Australian Vanadium Gets AU$2.63 Million Government Refund for R&D Work

Australian Vanadium (ASX:AVL,OTC Pink:ATVVF) announced on Tuesday (August 13) that it has received AU$2.63 million by way of the Australian government’s Research & Development (R&D) Tax Incentive Scheme.

The refund amount was granted for R&D completed in the 2022/2023 tax year by Australian Vanadium and Technology Metals Australia, with AU$1.79 million and AU$0.84 million coming from their respective submissions.

The two companies announced plans to merge in 2023, and completed the transaction earlier this year.

Australian Vanadium is currently advancing its Western Australia-based Australian Vanadium project, which it says is one of the most advanced vanadium projects globally. It also has a wholly owned subsidiary called VSUN, whose efforts are centred on developing the Australian market for vanadium flow batteries for long-duration energy storage.

In its latest quarterly activities report, released on July 31, Australian Vanadium said the first phase of an optimised feasibility study for the Australian Vanadium project has been completed. With the second stage now in progress, the company's goals include finalising a detailed mine plan and optimising project infrastructure.

Australian Vanadium is also looking to complete layout and design criteria for an upstream crushing, milling and beneficiation plant at Gabanintha and a downstream processing plant at Tenindewa.

Earlier this month, on August 6, the City of Greater Geraldton's council lent its support to a local planning scheme amendment that proposes to rezone the site of Australian Vanadium's Tenindewa facility.

“Obtaining support from the Council advances our efforts to finalise approvals of our project and serves as a strong endorsement of the Company’s plan to become a fully integrated vanadium flow battery provider, from vanadium products and electrolyte manufacturing to the batteries themselves, all within Western Australia,” the company said.

The Australian government's R&D Tax Incentive Scheme is described as a self-assessment that “encourages companies to engage in R&D benefiting Australia by providing a tax offset for eligible activities.”

Included in the scheme’s requirements are AU$20,000 in notional deductions this income year.

“If your eligible R&D expenditure is less than AU$20,000, you can still apply for the offset. However, you must use a registered Research Service Provider to conduct your R&D,” an online explainer reads.

“For R&D entities with aggregated turnover of less than AU$20 million, the refundable R&D tax offset is your corporate tax rate plus an 18.5 percent premium."

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.