Renewable energy development company Kibo Energy has committed to buy, from energy storage system company CellCube, two vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) for proof-of-concept energy storage projects.
Kibo in May entered into an agreement to acquire a 51% interest in National Broadband Solutions (NBS) from Hasta Trust and to jointly assess and develop a portfolio of long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects in Southern Africa.
Earlier that month, it had also entered into a rolling five-year agreement with CellCube to develop and deploy CellCube-based LDES solutions in the region.
The framework agreement with CellCube envisages the deployment of about 1 GW of LDES in Southern Africa over the next five years.
Kibo placed the commitment to buy, through NBS, two CellCube FB 250 – 1000 VRFBs as part of the initial stage of the framework agreement.
“We are very pleased with this major next step forward in the fast-track rollout of the company’s renewable or clean energy strategy. Kibo is currently completely focused on getting the various projects in its current portfolio past financial close and into production within the next 18 months as previously stated,” says Kibo CEO Louis Coetzee.
“As part of this drive, the company is focusing all its resources on operational matters and project delivery and will attend to certain non-essential corporate activities, like the previously announced planned share capital consolidation, at a later stage in the future if still deemed necessary at such a time,” he notes.