Australian Vanadium has put its hands up to build a big battery storage system in Kalgoorlie. The company plans to produce the key ingredient — vanadium electrolyte — using its own technology and plant for that battery. It believes that the Kalgoorlie battery will provide a role model for how vanadium batteries can be used elsewhere around Australia.

Graham Arvidson is Chief Executive Officer of Australian Vanadium Limited. He is a highly respected executive with more than two decades of experience across the Australian and international resource and energy sectors, spanning project studies, design, construction, commissioning and operations management.

Before joining Australian Vanadium in 2022, Graham held senior leadership roles with IGO, Primero Group and Pilbara Minerals, building a track record in successful project development, operational optimisation and mineral processing operations. His background includes direct experience in vanadium, lithium and broader energy markets, positioning him to lead Australian Vanadium’s vertically integrated “pit-to-battery” strategy.

Graham holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta, an MBA and MSc in Mineral Economics from Curtin University, and is a Chartered Professional Metallurgist and Chartered Professional Engineer.

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Australian Vanadium is competing to deliver a proposed 500MWh vanadium flow battery in Kalgoorlie, supported by a WA Government initiative designed to strengthen regional energy security. If successful, the project would become one of the largest vanadium flow batteries outside China and could establish the first commercially bankable Western model for utility-scale vanadium energy storage.

The company’s integrated structure — spanning vanadium mining, electrolyte production and battery deployment — is designed to create supply chain advantages and cost efficiencies. AVL already operates a commercial vanadium electrolyte plant in Perth, giving it a significant first-mover advantage in Australia’s emerging flow battery market.

Unlike lithium-ion batteries, vanadium flow batteries experience virtually no degradation over time, allowing them to maintain capacity across decades of operation. Graham Arvidson explains that this makes the technology particularly suited to infrastructure-grade storage applications requiring long-duration performance, high cycling capability and asset lives extending beyond 20 years.

Australian Vanadium believes vanadium flow batteries are particularly well suited to remote and high-temperature environments such as the Pilbara and northern Australia, where lithium technologies can face operational limitations. The company sees significant long-term opportunities in mining regions, regional grids and industrial energy systems that require reliable long-duration storage.

The conversation highlights growing global demand for large-scale energy storage driven by AI data centres and grid stability requirements. Vanadium flow batteries are attracting attention because of their non-flammable chemistry, scalability and ability to sustain frequent charge-discharge cycles without capacity fade — characteristics increasingly valued in critical infrastructure applications.