AIM and AltX-listed energy company, Kibo Energy PLC, has signed a 5-year framework agreement with vanadium redox flow batteries manufacturer, Enerox GmbH, to develop and deploy CellCube based Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) solutions in selected target sectors in Southern Africa.
Under the agreement, Kibo has been granted conditional exclusive rights, subject to successful Proof of Concepts (PoC), to the marketing, sales, configuration and delivery of CellCube’s vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) in the development of its LDES solutions in microgrid applications behind the meter. For any utility scale projects the parties will work on a non-exclusive basis.
The framework agreement will be rolled out within an operational concept and aim, consisting of an initial stage focused at planning, preparation and the delivery of at least two POC Projects and a continuous production stage, focused on the delivery of a commonly agreed project pipeline which is expected to exceed at least 1 Gigawatt over the course of the 5-year term.
“We are executing on our strategic view with a value proposition aligned to identified partners in our core regions of activity, for which South Africa is key,” said Alexander Schoenfeldt, CEO of CellCube.
“It is exciting to see that the time has come that Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries are able to address a Gigawatt-sized pipeline. Kibo has shown that it understands the LDES space and the activity that is needed to unlock value in the nascent Long-duration vanadium redox-flow application. CellCube offers a bankable product and we are well positioned and look forward to building on these initial steps with Kibo, to realising a Vanadium based energy storage vision for the region,” added Schoenfeldt.
Kibo says it intends to develop an order pipeline with firm annual commitments from its already existing project pipeline of up to 21,200 installations, ranging from small scale 40kWh to larger 2,000kWh systems per installation. The company’s target sectors consist of ICT towers, gated communities, shopping centres and commercial parks. In addition, the parties will also review an already identified bespoke renewable energy microgrid project pipeline.
“Being able to draw upon the expertise and proven products of CellCube will fill a mission – critical gap in the Kibo value proposition. In this regard, we are proud to have entered into this partnership, thereby positioning Kibo in a unique position to explore its pipeline of energy storage projects in cooperation with a technology and market leader in future-proof storage solutions. We look forward to working with CellCube in this regard,” said Louis Coetzee, CEO of Kibo Energy.
“The growing energy market in SADC and particularly the energy starved South Africa, makes the case for energy storage more viable,” concluded Coetzee.
