments/
Excerpts:
The notion that safer, longer-lasting vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) are better suited for large stationary storage than lithium-ion is well established.
Recently, the largest barrier to uptake has been cost.
At last year’s +$US30/lb prices for V2O5, it didn’t matter how good VRFB was. It just couldn’t compete with lithium-ion on price.
Vanadium batteries are not viable at V2O5 prices over $US10/lb “in any form”, says David Gillam of consultancy Mastermines, but prices below this should spark the battery sector into action.
Vince Algar, managing director at advanced explorer Australian Vanadium attended the 10th International Flow Battery Forum, in Lyon, France earlier this month.
He says when prices skyrocketed last year, VRFB producers couldn’t afford the vanadium to put in their batteries.
“They all had a near death experience last year,” Algar told Stockhead.
“Now that the price has come off, they came to the conference aware that they needed to talk to producers to lock in future supply.
“They had lost a little bit of the arrogance they might’ve had a few years ago, thinking they could get cheap vanadium from anybody.”
Algar says the number of VRFB installation is increasing again after many of these companies went into a holding pattern last year.
That’s because the electrolyte can represent between 20 and 50 per cent of the total cost of the battery – even at today’s prices.
“I wouldn’t even want to contemplate what those costs were when the vanadium price was at its highest,” Algar says.
“Between $US8-$US12/lb is a good balance. Too low and you knock too many tonnes out of the market; too high and the battery guys become unviable.
“We are looking for that ‘Goldilocks’ price – something ‘just right’ where everyone can benefit.”
Algar says if battery producers can lease vanadium, or secure its supply at “reasonable” prices, then it makes for very low costs per kWh over the asset life compared to lithium-ion.
The important thing about the leasing model is that it is unaffected by fluctuating vanadium prices. And it allows the producer, battery maker, and financier all to benefit, says Algar.
2) Vanadium Leasing Alberto Arias of Arias Resource Capital Management and Julian Dawson of Ultra Power Systems
https://www.thebushveldperspective.com/blog/public-articles-1/post/vanitec-3rd-energy-storage-meeting-part-3-173