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VRB Energy Commissions 5 kW Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System

VRB Energy Commissions 5 kW (4-hour) Vanadium Redox Battery Energy Storage System (VRB-ESS®) for the largest steel supplier in China

Solar-shifting pilot project is just the first step toward widespread deployment of the technology.

BEIJING and VANCOUVER, British Columbia — VRB Energy Inc. is pleased to announce the commissioning of a 5 kilowatt (kW) 4-hour vanadium redox battery energy storage system (VRB-ESS®) as part of a photovoltaic plus energy storage system pilot demonstration project with Hesteel Group Company Limited (“Hesteel”), the largest steel and vanadium supplier in China.

The project, jointly developed by VRB Energy and Chengsteel Company, a subsidiary of Hesteel Group, is the first vanadium battery energy storage demonstration project in Chengde, Hebei. This solar-shifting pilot project is just the first step toward widespread deployment of the technology and is expected to be a model for the implementation of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development of a national clean energy strategy.

The 5kW/20kWh VRB-ESS® is connected to a 10kW photovoltaic array and it provides power support for the lighting system in the local Vanadium and Titanium Industrial Park. The battery demonstrates how such systems can serve peak shaving and solar-firming applications, and which when scaled up can dramatically improve clean energy utilization and reduce overall fossil energy consumption.

The installation is part of a developing partnership between two world-leading enterprises in vanadium flow battery technology (VRB Energy) and vanadium material manufacturing (Hesteel).

About Hesteel

Hesteel is a Chinese iron, vanadium and steel manufacturing conglomerate, and the second largest steel and steel products producer in the world.  The company was formerly known as Hebei Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. (“HBIS”).

About VRB Energy

VRB Energy is a fast-growing, privately-held clean technology innovator. The company has developed the most reliable, longest-lasting vanadium flow battery in the world, with more than 30 megawatt-hours (MWh) installed and in construction worldwide, and more than 800,000 hours of demonstrated performance. The combination of VRB Energy’s proprietary low-cost ion-exchange membrane, long-life electrolyte formulation and innovative flow cell design sets it apart from other providers.

VRB Energy’s vanadium redox battery (VRB®) systems store energy in liquid electrolyte in a patented process based on the reduction and oxidation of ionic forms of the element vanadium. This is a nearly infinitely repeatable process that is safe, reliable, and non-toxic. Components can be nearly 100% recycled at end of-life, dramatically improving lifecycle economics and environmental benefits compared to lead-acid, lithium-ion and other battery systems.

VRB Energy is majority-owned by High Power Exploration (HPX), a metals-focused exploration company that also invests in metals and minerals-based technologies to sustainably support an urbanizing planet and the global transition to renewable energy.

HPX is a subsidiary of I-Pulse, a global leader in developing innovative commercial applications for pulsed power technologies that convert small amounts of electrical energy into limitless power to address a broad and growing suite of applications across multiple industrial markets.  I-Pulse is a private company with offices in London, Toulouse, Tokyo and Vancouver.

For more information on VRB Energy, HPX and I-Pulse, please visit our websites at www.vrbenergy.comwww.hpxploration.com, and www.ipulse-group.com.