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Australian energy storage company Redflow has announced the first customer trial of its new Gen3 flow battery system.<\/p>\n
Redflow manufactures the world’s smallest commercially available flow battery – the ZBM2 (commercial\/industrial) and the ZCell<\/a> (residential – based on ZBM2). Redflow’s technology involves a zinc bromine solution that flows between two tanks. As the battery charges, the zinc is extracted from the liquid and stored separately on plates (plating). When discharging, the zinc goes back into the liquid (deplating). We have a bit more information on how flow batteries work here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The ZBM2 and ZCell have 10kWh usable capacity. Unlike other battery technologies where capacity is gradually lost over time, Redflow says its battery can deliver 100% of the rated system capacity daily over a 10 year period without degradation. At its end of life, the battery\u2019s non-flammable zinc bromine electrolyte solution can be purified and re-used.<\/p>\n There has been significant interest in Redflow batteries, but the company has experienced its fair share of challenges – one of them being the cost of its energy storage solutions. The last price we had for the ZCell (back in 2018) was around the $12,600 mark excluding an inverter and installation.<\/p>\n The batteries were originally manufactured in Mexico, but operations were shifted to Thailand in order to reduce costs. To push the price down further, the company has been working on a new model called the Gen3.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Gen3, we are confident of achieving a 30% reduction in manufacturing costs through supply chain and engineering productivity impacts,” says<\/a> Redflow CEO and Managing Director Tim Harris.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Some of the savings have been achieved through a new side-by-side tank design. There’s also been a major upgrade to the electronics system controlling the battery, a cooling system redesign and significant changes to the design of the “stack”, again cutting costs. The battery stack contains electrodes that charge the battery through the zinc deposition process and discharge it by reversing that process.<\/p>\n Mr. Harris says more savings can be targeted through further production and scale benefits.<\/p>\n “The Gen3 battery will underpin Redflow\u2019s ability to expand into larger systems and more rapidly increase take-up of our world-leading Australian technology,” he stated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Last week the company announced two Redflow Gen3 batteries have been installed at the premises of an off-grid customer in Mount Tamborine, Queensland. The customer, James Emmett, is very familiar with Redflow gear as he already has four ZCell units installed.<\/p>\nGen3 To Help Address The Cost Barrier<\/h2>\n