SA can catalyse battery manufacturing by supplying international market

South Africa can use the development and local production of various battery components in global energy storage supply chains to develop local industrial capacity, says the University of the Western Cape’s South African Institute for Advanced Material Chemistry director, Professor Vladimir Linkov.

South Africa will find it difficult to compete in terms of economies of scale against the mass battery producers in the northern hemisphere. However, the country can capitalise on the growing role of energy storage systems worldwide to produce battery components where the country holds a competitive advantage, such as where it has an abundance of minerals important for battery technologies.

For example, manganese – of which South Africa is the largest global producer – is used to produce the alloy slurry that is used to manufacture the cathode electrodes of lithium ion batteries. Additionally, South Africa has high grades of vanadium, and can produce electrolytes and high-grade stacks for vanadium redox flow batteries.

Meanwhile, South African industries can also produce battery management components and complete systems for the international market.

Linkov notes that specific local niche applications for battery and energy storage systems can provide a base demand for industries from which to start and then grow their exposure to international markets.

Grid stabilisation storage systems can be used for peaking or as distributed loads during off-peak hours and are increasingly necessary as the contribution of renewable-energy generation to the South African grid continues to increase.

“Direct storage of renewable energy in the area where it is produced can be done without limitation and will have a positive impact on the grid and distribution,” he notes.

The University of the Western Cape’s South African Institute for Advanced Material Chemistry acts as a platform for commercialisation of new technologies. It has demonstrated the feasibility of producing lithium ion cylindrical and pouch cells locally for small-scale electric vehicles, such as for hospital and frail-care transport and transport on business and institutional campuses.

However, Linkov notes that lithium ion-based systems cannot fulfil grid applications beyond the 1 MW to 5 MW scale and that the institute is investigating batteries with a much lower levelised cost of storage, such as sodium iron chloride, nickel iron and vanadium redox flow energy storage systems, for potential grid deployment.

The institute is currently developing many electrochemical energy storage systems for potential production and is working with South African battery firm Bushveld Energy to improve the vanadium redox flow electrolytes and the stacks to improve these batteries.

“The institute has identified two market exits for locally produced electrode components: local power systems and applications, including the electrification of rural communities – often supplemented by renewable-generation sources – and the international lithium ion battery market.”

The institute provides controlled access to the intellectual property of its scientists for specialist manufacturers who partner with them to market the products. It acts as a link between industry and technology, he says.

Batteries are becoming commodities, with life-cycle costs and the levelised cost of ownership being crucial factors, especially as batteries can comprise up to 50% of the cost of energy storage systems. Therefore, determining the most appropriate products and cost-effective means of production is key to industrialising these energy storage technologies, concludes Linkov.