Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
Invested in Vecco, which promotes the vanadium business in Australia Contributing to the stable supply of vanadium, whose price is soaring
Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shunichi Kito; hereinafter referred to as “the Company”) has invested in Vecco Group Pty Ltd (Headquarters: Brisbane), which is promoting the vanadium business in Australia. *1 did.
Vecco is proceeding with a vanadium mine and electrolyte plant project (project name: Debella Project, hereinafter “Debella PJ”) in Queensland, Australia. Devera PJ is a project to mine vanadium ore and produce electrolytes for redox flow batteries*2 using vanadium. In this project, we will build a value chain of local production for local consumption, mining vanadium, refining it to vanadium pentoxide, and producing vanadium electrolyte, stabilizing the supply and creating demand for vanadium in geopolitically stable Australia. aims to contribute to
Under the energy plan (official name: Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan) announced by the Queensland government in September, the state aims to raise the renewable energy ratio to 80% by 2035 (21% as of 2022). ), the development of renewable energy sources, the development of power grids, and power storage facilities that are responsible for adjusting supply and demand. For power storage facilities in particular, the introduction of large-scale redox flow batteries that utilize vanadium produced in the state is expected.
As the energy transition toward decarbonization accelerates worldwide, we are taking advantage of the business foundation we have cultivated through approximately 40 years of coal mine operations in Australia to enter the critical minerals business. We are promoting the acquisition of knowledge. In Australia, which is leading the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, we see the opportunity of having a business base as a Japanese company. We will work to create
【project overview】
1. Project name:
Devera Project
2. Resources assumed to be mined and produced:
Main products: vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), vanadium electrolyte Accompanying by-products: High-purity alumina (HPA)*3
3. Mine location:
Julia Creek, Queensland (650 km west of Townsville)
Four. URL:
https://veccogroup.com.au/operations/debella-v-hpa-project/
*1 This investment was made by Idemitsu Minerals Australia Pty Ltd, which was established by Idemitsu Australia Pty Ltd (head office: Brisbane), an Australian subsidiary, for the purpose of promoting the critical minerals business. , 100% owned by Idemitsu Australia). *2 Redox flow battery
A storage battery that charges and discharges using
oxidation-reduction reactions of ions such as vanadium. While other storage batteries charge and discharge through chemical changes in the electrodes, they charge and discharge through chemical changes in the electrolyte (oxidation-reduction reaction). It has a long service life with almost no deterioration of the electrodes and electrolyte, and is highly safe because it does not use flammable materials and can be operated at room temperature.It has characteristics suitable for storage batteries for power systems.
*3 High-purity alumina (HPA)
It is widely used for light-emitting diodes, single-crystal materials such as sapphire for watch windows, high-strength ceramics tools, and abrasives for magnetic tapes. In recent years, demand has been increasing in fields where high growth is expected, such as energy, automobiles, semiconductors and computers.
【reference】
Overview of Vecco
Name: Vecco Group Pty Ltd
Address: 40 Creek St, Brisbane City QLD 4000, Australia
Representative: Thomas Northcott
Business: Exploration and production of vanadium mineral resources, production of vanadium electrolyte
URL: https://veccogroup.com.au/
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000387.000023740.html