Recently, bushveld, a vanadium producer in South Africa, said that it had obtained funds for the engineering, procurement and construction of the hybrid microgrid project, which will provide energy for its vametco mine operations in South Africa.

The hybrid microgrid project will provide about 10.7% of vametco's power, and will demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility of using solar panels and all vanadium redox flow battery (vrfb) hybrid microgrids.

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In addition to bringing long-term positive benefits to the mine, the project will also become one of the first renewable energy projects in South Africa to adopt vanadium battery energy storage technology and demonstrate its commercial feasibility on a large scale.

The total cost of the project is estimated at R113 million (approximately £ 5.8 million).

ABSA affiliated bank has approved a loan of R64 million to partially fund the construction.

The project has been fully funded and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023.

Fortune mojapelo, CEO of bushveld minerals, said: "in the future, we expect that the demand for projects combining solar photovoltaic and vrfb technologies will increase, especially in regions facing similar challenges with South Africa."

The project will help bushveld's mining and processing activities reduce their carbon footprint. CO2 emissions will be reduced by more than 8000 tons per year, and more than 200000 tons of CO2 will be reduced in the project life cycle