Energia
Largo Resources Launches Largo Clean Energy; Creating a Leading, Vertically Integrated and Sustainable Renewable Energy Storage Provider
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The launch of Largo Clean Energy creates a vertically integrated energy storage provider for the growing renewable energy storage market. Global energy storage capacity is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (" ") of 31%, recording over 741 gigawatt-hours (" ") of cumulative capacity by 2030[1]. The VRFB has emerged as a preferred renewable energy storage system for industrial and commercial microgrids, renewables integration, EV charging and grid applications. Through the combination of Largo's unrivalled high purity vanadium products and today's launch of Largo Clean Energy's VRFB business, the Company is confident that it is well positioned to capture a significant portion of future renewable energy storage demand going forward.
The VRFB is well-known for its technical and economic merits, but a fundamental issue that plagues most VRFB deployment projects is the secure and reliable supply of high purity vanadium. We believe that the launch of Largo Clean Energy helps to solve this problem by combining industry leading VRFB technology with Largo's world class supply of high purity vanadium. Additionally, Largo's cost-efficient expansion plans are expected to support the anticipated future demand of Largo Clean Energy's VCHARGE± deployments.
We believe the formation of Largo Clean Energy leverages Largo's unique position as one of the world's highest-quality vanadium producers. In building a VRFB business, Largo is moving downstream in order to diversify its product and customer base, and increase its flexibility in any vanadium price environment.
Largo Clean Energy will utilize the patented flow battery stack technology and proprietary vanadium electrolyte processing technology it now has at its disposal to further develop and deploy its VCHARGE± battery systems with a view of providing safe and continuous energy storage over a 20+ year life cycle with nominal degradation.
Largo Clean Energy entered into an asset purchase agreement dated effective November 25, 2020 (the " ") pursuant to which it has now acquired certain assets of VionX Energy, including 12 patent families (the " ") out of an assignment for the benefit of creditors under Massachusetts law. Closing of the purchase of the Assets was conditional upon Largo Clean Energy entering into the License Agreement (as defined below) which occurred today. The Assets were acquired for deemed net consideration equal to US$3,862,000 that was satisfied through the issuance of 2,518,453 common shares of Largo (at a deemed price per common shares of CAD$1.035 , being the 5-day VWAP prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement) and 3,622,007 share purchase warrants of Largo, which have an exercise price of CAD$0.67 and a term of five years. In connection with the transaction, Largo Clean Energy has also entered into a non-exclusive license agreement (the " ") with Raytheon Technologies Corporation in respect of certain technology used by Largo Clean Energy.
Largo believes the VRFB stands out above other battery contenders as being most ideally suited for large-scale utility, commercial and industrial renewable energy storage applications. The VRFB contains a vanadium electrolyte liquid solution that stores and releases large amounts of energy—and in most cases simultaneously—over long periods of time. Unlike a conventional battery, a VRFB uses a vanadium electrolyte to store energy in separated storage tanks, not in the power cell of the battery. During operation these electrolytes are pumped through a stack of power cells, or membranes, where an electrochemical reaction takes place and electricity is produced.
The VRFB's strengths lie within its longevity, lack of degradation in performance over time (even after many thousands of cycles), non-flammability, 100% depth of discharge without any damage to the battery system and the ability to re-use the vanadium electrolyte at the end of the battery's life. The electrolyte solution employed in the VRFB is non-volatile – it is neither flammable, nor explosive as a result of its high water content and has very little, or no self-discharge current, which offers a very high degree of operational safety compared to other battery energy storage systems. This inherent non-flammability of the water-based electrolyte used in VRFBs makes them ideal for deployment in densely populated areas, airports, schools and wooded areas where mitigating the safety risk caused by fire and smoke is paramount.
Suitable for both grid and decentralized energy applications, the VRFB is one of the preferred battery energy storage technologies that provides an effective solution to address the challenges associated with grid modernization and stabilization, as well as renewable energy integration. VRFBs can also be employed in utility-scale energy storage projects, micro-grids, renewable energy generation integration, grid smoothing, backup power and in remote and off-grid power applications.
To learn more about vanadium redox flow batteries and the growing global energy storage market, please visit the About Vanadium section of our website at www.largoresources.com.
Largo Resources' management will host a webcast and conference call on
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 , at 10:00 a.m. ET, to discuss the Largo Clean Energy and VCHARGE± battery technology transaction highlights.
Largo Clean Energy aims to become a leading supplier of safe, durable, long-duration grid-scale vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) for the fast-growing global renewable energy storage market. Our VCHARGE± battery systems use patented battery technology and proprietary vanadium electrolyte processing to provide customers with a fully integrated and cost-competitive renewable energy storage system comprised of power conditioning, system control and thermal management subsystems. Our VCHARGE± battery systems are designed to operate at 3 times higher power density than most other competitors and have been proven non-flammable and safe. The VCHARGE± battery system also offers a unique, long-duration discharge of up to 10 hours at full rated power delivering unmatched performance over a 20+ year life cycle with no degradation. For more information, please visit www.largocleanenergy.com.
Largo Resources is a leading, vertically integrated producer and supplier of high-quality vanadium. Largo can service multiple vanadium market applications through the supply of its unrivaled VPURE™ and VPURE+™ products, which are sourced from one of the world's highest-grade vanadium deposits at the Maracás Menchen Mine located in Brazil . Largo is also focused on the advancement of renewable energy storage solutions through Largo Clean Energy and its world-class VCHARGE± vanadium redox flow battery systems. The Company's common shares are principally listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "LGO".
For more information on Largo and VPURE™, please visit www.largoresources.com and www.largoVPURE.com.
For additional information on Largo Clean Energy, please visit www.largocleanenergy.com.
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Contact: Alex Guthrie , Senior Manager, External Relations, aguthrie@largoresources.com, Tel: +1 416–861–9797