WHY GOLDEN SHARE
The inherent Entrepreneurial Spirit of Golden Share keeps the Company Looking Ahead for new business opportunities. Golden Share secured an exciting opportunity related to vanadium based energy storage solutions.
1. A possibly best vanadium source for vanadium electrolyte,
2. The new generation vanadium electrolyte with advantages over the previous,
3. The trial production of vanadium electrolyte was successfully completed.
Better Source for Vanadium Electrolyte
Vanadium is primarily used as a hardening agent in steel, in which it is critical for imparting toughness and wear resistance. Metallurgical use accounted for about 94% of the USA domestic vanadium consumption in 2016. (USGS, Mineral Commodity Summary, January 2017).
Most of the world’s supply of vanadium is derived from mined ore, either directly as mineral concentrates derived from vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM) or from steelmaking slags, where the steel is produced from VTM. World vanadium reserve are likely to be sufficient to meet vanadium needs into the next century at the present rate of consumption. The leading vanadium-producing nations are China, Russia and South Africa, providing 93% of the world production. And China is the largest supplier for vanadium with more than 50% market share. (USGS 2015 Minerals Yearbook)
For battery application, to reduce impurity of unwanted components is a real challenge for the vanadium derived from VTM as a byproduct, which is the primary source of world vanadium supplies. As a result, most vanadium on the market for steel industry is unsuitable for any energy storage technology applications.
Achievements at Golden Share
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On May 24, 2016, Golden Share signed a Strategic Partnership Agreement with NWME, so as to secure a possibly best vanadium source for vanadium electrolyte production.
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Northwest Mining and Exploration Group (“NWME”) is a large Chinese State-owned Enterprise. NWME owns and operates Qianjiaping Vanadium Mine (“Qianjiaping”), the largest vanadium primary mine in China. As a sedimentary carboniferous vanadium ore deposit, vanadium is the only mineral extracted from Qianjiaping without any heavy metal elements and silica. To get a high purity (up to 99.9%) vanadium pentoxide without harmful heavy minerals or unwanted components has not been a challenge at Qianjiaping since initial production in 2011.
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On October 12, 2016, Golden Share signed a License Agreement with Battelle Memorial Institute (“Battelle”) to produce, use and sell vanadium electrolytes (VE) developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The licensed VE have advantages over previous generations, including a wider temperature-operating range and higher energy density.
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Interdisciplinary teams at PNNL address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. PNNL employs 4,400 staff, has an annual budget of nearly $1 billion, and has been managed for the U.S. Department of Energy by Ohio-based Battelle since the laboratory's inception in 1965. For more information about PNNL, please visit www.pnnl.gov
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On February 28, 2017, Golden Share Announces the Successful Trial Production of Vanadium Electrolyte
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Golden Share’s goal is to become a preferred supplier of VE to reduce the high VE cost, which has been a main barrier to making VRFB to be the preferred solution for utility scale energy storage.
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On January 30, 2018, Golden Share signed an Agreement for Commercializing Technology (“Agreement”) with Battelle Memorial Institute. Under this agreement, PNNL will perform research and development related to novel vanadium based solid-state battery technologies. In its proposed solid-state form, the vanadium battery will have various advantages of high energy density and potentially significantly simplified battery cell design, different from both traditional solid-state and redox flow batteries. PNNL will also continue to further develop high energy density vanadium redox flow battery electrolyte.
Now that the licensed VE from Golden Share is ready for commercial applications, Golden Share will proceed to select VRFB manufacturers as future partners to test the Licensed VE as part of pilot projects potentially developed by Golden Share.
Photoes about Qianjiaping, the largest operating primary vanadium mine in China