In the past five years CVMR® in cooperation with one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, M-Power® Corporation, has been developing state of the art battery components that produce batteries that are efficient alternatives to the current rechargeable batteries, creating a new paradigm in energy storage. The minerals in the Burundi concessions (nickel, cobalt, vanadium, copper) are essential for the manufacture of such batteries.

Off grid intermittent energy sources, such as solar, wind and wave, require effective, inexpensive and efficient energy storage. Power storage backup systems are essential for uninterrupted delivery of electrical current, load levelling and grid energy storage systems. The massive expanding market for electronic cars and other devices requires a variety of different batteries with varied storage and discharge capabilities.

According to the Chinese government’s official statistics the market projection for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery demand (in Megawatts) in the top 10 countries, has been and is growing, at 80% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2013 to 2020, ultimately culminating in more than 7,000 MW of vanadium-flow capacity needed in 2020.

CVMR®’s research has been focused on Vanadium, Manganese, Magnesium and Lithium-Ion batteries which also use nickel, cobalt and graphene, all refined and produced by CVMR®. Its Vanadium energy storage systems are designed to be modular and able to discharge at a pre-set rate, rapidly or slowly, depending on the requirements of the user. Their charging time is less than five minutes, with a cycle life of over one million cycles, round-trip efficiency of 99% and low cost of manufacturing. They can be used in commercial, residential and industrial applications, microgrid systems, remote locations, refrigerated mobile containers, mining camps and telecom towers. In certain models CVMR® has successfully substituted magnesium for lithium.

Vanadium has many other uses, about 85% of produced vanadium is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. Titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy is used in jet engines and body parts of high-speed aircraft. Its steel alloys are used in axles, crankshafts, gears and other critical components. Vanadium alloys are also used in nuclear reactors because vanadium has low “neutron-adsorption” abilities and it does not deform in “creeping” under high temperatures. Vanadium foil is used in cladding titanium to steel. Vanadium-gallium tape is used in superconducting magnets. Vanadiumpentoxide is used in ceramics and as a catalyst for the production of sulfuric acid.

CVMR® is a Canadian company that has developed refining processes and technologies that can refine some 36 metals, using its proprietary vapour metallurgy processes. CVMR® is capable of refining iron, nickel, cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, magnesium, tantalum, the platinum group of metals, gold, silver, titanium, vanadium, molybdenum, and seventeen rare earth elements.

In the past three years CVMR® has been able to produce graphene and graphite by: (i) refining of graphite-based minerals; (ii) decomposing methane gas; and (iii) capturing CO2 emissions. The company has a highly competent team of scientists and engineers who have consistently proven to the market that they can think out of the proverbial scientific box and come up with highly profitable ways to tackle seemingly unsolvable technical problems.

CVMR® is a world leader in the production of metal powders, nano-metal powders, sub-nano-powders and super alloys with substantial profit margins compared to the LME and other standard market prices. It has revolutionized a 110-year old metal refining process known as the “Mond Process” or the “carbonyl process” when applied to nickel and iron, and generically known as the “vapour metallurgy process,” when applied to other elements. CVMR® has managed to extend the vapour metallurgy process to 36 different metals by the use of different reagents (chemical vapours). CVMR® drives its corporate name from the acronym for Chemical Vapour Metal Refining. It has offices in Canada, China, USA, UK, UAE, Turkey, Burundi, the Philippines, and is active in 18 countries.