Sparton Subsidiary to Support Large Vanadium Flow Battery Start-up
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sep 10, 2015) - Sparton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SRI) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that, through its majority controlled subsidiary, VanSpar Mining Inc., it has executed a contract to fund the commissioning one of the world's largest vanadium redox flow batteries. This battery is located in Hebei Province, China, approximately 60 km north of Beijing, where it was recently installed for the PRC State Grid Company.
With a capacity of 2 megawatts (mw) of power and 8 megawatt hours (mwh) of energy, the unit was pre-tested prior to installation, and features 10 units, each of 200 kilowatts power. It is integrated with large solar and wind power installations at the State Grid's Zhangbei SGCC1 clean energy demonstration project. Located in proximity to the site of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, it is expected that this battery, and the overall project, will be highlighted as a green energy initiative in the area.
By way of example, a battery of this capacity could support approximately 400 modest domestic households, each consuming approximately 20 kilowatt hour (kwh) of electricity, or an industrial plant or service facility, such as a hospital or school, with similar electricity requirements.
The commissioning program is the first of a series of transactions being planned by the Company, which could result in the Company becoming a participant in the manufacturing and sales of large scale vanadium flow batteries and, with vertical integration, the mining, processing and marketing of vanadium products. It is planned to integrate the batteries with green energy power installations (solar and wind) to provide one-stop-shopping solutions for efficient clean electricity production and distribution.
A convertible debenture financing, of up to US$650,000, is being proposed in VanSpar to fund the SGCC1 battery commissioning. A series of payments from State Grid will be forthcoming once the commissioning is successfully completed and accepted and will continue over the next 3 year period.
A team of experienced technicians, led by the engineers who previously installed the battery, are currently on site and the commissioning work is underway. It is expected to be completed prior to year end.
Company President, Lee Barker, commented: "This opportunity presented itself during our review of the prospective acquisition of an advanced technology company specializing in manufacturing vanadium based flow batteries. Our interest in vanadium and new applications for vanadium products goes back several years. We believe that vanadium flow batteries provide the best current solution to storing clean energy produced by wind and solar systems and that the combination of clean electricity production and storage is an ideal solution for remote areas.
These types of integrated systems can service various industrial and domestic applications including mines, schools, and communications terminals. They can also be used as back-up power systems for military installations, hospitals and public utility and transportation control systems in metropolitan centres. At the present time, vanadium flow batteries offer the best commercially viable solution for large scale electricity storage. They are cost competitive, long life, (+20 years, +100,000 cycles) safe, not prone to overheating, and are fully recyclable."
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Contact
Sparton Resources Inc.
A. Lee Barker
President and CEO
647-344-7734 or Mobile: 416-716-5762
647-344-7734
info@spartonres.ca
www.spartonres.ca