Toronto-listed miner VanadiumCorp Resource is working with a ship design company and vessel owner Vega Reederei to develop a new marine battery propulsion system.
The Canadian company said work has begun on the first phase of key design and engineering for the next-generation vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB).
Dutch designer Conoship and German shipowner Vega have formed a trilateral partnership with VanadiumCorp to move the work forward.
A VRFB is a rechargeable battery that uses vanadium ions in different oxidation states to store chemical potential energy.
Simpler battery
It exploits the ability of vanadium to exist in solution in four different oxidation states, and uses this property to make a battery that has just one electro-active element instead of two.
Phase one work will be managed by wholly owned European subsidiary VanadiumCorp, under the direction of its chief technology officer, Dr GY Champagne.
An engineering team, located in Germany, the Netherlands and North America, is focusing on VRFB system architecture, components and parts design.
This is all leading up to the delivery of VRFB cells and stacks of incremental sizes for testing in Germany.
Research and development partners will conduct some specific lab-level material and electrolyte tests to support the engineering work and integration of the VRFB in marine vessels, VanadiumCorp said.
The aim is to achieve zero emissions from ships.
European cooperation
The mining and technology company said key advancements in energy density have been achieved through VanadiumCorp’s research and development cooperation with the German-Australian Alliance for Electrochemical Technologies for the Storage of Renewable Energy.
Last month, Vega teamed up with India's Su-Nav Group to manage boxships, tankers and bulkers.
The alliance creates a combined fleet of 35 ships, and the intention is to add 50 more technically managed vessels over the next year.
The companies said they want to offer a new "angle" for owners and institutional investors.
Management will be cloud based, with real-time reporting, the companies said.
Vega controls two handysize bulkers, a supramax, two product tankers and feeder containerships, while Su-Nav manages 16 tankers and bulkers.
