The call by the National Planning Commission for 5 000 MW of energy storage in South Africa could create new local industries and a wonderful addendum to the just energy transition. Long-duration energy storage is key and both vanadium and platinum group metals can help see to that.
The local manufacture of vanadium redox flow batteries is already on its way through the far-reaching downstream activities of Bushveld Minerals, and green hydrogen is already there through Anglo American. Both companies have put their money where their mouths are by producing their own green energy systems plus storage. Vanadium flow batteries can provide the ten-hour-type storage and green hydrogen for-as-long-as-you-like-type storage.
Both green electrons (renewables) and green molecules (hydrogen) underpin solar and wind energy to give them duration and flexibility. The sun shines at its brightest during off-peak periods to make storage cost-competitive and the wind also provides windows of storage opportunity. Taking the holistic total economic cycle into account, including the circular economy, green electrons and green molecules are greenest and cheapest, as Europe in general and Germany in particular have calculated.