Ivanhoe Electric’s 90%-Owned Subsidiary VRB Energy Achieves Milestone Global Safety Certification for its Third Generation Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (“VRB-ESS®”) VRB-ESS® Utilize a Vanadium Electrolyte that Can Be Charged and
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August 30, 2023
Ivanhoe Electric’s 90%-Owned Subsidiary VRB Energy Achieves
Milestone Global Safety Certification for its Third Generation
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (“VRB-ESS®”)
VRB-ESS® Utilize a Vanadium Electrolyte that Can Be Charged and
Discharged Over an Almost Unlimited Number of Cycles
VRB-ESS® Energy Storage Capabilities are Ideal for Daily Cycling
Required to Support Utility Substations, Large Commercial and
Industrial Sites and for Integrating Solar, Wind and Microgrid
Facilities
VRB Energy Currently has Over 500 MWh of Energy Storage
Capacity Installed or in Development
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – Ivanhoe Electric (NYSE American: IE; TSX: IE) Executive
Chairman, Robert Friedland and President and Chief Executive Officer, Taylor Melvin
are pleased to announce that after months of rigorous testing, the Company’s 90%-
owned subsidiary, VRB Energy, Inc. (“VRB Energy”) has obtained Underwriters
Laboratories (“UL”) 1973 certification for its Third Generation Energy Storage System
(“Gen3 VRB-ESS®”). UL 1973 is recognized as a global standard for commercially
available battery energy storage.
This milestone third-party certification provides validation that the Gen3 VRB-ESS®
product is a viable solution for utility-scale energy storage of renewable power.
The UL 1973 certification paves the way for VRB Energy and the Gen3 VRB-ESS® to
meet the growing demand for large-scale energy storage as part of the energy
transition.
Mr. Friedland commented: "Countries around the world are committed to net-zero
carbon solutions, which will require vast capital investment over the next 25 years in
energy storage. Meeting global carbon dioxide emission reduction goals will require
large-scale, safe and cost-effective energy storage solutions to store the power
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generated from renewables for use when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not
shining. Achieving this globally recognized safety certification for VRB Energy’s new
generation of vanadium redox flow batteries validates the technology as a safe and
reliable component of the global energy transition.”
Mr. Melvin commented: “VRB Energy’s newest generation of vanadium redox flow
batteries is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work by the dedicated team at
VRB Energy, and an important advancement in the Company’s proven battery storage
platform. Achieving UL 1973 certification is a critical step in VRB-ESS® becoming a key
component to meet global demand for large-scale battery storage.”
Charles Ge, CEO of VRB Energy, commented: “I am proud of our engineering team and
the commitment of the entire company to safety and quality. We adhere to the highest
international standards and are committed to delivering the most reliable commercial
product in the grid-scale energy storage market.”
The Gen3 VRB-ESS® is the Only System Currently Available that is Certified
to the UL 1973 Standard for a 1MW Power Module
VRB Energy’s current generation of its utility scale energy storage systems, the Gen3
VRB-ESS®, is based on a 60 kilowatt (“kW”) cell stack and a 1 megawatt (“MW”) power
module building block. This is the largest cell stack and the largest and most efficient
commercial product in the industry.
CSA Group (formerly known as Canadian Standards Association) is a global
organization dedicated to safety, social good and sustainability, and a leader in testing,
inspection and certification. CSA Group successfully completed a series of safety tests
under UL 1973:2018 for the 60 kW nominal (75 kW maximum) power cell stacks. Testing
included material, vibration, high temperature, physical drop, and short circuit tests.
More rigorous tests of the full 1 MW Gen3 system included over-charge, over-discharge,
short circuit, voltage limit, ground fault, and high temperature tests, as well as
functional safety tests based on International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”)
13849-1 2015 and ISO 13849-2 2012 standards.
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries are Superior to Lithium-Ion Batteries for
Grid Scale Energy Storage
VRB Energy’s core technology uses vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) in a proprietary
formulation of a water-based battery electrolyte. The vanadium electrolyte in VRB-ESS®
can be charged and discharged over an almost unlimited number of cycles without
wearing out. This means that vanadium flow batteries have distinct and inherent
advantages for long-duration and long-life applications, which means they are the ideal
solution for large-scale integration of solar and wind power onto utility grids around the
world.
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Vanadium flow batteries have significant advantages over lithium batteries for the daily
deep-cycling needs of solar and wind power. VRB-ESS® have lower degradation, full
depth of discharge and lower replacement costs compared to lithium batteries that
results in a lower levelized cost of energy (“LCOE”), which is an industry measure for
total cost of ownership.
In addition, VRB Energy’s proprietary electrolyte formula used in VRB-ESS® contains no
heavy metals and the liquid electrolyte is non-flammable and 100% reusable, making
VRB-ESS® fundamentally safer and superior to lithium-ion batteries for grid scale
energy storage.
Figure 1. Gen3 VRB-ESS® stores water-based vanadium electrolyte in large
external tanks (a positive tank and a negative tank per power module). The
electrolyte is circulated through cell stacks that charge or discharge the energy
from the system in a nearly infinitely repeatable process that is safe and reliable.
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Figure 2. VRB-ESS® cell stacks.
Figure 3. VRB-ESS® tanks.
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About VRB Energy
VRB Energy is engaged in the design, manufacture, installation, and operation of large-
scale energy storage systems using vanadium redox batteries, VRB-ESS®. Vanadium
redox batteries are a type of rechargeable flow battery that employ vanadium ions as
the charge carriers. We believe they are safe, scalable and have the lowest lifecycle cost
of energy compared to other types of batteries, making them ideal for grid-scale energy
storage. VRB Energy’s goal is to deliver the best technology at the lowest cost to large-
scale utility energy storage projects globally. VRB Energy has over 500 MWh of energy
storage capacity installed or in development, and has completed over one million hours
of testing and operation. Ongoing research and development and project experience
have allowed VRB Energy to produce larger, more cost-effective and more efficient
systems in each successive battery generation.
About Ivanhoe Electric
We are a U.S. company that combines advanced mineral exploration technologies with
electric metals exploration projects predominantly located in the United States. We use
our accurate and powerful Typhoon™ geophysical surveying system, together with
advanced data analytics provided by our subsidiary, Computational Geosciences Inc.,
to accelerate and de-risk the mineral exploration process as we seek to discover new
deposits of critical metals that may otherwise be undetectable by traditional exploration
technologies. We believe the United States is significantly underexplored and has the
potential to yield major new discoveries of critical metals. Our mineral exploration
efforts focus on copper as well as other metals including nickel, vanadium, cobalt,
platinum group elements, gold and silver. Through the advancement of our portfolio of
electric metals exploration projects, headlined by the Santa Cruz Copper Project in
Arizona and the Tintic Copper-Gold Project in Utah, as well as other exploration
projects in the United States, we intend to support United States supply chain
independence by finding and delivering the critical metals necessary for the
electrification of the economy. We also operate a 50/50 joint venture with Saudi Arabian
Mining Company Ma’aden to explore for minerals on ~48,500 km of underexplored
Arabian Shield in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Website: www.ivanhoeelectric.com.
Contact Information
Investors: Valerie Kimball, Director, Investor Relations 720-933-1150
Follow us on Twitter
Ivanhoe Electric’s Executive Chairman Robert Friedland: @robert_ivanhoe
Ivanhoe Electric: @ivanhoeelectric
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Ivanhoe Electric’s investor relations website located at www.ivanhoeelectric.com should be
considered Ivanhoe Electric’s recognized distribution channel for purposes of the Securities
and Exchange Commission’s Regulation FD.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release constitute “forward-looking statements” or “forward-
looking information” within the meaning of applicable US and Canadian securities laws. Such
statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects,
or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such
statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”,
“intend”, “expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “predict”
and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”,
“would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the
company’s current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak
only as of the date of this news release.
Such statements in this news release include, without limitation: the effectiveness of vanadium
flow batteries and VRB Energy’s Gen3 VRB-ESS® as a large scale energy storage system, the
timing and ability of VRB Energy to deliver Gen3 VRB-ESS® to projects in the United States
and globally to meet demand, VRB Energy’s grant proposal applications and its ability to
deploy projects, and the integration of solar and wind power onto utility grids globally.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions and on
information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to significant risks
and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in
the forward-looking statements due to various factors, including changes in the prices of
copper or other metals Ivanhoe Electric is exploring for; the results of exploration and drilling
activities and/or the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or
results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or
operations; the final assessment of exploration results and information that is preliminary; the
significant risk and hazards associated with any future mining operations, extensive regulation
by the US government as well as local governments; changes in laws, rules or regulations, or
their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company
to perform as agreed; and the impact of political, economic and other uncertainties associated
with operating in foreign countries. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and
should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements and risk factors described
in Ivanhoe Electric’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Ivanhoe Electric cautions you not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable securities
laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking
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statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this
news release, and Ivanhoe Electric expressly disclaims any requirement to do so.