Why Western Australia Is Betting Big on Vanadium

Western Australia isn’t just mining vanadium anymore – it’s about to run its grid on it.

With AU$150 million on the table and a 50MW/500MWh vanadium flow battery planned for Kalgoorlie, the state is quietly building one of the most important long-duration energy storage projects in the Southern Hemisphere. If you care about green technology, energy resilience, or new clean-tech supply chains, this project is a blueprint you should study.

This matters because long-duration storage is the missing piece between “lots of renewables on paper” and “reliable, low-carbon power 24/7”. And WA is using vanadium – a metal it already has in abundance – to close that gap.

What Western Australia Is Actually Building in Kalgoorlie

Western Australia is developing a 50MW/500MWh vanadium flow battery energy storage system (VBESS) in Kalgoorlie, designed for a 10-hour discharge duration. That’s very different from the 1–4 hour lithium-ion batteries most people are used to hearing about.

Here are the key facts:

• Capacity: 50 megawatts / 500 megawatt-hours
• Duration: 10 hours continuous discharge
• Location: Kalgoorlie, in the Eastern Goldfields region
• Funding: AU$150 million from the WA Cook Labor government
• Timeline:
  • Stage 1 EOI open until January 2026
  • Detailed selection in 2026
  • Target completion: 2029
• Ownership model: The selected proponent will build, own and operate the VBESS

The battery is being built not just to “add storage”, but to solve three specific problems in the region:

1. Poor reliability in the Eastern Goldfields, which contributes around AU$19 billion a year to WA’s economy
2. Long transmission lines vulnerable to faults and extreme heat
3. A coal-to-renewables transition on the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) that needs firm, dispatchable clean power

The state is also putting strict conditions around the project: the system must use vanadium flow battery technology manufactured in Western Australia, with locally sourced and processed vanadium. This isn’t just a battery; it’s an industrial strategy.

Why Vanadium Flow Batteries Fit WA’s Harsh Conditions

Vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) are built for exactly the kind of environment WA operates in: hot, remote, and resource-rich.

How vanadium flow batteries work (in simple terms)

Instead of storing energy in solid cells like lithium-ion batteries, vanadium flow batteries store energy in liquid electrolytes containing different oxidation states of vanadium. These electrolytes are pumped through a cell stack where energy is stored or released.

That design brings some distinct advantages:

• Long-duration storage by design – you size the tank bigger to get more hours of storage
• Minimal degradation – they can typically handle tens of thousands of cycles
• High-temperature tolerance – they handle heat better than many lithium systems
• Very low fire risk – electrolytes are non-flammable
• Recyclable electrolyte – vanadium can be recovered and reused

This is why WA is backing VFBs for Kalgoorlie:

• Temperatures are high and often extreme
• Loads are industrial and continuous
• Reliability expectations are non-negotiable
• Land is not the main constraint – so big tanks aren’t a problem

Here’s the thing about long-duration storage: lithium-ion is brilliant for fast response and short bursts; it’s less compelling for 8–12 hours every day for decades. Vanadium flow batteries flip that equation. Energy capacity is mostly a function of tank size and electrolyte volume, not an endless stack of new lithium cells.

From Mine to Megawatt: Building a Local Vanadium Supply Chain

Most countries import the bulk of their battery supply chain. WA is deliberately doing the opposite.

The Kalgoorlie VBESS is structured to force local value creation:

• Vanadium must be extracted and processed in Western Australia
• Battery technology must be manufactured locally
• Respondents to the EOI must outline local industry participation

This lines up directly with the Battery and Critical Minerals Strategy 2024–30 and the Made in WA plan. The state has also cut royalties on vanadium from 5% to 2.5% to nudge investment toward extraction and processing.

For green technology and clean energy businesses, that creates real opportunities:

1. Upstream and midstream vanadium

• Exploration and mining of vanadium-rich ore bodies
• Processing plants to produce high-purity vanadium electrolyte
• Recycling facilities for end-of-life electrolyte and components

2. Manufacturing and integration

• Cell stack manufacturing for vanadium flow systems
• Tank, pump, and balance-of-plant engineering
• Control systems and smart EMS (energy management systems) – a perfect fit for AI-powered optimisation

3. Services and digital layers

• Asset monitoring, predictive maintenance, and analytics
• Performance optimisation across the SWIS and microgrids
• System integration with solar, wind, and gas peakers

If you’re building AI tools for green technology, this is where things get interesting. Flow batteries throw off huge volumes of operational data – power flows, electrolyte conditions, pump performance, temperature profiles. That’s raw material for:

• AI-driven lifetime optimisation and failure prediction
• Dynamic dispatch strategies across multiple storage assets
• Portfolio optimisation for mixed lithium + vanadium fleets

The reality? This isn’t just a storage project. It’s the anchor customer for an entire vanadium and long-duration storage ecosystem.

How the EOI and Delivery Timeline Are Structured

The government isn’t rushing this. Instead, it’s treating the VBESS like critical infrastructure that has to last decades.

Stage 1: Capability scan (now–early 2026)

Stage one of the Expression of Interest (EOI) is open until 30 January 2026 and focuses on market capability, not detailed bids.

Respondents need to show:

• Organisational structure and financial strength
• Experience in vanadium, energy, and large-scale projects
• Approach to:
  • Designing and delivering the VBESS
  • Supporting local manufacturing
  • Building a resilient supply chain

Assessment starts in February 2026. This isn’t a procurement yet; it’s a filter for who’s genuinely ready to play at scale.

Stage 2: Business case and selection (2026)

Stage two, running around March–April 2026, goes deeper into:

• Detailed project proposals and business models
• Tech choices and performance expectations
• Financing structure, risk-sharing, and timelines

By May 2026, WA expects to complete assessment, with negotiations with the preferred respondent starting around June–July 2026.

Crucially, government financial support is milestone-based. Funding is tied to clear deliverables to attract private capital and keep everyone honest.

Target completion is 2029, which may feel distant, but that’s realistic for:

• Permitting and grid connection
• Local manufacturing ramp-up
• Engineering, procurement, and construction
• Testing, commissioning, and performance ramp

For serious players in green technology, this long runway is a feature, not a bug. It gives time to set up local partnerships, align with local regulations, and build a durable WA footprint.

Why This Project Matters for Long-Duration Energy Storage Globally

If you zoom out, Kalgoorlie is a test case for something much bigger: how to scale long-duration energy storage (LDES) as coal exits the system.

The South West Interconnected System (SWIS), often called the world’s largest isolated power system, is already shifting from coal to renewables plus gas plus storage. Short-duration storage can smooth solar peaks. But it can’t fully handle:

• Multi-hour evening ramps
• Extended cloudy or low-wind periods
• Industrial loads that don’t switch off at sunset

A 10-hour, 500MWh vanadium battery directly tackles that gap.

What this means for other regions

Even if you’re nowhere near Western Australia, there are lessons here:

• Resource-rich regions can turn critical minerals into long-term, clean infrastructure – not just export raw ore
• LDES doesn’t need to compete with lithium; it complements it
• Policy signals matter – royalty reductions, local-content rules, and milestone-based funding create real investment pull

We’re already seeing similar thinking in other markets: pairing solar and wind with long-duration storage, setting clean capacity targets, and tying incentives to local manufacturing and grid value, not just nameplate megawatts.

Vanadium flow batteries won’t be the answer everywhere. But for hot, remote, mining-heavy regions with weak grids and good solar and wind, they’re extremely hard to ignore.

How Businesses Can Position Themselves Around Projects Like This

Most companies get this wrong. They read about projects like Kalgoorlie, nod along, and move on. Meanwhile, a smaller group quietly builds relationships, pilots solutions, and is already embedded when contracts are awarded.

If you’re in the green technology, energy, or AI space, here’s how to think about it instead.

1. Map where you fit in the LDES stack

Be specific about your role:

• Are you hardware (components, manufacturing, integration)?
• Are you software/AI (dispatch optimisation, predictive maintenance, digital twins)?
• Are you services (EPC, consulting, training, operations)?

LDES projects need all three, and they’ll favour teams that come with a clear, narrow strengths story rather than a vague “we can help with everything”.

2. Build local partnerships early

The WA government is explicit: it wants local jobs, local content, and a local supply chain.

Practical moves:

• Partner with WA-based engineering firms
• Work with local training providers to build workforce capability
• Design your solutions to align with Made in WA expectations – not tacked on at the end as a compliance checkbox

3. Use AI where it actually adds value

In the Green Technology series, we keep coming back to this: AI is most useful when it’s tied to physical reality.

For a project like Kalgoorlie, AI can:

• Predict stress points in the grid and optimise charging/discharging windows
• Extend the life of pumps, stacks, and auxiliary systems through smart maintenance
• Coordinate multiple assets (solar, wind, lithium, vanadium, gas) into one coherent dispatch strategy

The winning solutions won’t be AI for AI’s sake; they’ll be tools that directly increase revenue, reduce downtime, or extend asset life.

Where Vanadium and Green Technology Go From Here

Western Australia’s Kalgoorlie vanadium battery is more than a news story. It’s a signal: long-duration storage is moving from pilot projects to core grid infrastructure, and resource-rich regions want to control the value chain.

For businesses in green technology, this is a window to:

• Align products and services with long-duration energy storage needs
• Build localised, resource-aware strategies instead of copy-pasting lithium playbooks
• Use AI intelligently to squeeze more performance and reliability out of complex storage assets

Projects like this will shape how grids operate in the 2030s. The question isn’t whether LDES will scale – it’s which technologies, which regions, and which companies will lead that scale-up.

If you’re serious about green technology, now’s the time to decide where you fit in that picture.