Tag Archives: Alan Yu

LAVO, Ampcontrol and Boundary Power to investigate hydrogen storage solutions

Environmental, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

A new strategic partnership and collaboration agreement between LAVO, Ampcontrol and Boundary Power is expected to deliver a range of solutions to regional and remote power users such as mine sites, along with data centres and other energy intensive industries.

The agreement between emerging hydrogen company LAVO, electrical, electronic and control system specialists Ampcontrol and standalone power system company Boundary Power will see the parties work together over the next two years to identify the use of LAVO’s hydrogen storage solutions and other zero-carbon products in different demonstration sites, they said.

Potential applications include:

  • Standalone hybrid power supplies;
  • Containerised solutions for small and utility scale wind and solar projects; and
  • Packaged power and battery solutions for data centres, industrial and mining applications.

Alan Yu, LAVO’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “LAVO’s hydrogen storage technology is ideally suited for integration with remote standalone power systems and for other containerised and mobile power solutions. We’re thrilled to be working with Ampcontrol and Boundary Power to explore the options for wider use of our products.”

Ampcontrol CEO and Boundary Power Director, Rod Henderson, said: “Ampcontrol has a long history in the development of innovative products and Boundary Power possesses industry leading experience in utility-grade stand-alone power solutions. Our partnership with LAVO is the continuation of our commitment to finding the best solutions to the energy challenges facing remote areas and energy intensive industries.”

Earlier this year, Macarthur Minerals has signed a strategic partnership and collaboration agreement with LAVO Hydrogen Technology Holding that could see the mine developer use LAVO’s hydrogen energy battery system on site at its flagship Lake Giles Iron project in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia.

Hybrid Systems Australia and LAVO to trial hydrogen energy storage at Kewdale

Environmental, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Hybrid Systems Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to determine and trial applications of LAVO’s hydrogen energy technology at its Kewdale facilities in Western Australia.

Hybrid Systems Australia, a subsidiary of Pacific Energy, specialises in the design, construction and installation of integrated hybrid systems, incorporating the use of solar photovoltaic, battery storage and backup, reciprocating gas and diesel generation, suitable for remote off-grid applications such as mine sites.

LAVO claims to have the first and only commercial-ready hydrogen energy storage system in the world designed for everyday use by residential homes and businesses, called the LAVO system. This system is designed to be easily integrated with existing solar panel infrastructure, with the company exploring further applications for its patented metal hydride solution. One potential application is already being explored at Macarthur Minerals Ltd’s Lake Giles iron ore project in Western Australia.

Under the MoU, LAVO will work closely with HSA to trial and test the application of hydrogen as an energy source using LAVO’s product offering at the Kewdale facility. As the first of its kind trial in Western Australia, it will test the applicability of incorporating LAVO’s products into HSA’s suite of products in the longer term, the companies said.

The demonstration project is expected to commence in July, extending the reach of LAVO’s existing demonstration projects across Australia.

Alan Yu, CEO and Executive Director of LAVO, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Hybrid Systems Australia on the development of the Western Australia LAVO demonstration project. With its commitment to supporting the shift to a greener future through alternative energy technologies, HSA’s vision for a renewable energy future amplifies our own ambitious sustainability agenda.

“Our industry partnerships continue to demonstrate the applicability of, and market interest in, LAVO’s hydrogen energy storage solutions and we look forward to developing a longer-term strategy alongside HSA as it commits to developing Western Australia as a centre for renewable hydrogen.”

Mike Hall, a Director of Hybrid Systems Australia, added: “Our investment in the development of ground-breaking projects like Denham, and our recent investment in Standalone Power Systems (SPS), has been driven by a nationwide demand for getting reliable power to remote customers using renewable energy solutions. We are excited at the opportunity to merge our experience and capabilities in hybrid power generation in conjunction with the LAVO technology and see many and varied applications for how we would use it.”

Macarthur Minerals to explore use of LAVO hydrogen battery tech at Lake Giles

Environmental, Mineral project development, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Macarthur Minerals Ltd has signed a strategic partnership and collaboration agreement with LAVO Hydrogen Technology Holding that could see the mine developer use LAVO’s hydrogen energy battery system on site at its flagship Lake Giles Iron project in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia.

The agreement will see the companies investigate the facilitation of a staged technology solution that is intended to deliver a clear carbon reduction strategy for Lake Giles, with a first phased roll-out to support Macarthur’s intended early hematite direct shipment ore (DSO) mining operations at Ularring.

LAVO uses an innovative, patented metal hydride to produce hydrogen energy batteries. The battery system acts as a solar sponge, integrating with solar arrays to capture and store renewable energy for use when needed. The unit creates hydrogen from water, stores the hydrogen into LAVO’s patented metal hydride and generates electricity by converting hydrogen into power, according to the companies.

LAVO’s cornerstone investors are ESG investment firm Providence Asset Group (PAG) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Together with UNSW, PAG established the Hydrogen Energy Research Centre (HERC). HERC is a leading university-industry partnership in hydrogen technologies with a main purpose of translating the university’s leading research in hydrogen production, storage and use into real world commercial products under the brand name ‘LAVO’.

Under the agreement, the first phase of collaboration is expected to involve Macarthur being assigned between three to five patented LAVO 40 kWh hydrogen storage units for integration into the remote worker accommodation facilities, which are planned to be constructed to support a DSO mining operation at Ularring.

Subject to successful project definition and satisfactory supporting economics being assessed, the LAVO hydrogen storage units could be installed on site at Ularring as early as the December quarter of this year.

If the trial program at Ularring is successful, then Macarthur and LAVO intend to examine opportunities to develop a fully localised micro-grid engineering solution that includes a solar photovoltaic array, a centralised hydrogen hydride containerised storage system and appropriately sized fuel cell to support the energy requirements for Macarthur’s planned high grade magnetite iron ore mine at Lake Giles, following successful delivery of the company’s current feasibility study. This could involve the integration of larger, containerised ‘HEOS’ hydrogen energy batteries with up to 13 MWh of capacity (currently being developed by LAVO), potentially delivering energy to Macarthur’s magnetite operations at a commercial scale.

Alan Yu, CEO of LAVO, said: “Macarthur Mineral’s pursuit to decarbonise mining and provide resources for green steel production is market leadership and an endeavour that LAVO is excited to be involved with. We are demonstrating our LAVO hydrogen hydride technology has practical, environmental and economically viable applications that extend from residential to significant mining projects.

“The potential for energy independence in the mining sector will reduce costly capital works and leverage the current transport gateways to drive profitable growth and improve environmental impacts.”

Andrew Bruton, CEO of Macarthur Minerals, said: “Macarthur is pleased to be partnering with LAVO on this ground-breaking initiative. Macarthur plans to roll-out integration of LAVO hydrogen storage units at Ularring to support intended early DSO hematite mining operations.

“This collaboration is also aimed at enabling Macarthur to achieve a clear carbon reduction strategy for its planned future magnetite operations at Moonshine, as it can allow for potential integration with magnetite processing on a modularised and gradual ‘scale up’ basis over a target five-to-10-year time horizon.”

He added: “By adopting this staged approach and becoming an ‘early follower’, rather than a ‘first adopter’, Macarthur will have the opportunity to contain technology, capital and pricing risk so as to ensure that it achieves the lowest possible levelised cost of energy delivery for its magnetite processing.”