Queensland researchers have reached a major milestone in powering Australia's critical minerals refining industry, successfully delivering the nation's first grid-connected sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery energy storage system enabled by Queensland-made DC-DC converters.
The 250kW/1.45MWh battery has been commissioned at Lava Blue's Centre for Predictive Research into Specialty Materials (PRiSM) in Brisbane as part of the QUT Queensland Energy Storage Technology (QUEST) Hub, a Queensland Government-funded initiative accelerating industry growth and development in the energy storage sector.
QUEST Hub Director Professor Joshua Watts, from the QUT School of Chemistry and Physics, said the project demonstrated how university research could help accelerate the adoption of emerging energy technologies while building local manufacturing capability.
Unlike an earlier NaS battery demonstration in an isolated microgrid, the new system is the first to connect the technology to Australia's National Electricity Market, showcasing its potential to support long-duration energy storage for powering commercial and industrial applications as well as supporting grid reliability.
"The successful commissioning of Australia's first grid-connected NaS battery energy storage system marks an important milestone for Queensland's battery industry and for powering critical minerals refining from long duration energy storage," Professor Watts said.
"The project has brought together researchers, industry and government to demonstrate an alternative long-duration energy storage technology under real industrial operating conditions.
“The deployment has allowed the QUEST Hub program to successfully facilitate the commercial translation of a Queensland-made power conversion technology and reduce the energy costs associated with the refining of high-purity commodities from Queensland minerals for the global market."
The battery was installed by Australian engineering company Allset Energy at Lava Blue's PRiSM facility, where it will support solar-powered processing of critical minerals into high-purity materials used across battery, semiconductor and advanced manufacturing supply chains.
Lava Blue Managing Director Michael McCann said the solar fuelled battery established Lava Blue as the first solar-powered light-industrial facility in Australia.
“PRiSM is already demonstrating our novel mineral processing methods using Hydrochloric Acid (HCl), which is a more sustainable route in a post fossil fuel age. Most conventional mineral processing methods use sulphuric acid which is primarily sourced from petroleum refining, an industry in structural decline,” he said.
“With the commissioning of our micro-grid, the lifecycle emissions intensity of our high purity materials are further reduced.
“This is what the virtuous cycle of renewable electrification looks like, when operations like ours, processing minerals into high purity battery grade materials using sustainable inputs, are able to be entirely renewably powered.”
Mr McCann said the NaS battery installation was a good example of industry working with the university sector to deliver real outcomes.
“PRiSM was identified as an ideal demonstration site for the long duration battery and is the result of our close relationship with QUT through their National Battery Testing Centre, and our ongoing role as a founding industry partner in the Queensland Energy Storage Technology (QUEST) Hub.”
Australian-owned company Allset Energy delivered the battery installation from design through to commissioning, while Queensland manufacturer Advanced Converter Solutions (ACS) supplied locally developed and manufactured DC-DC converters that enable the battery system to integrate with high-voltage infrastructure.
More than 80 per cent of the purpose-built control unit was manufactured using Australian content.
NaS batteries provide six or more hours of energy storage and have more than two decades of commercial operating experience internationally, making them well suited to renewable energy firming, peak demand management and grid stability applications.
Main image (left to right): David Russo, Lava Blue Chief of Staff, Niki Inokai, Head of Business Operations Allset Energy, Tom Buschkuehl, Managing Director Allset Energy, QUT Professor Joshua Watts and Des Broom, Lava Blue Senior Site Manager.
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