Officials from Bhutan’s energy sector visited the VIB Energy Storage System (ESS) site of Standard Energy, the company that developed and commercialized the world’s first vanadium-ion battery (VIB) optimized for energy storage applications.

On October 21, Standard Energy announced that representatives from Bhutan’s Department of Energy and major energy corporations visited the company’s VIB ESS installation at Gu-Am Station in Daejeon. The visit was part of a study tour under the Asian Development Bank’s program supported by the Republic of Korea’s e-Asia Knowledge Cooperation Fund, which ran in Korea from October 15 to 24, 2025.

The Bhutanese delegation included officials from the Department of Energy as well as representatives from Bhutan Power System Operator, Druk Green Power Corporation, and Bhutan Power Corporation.

Located at the foothills of the Himalayas, Bhutan generates about 99 percent of its electricity from hydropower. However, concerns are growing that climate change could reduce generation capacity during the dry season. To address this risk, the Bhutanese government has been actively exploring the integration of solar and other renewable energy sources.

Through their visit to Korea, the delegation aimed to learn from leading examples in the country’s power, renewable-energy, and ESS industries, and to explore future collaboration opportunities.
During the visit to Standard Energy’s VIB ESS facility at Gu-Am Station, the delegation received a detailed explanation of the structural features and advantages of the vanadium-ion battery, as well as the operating principles of the VIB ESS.

The visitors showed particular interest in the operational environments where the system can be deployed effectively. They also noted that the VIB ESS is installed within an urban metro station, raising questions about its potential use for regenerative braking energy recovery in electric railway systems.

Seong-Jin Kim, Executive Director and Head of the Technical Business Team at Standard Energy, stated:
“Vanadium-ion battery and ESS technologies will become essential energy infrastructure for developing countries with limited power-generation capacity. As we move toward full-scale commercialization, we will continue to explore ways for this technology to contribute to the global transition to clean energy and to overcoming the challenges of climate change.”