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Vale turns to battery storage to cut energy cost at ore terminal

Photo: Vale release tig.jpg
Brazil’s mining giant Vale is installing one of the country’s largest battery energy storage systems to supply electricity to its ore terminal in Ilha Guaiba Terminal in Rio de Janerio.

The BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) system, developed in partnership with Siemens and MicroPower Comerc (MPC), will reduce the electric energy cost of the port by almost 20% by substituting the electrical grid supply during peak demand periods when the tariff is more expensive, Vale explained.

The equipment has a storage capacity of 10 megawatt-hours, enough energy to power 45,000 homes for one hour.

Vale said the use of this type of technology is an important step in the company’s decarbonisation strategy. The company has recently announced an investment of at least $2bn to reduce direct and indirect absolute emissions by 33% until 2030.

“As Vale continues to decarbonise its operations, the use of batteries will become an increasingly important part of the electrification of our fleet,” said Ricardo Mendes, energy director of Vale. “This project allows us to test new technology in the field and accelerate Vale's energy transformation, which aims to achieve self-sufficiency by increasing electric power generation mainly through solar and wind sources in addition to our hydroelectric power generation.”