Key Highlights

  • Australian Vanadium has executed a funding agreement for up to $15 million with the Western Australian Government.
  • The grant comes from the Investment Attraction Fund under Round 2 of the New Energies Industries Funding Stream.
  • Funding covers up to 50% of eligible costs for the first V-NOMAD electrolyte facility, with payments made against milestones.
  • No construction timeline has yet been specified for the facility.

Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL) announced on 9 November 2026 that it had executed a funding agreement with the Western Australian Government for up to $15 million. The money comes from the state's Investment Attraction Fund, under Round 2 of its New Energies Industries Funding Stream.

The grant will support the design, construction and commissioning of the company's first proposed vanadium electrolyte Manufacturing facility, which will use its V-NOMAD production technology.

How the funding works

The government will fund up to 50% of eligible project costs, capped at $15 million, with Australian Vanadium funding the balance. Payments will be made against milestones. This structure means the company needs to find an equal or greater amount itself to draw the full grant.

No construction timeline has been specified, so it is not yet clear when the Facility could begin operating.

What V-NOMAD is

Vanadium flow batteries store energy in tanks of liquid electrolyte containing vanadium. The electrolyte is a significant share of the battery's cost, so cheaper and more flexible Supply could improve the Economics of large-scale storage.

V-NOMAD is designed as a relocatable manufacturing system that can be placed alongside vanadium flow battery projects. The idea is to lower electrolyte costs by producing it closer to where it is needed and to support gigawatt-hour-scale storage deployments. The facility also targets Downstream projects by VSUN Energy, the company's wholly owned battery subsidiary.

Management comment

Chief Executive Graham Arvidson said the grant was an important milestone and recognised the progress the company had made in developing vanadium electrolyte manufacturing capability in Western Australia.

He said it would support the next stage of development of the V-NOMAD platform and the company's broader strategy of integrating vanadium production, electrolyte manufacturing and utility-scale flow battery deployment.

The Upstream asset

Australian Vanadium's integrated strategy is anchored by its namesake project at Gabanintha in Western Australia. The project hosts a mineral resource of 395.4 million tonnes at 0.77% vanadium pentoxide, including a high-grade zone of 173.2 million tonnes at 1.09% vanadium pentoxide.

The high-grade zone comprises 30.6 million tonnes measured at 1.14%, 74.8 million tonnes indicated at 1.11% and 67.9 million tonnes inferred at 1.06%. Developing the mine would require substantial capital, and the electrolyte strategy offers a way to build a downstream Business that could eventually use the company's own vanadium.

Why it matters

Long-duration energy storage is becoming more important as grids add more solar and wind generation. Lithium-ion batteries dominate short-duration storage, but flow batteries are often promoted for longer discharge periods because their capacity can be increased by adding more electrolyte. The market for flow batteries is still small compared with lithium-ion, and adoption has been slower than many early forecasts suggested.

Government support for local manufacturing reflects Western Australia's interest in building processing industries around its mineral resources.

Qualifications

Commercial Demand for electrolyte from new flow battery projects is not yet guaranteed, and the facility's cost and capacity were not specified.

Australian Vanadium has broadened its strategy in recent years to include downstream activities, partly because developing a vanadium mine and processing plant at Gabanintha requires large upfront investment. Electrolyte manufacturing can be built in smaller increments and could generate earlier Revenue if demand develops as the company expects. The timing of that demand remains quite uncertain, and vanadium flow battery projects in Australia are still mostly at demonstration or relatively early commercial scale.

What comes next

Investors will look for a construction schedule, confirmation of the company's matching funding and evidence of customer demand for electrolyte. Progress at VSUN Energy's projects will also indicate how much internal demand the facility could serve.