Integrated resource group Tharisa has launched its Redox One business, which develops long-term energy storage solutions that incorporate the raw materials produced by Tharisa.

The company says its solutions use proprietary proven technology developed over decades, including by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency in the US, to deliver a mine-to-megawatt solution at a fraction of the cost of competing technologies.

Tharisa notes that innovation is a critical element of the business model. With Redox One, the company has developed technology through further beneficiating chrome produced from its flagship Tharisa mine, located in the south-western limb of the Bushveld Complex, in South Africa.

Redox One is accelerating the development of a proprietary iron-chromium redox flow long-duration battery using the commodities mined by Tharisa, the company says.

Redox One has a unique process for producing low-cost electrolyte directly for its flow battery technology and, with chrome as the “key ingredient”, the company assures that the electrolyte is safe, stable and environment-friendly.

Moreover, with direct access to cost-effective and abundant raw materials through the partnership with parent company Tharisa, Redox One has a stable supply of electrolyte.

With an experienced energy storage management team now firmly in place, Tharisa says Redox One has a fast-track development timeline, with demonstration batteries already in operation.

“In our desire to enrich lives through innovating the resources company of the future, driven by innovation and our aspiration to extract maximum benefit out of the resources that we mine, the Redox One opportunity is a natural fit for Tharisa, not only using our own commodity for further beneficiation opportunities but working in tandem to find a solution for the world’s energy storage needs, in a safe and affordable manner.

“The team we have assembled, the technology and intellectual property that we have developed and the partnership approach Redox One is taking, will underpin the success of Redox One and I look forward to large-scale deployment of this critical energy storage solution, in a market that is poised to explode in value [and is] expected to reach $3-trillion by 2040,” says Tharisa CEO Phoevos Pouroulis.

In addition to its chrome mine in South Africa, Tharisa is also developing the Karo platinum project, a low-cost, openpit platinum group metal asset located on the Great Dyke, in Zimbabwe.