Anglo American Platinum announced today that Primus Power, the leading long-duration energy storage provider, will be installing eight EnergyPod® battery systems at their Amandelbult mine, in the Limpopo province, South Africa. The energy storage project at Amandelbult deepens the ongoing partnership between the companies. Having first invested in Primus Power through the Platinum Group Metals Development Fund (PGMDF) in 2014, Anglo American Platinum is both a strategic investor in Primus and a supplier of the platinum group metals (PGMs) used as a catalyst on the titanium electrodes inside the EnergyPod,
The eight EnergyPods will provide Amandelbult with 200 kW of power and 1,000 kWh of energy. These batteries are charged when demand for, and cost of grid electricity, is low. During times of peak, high cost electricity, the charged batteries release stored energy and reduce the mine’s draw from the grid.
The project at Amandelbult also complements recent support received from the US Trade and Development Agency to demonstrate EnergyPod performance, reliability and durability at Eskom, the national utility of South Africa. Anglo American Platinum, Primus and Johannesburg’s SolAfrica are closely cooperating on testing four EnergyPods at Eskom’s large-scale energy storage test facility in Rosherville, Johannesburg.
Andrew Hinkly, CEO of Anglo American Platinum’s PGM Investment Programme, puts the benefits in perspective: “We are very excited to further our partnership with Primus. EnergyPods allow Amandelbult to realise an immediate monthly reduction in electricity costs and an improvement in energy security. Moreover, this project will also lay the groundwork to define future local South African manufacturing and assembly opportunities for the technology.”
“South Africa represents an important growth area for Primus”, states Tom Stepien, CEO of Primus. “Our long duration batteries will save Anglo American money and support their energy security, environmental and socio-economic goals. We look forward to deepening our relationship with them and our other partners in this vital market.”
This initiative forms part of Anglo American Platinum’s work to update the existing Sustainability Strategy and Implementation Plan, which is in response to the Anglo American Group’s Sustainability Strategy, recently launched in March this year. This will see the company build off existing sustainability strategies for each operation, updating them to incorporate a focus on three pillars – Healthy Environment, Thriving Communities, and Trusted Corporate Leader.