Rising technology company LAVO reports that it has received more than $1 billion in advance orders for its hydrogen energy storage batteries developed by Hunter.
On Friday, LAVO executives briefed MPs and ACM on the first hydrogen energy storage system (HESS) prototypes designed for household use.
The briefing took place at the Tomago company Varley, which constructed the 40-kilowatt-hour prototypes in collaboration with Ampcontrol and LAVO.
The system costs $30,000 and is approximately 1.7 by 1.2 metres and 40 centimeters thick. It stores solar energy in patented metal hydride “vessels” developed by the University of New South Wales and can power a normal home for around two and a half days when the sun is not shining.
Using solar energy, the HESS separates filtered water into hydrogen and oxygen, stores the hydrogen in hydride tanks, and transforms it into electricity using a fuel cell.
The “hybrid” technology also includes a lithium iron battery for instant power.
The technology, which took 15 months to create with financing from the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre of the federal government, can be used in residential, commercial, and industrial environments.
“We are also creating a much larger utility-scale unit called EOS for a solar farm or wind farm,” said Jacques Markgraaf, chief operating officer of LAVO.
It allows the owner of a solar or wind farm to effectively boost the asset’s return on investment.
Mr. Markgraaff stated that the company has received deposits on domestic unit orders totaling $65 million from customers in 40 countries, but that these orders were dwarfed by orders from energy corporations.
“We have orders worth over a billion dollars in the power sector,” he stated. “This is obviously a top goal for us to implement on solar farms. We have contractual obligations to do so.”
Darren Jones, technical director of LAVO, stated that Hunter enterprises such as Varley were “very well positioned” to construct larger “project-based” units for industry and energy utilities.
Representatives of the company informed the NSW Shadow Minister for Industry, Anoulack Chanthivong, the MP for Port Stephens, Kate Washington, and the MP for Newcastle, Tim Crakanthorp, that they had not yet determined where the residential units would be constructed on a commercial scale.
The company is advancing through a complicated approval process with state authorities and has installed prototypes of the “world’s first” technology in five mainland jurisdictions.
“Our capabilities are constrained by the supply chain. We are restricted by regulatory authorizations. We’ve encountered an obstacle,” stated chairman Henry Sun.
LAVO expects costs to decrease before beginning commercial manufacturing of the smaller units.
