Strategic sale as part of ongoing Invinity-Hyosung relationship will see VS3 batteries evaluated by Korea’s national electric utility
Tuesday 13 December 2022
Invinity Energy Systems is pleased to announce the sale of a 1.5 MWh Invinity VS3 flow battery system to Hyosung Heavy Industries (“Hyosung”) for use by Korea Electric Power Corporation (“KEPCO”), Korea’s national electricity utility. On 8 April 2022, Invinity and Hyosung announced their intention to initiate a global partnership, and this strategically significant sale is an important next step in that relationship.
Seven Invinity VS3 batteries with a total capacity of 1.5 MWh will be installed at KEPCO’s Energy Valley R&D Centre, Naju City, Korea (the “Project”). The Project will see KEPCO gather performance data through their use of the Invinity battery system. On the basis of a successful test programme, Invinity’s batteries would expect to become qualified for wider use across the Korean electricity network, potentially opening up numerous grid-scale project opportunities with both Hyosung and KEPCO in Korea. Hyosung’s role within the Project on behalf of KEPCO is to procure, install and commission the batteries at the site. Invinity’s role will include closely supporting Hyosung by providing feedback, insight and recommendations to optimise system performance throughout the Project.
“This first commercial order marks an exciting next step in our partnership with Invinity. We at Hyosung look forward to delivering this innovative project for KEPCO and continuing our work on future projects which will support Korea’s vision for a clean energy transition.”
– Takeshi Yokota, President and CEO, Hyosung
KEPCO is the national electricity utility of South Korea and is responsible for the operation of the country’s electricity transmission and distribution network. Majority state-owned, KEPCO has committed to reducing carbon emissions and is targeting significant renewable capacity growth as part of their ‘Zero for Green’ vision.
Korea is an attractive market for energy storage due to its high per capita energy use, constrained grid infrastructure and significant government support for renewable and energy storage projects. Furthermore, a number of lithium-ion battery fires in existing energy storage sites in Korea has created demand for non-flammable, durable and UL certified technologies such as Invinity’s vanadium flow batteries.
An advance payment for the batteries delivered under this order is due in 2022. Delivery and commissioning of all seven VS3s is expected towards end of H1 2023 with the remaining revenue associated with the project to be recognised in H2 2023.
“We are delighted that Hyosung is providing Invinity’s batteries to KEPCO for this significant project, a robust evaluation of the many benefits of Invinity’s safe, durable vanadium flow technology. It is an honour and a pleasure to be working with Hyosung, a leading global provider of products and technologies for building the future electricity grid, and to be supplying KEPCO, the national electricity supplier of South Korea. The strategic importance of this project outweighs its modest financial impact and underscores our belief that the Korean market presents a highly promising opportunity for Invinity’s utility-grade energy storage systems.”
– Larry Zulch, Chief Executive Officer, Invinity Energy Systems