Australian battery technology leader Redflow has welcomed Tesla’s arrival to the advanced energy storage sector, after the US company recently announced its Lithium-ion based battery modules.

Redflow CEO Stuart Smith said attention generated by Tesla’s announcement actually assisted Redflow. “This announcement has raised the public profile of affordable energy storage as a disruptive technology that enables renewable generation sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, increase distributed generation and deliver energy independence,” he said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange. Read the full statement here.

“The increased interest in energy storage and generation technology, and the opportunities this presents, is both timely and appropriate.”

ASX-listed Redflow (ASX:RFX) presently delivers one of the world’s only currently available commercial modular flow batteries. The Redflow ZBM DC battery module and its grid-scale LSB (Large Scale Battery) storage systems are in commercial production today via its North American manufacturer, Flextronics. Redflow is on course to make significant commercial sales during this calendar year, using funds from its recent oversubscribed capital raising, in which technology entrepreneur Simon Hackett increased his shareholding.

Redflow’s current major market segments include Telco/Data Centre deployments, remote area micro-grid systems and grid-scale energy storage, generation and delivery. The technology advantages of flow batteries are also highly applicable to the emerging home energy storage market.

Alongside Lithium-ion and Lead-Acid based batteries, the Redflow ZBM (Zinc Bromide Module) represents a genuine ’third way’ in the energy storage realm, delivering distinct technical and application advantages for customers relative to these traditional battery technologies.  

Mr. Smith said Redflow’s flow battery system offered unique advantages over traditional Lithium-ion and Lead-Acid battery designs. “A key differentiator of Redflow’s ZBM is its capability to operate as a daily full-discharge, full-power workhorse that thrives upon being fully cycled each day,” he said.

“This allows customers to work the battery hard every day of its life without stress or strain. The flow battery’s maintenance-free lifetime energy throughput is insensitive to variations in daily cycle depth.

“In contrast, conventional Lithium-ion and Lead-Acid batteries are highly sensitive to discharge depth. A large proportion of their battery capacity must be reserved simply to ensure an adequate operating lifetime. Further, these traditional cell types are temperature sensitive.

“It’s important to note that Redflow’s ZBM batteries are available now, and that they offer substantial technical and environmental advantages over Lithium-ion and Lead-Acid battery chemistries, especially when paired with renewable energy sources, to deliver energy time-shifting and grid-demand-levelling applications through distributed generation.

“Redflow is confident of our ability to leverage the unique advantages of our advanced flow battery technology to meet demand from the rapidly expanding energy storage market and that our products will be a valuable part of the energy supply chain. Welcome, Tesla. Seriously.”

For media assistance:

Contact Redflow CEO Stuart Smith on 07 3376 0008 or email stuart.smith@redflow.com

PR for Redflow: John Harris on 08 88431 4000 or email john@impress.com.au. 

About Redflow

Redflow is a market leader, being one of the first companies to install fully operational and functional zinc-bromide modules (ZBMs) into a range of stationary energy applications. Redflow ensure continuous product innovation in our flagship R&D centre, located in Brisbane, Australia. The R&D centre is part of our global presence with Redflow offices located in the USA and EU. The ZBM is manufactured by the second largest global manufacturing company, Flextronics. Our ZMB battery is sold, integrated and maintained through our global list of System Integrators. More information can be found at www.redflow.com

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