Redflow announces integration with US inverter company

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Brisbane-based battery supplier Redflow is moving forward with its planned United States expansion strategy, announcing that after extensive testing the company’s zinc-bromine flow battery energy storage solution can now be integrated with hybrid inverters produced by Texas-based solar and storage technology firm Sol-Ark.

Redflow managing director and chief executive officer Tim Harris said the company’s ZBM3 battery zinc-bromine flow battery is now certified to be integrated with Sol-Ark’s North American code-approved products.

Harris said the development is an important step in the execution of the company’s plans to expand into the US market, which he described as one of the biggest markets for storage in the world.

“Integration with Sol-Ark’s well-established product line enables Redflow to deploy its zinc-bromine flow batteries in the United States SME (small to medium-sized enterprise) and C&I (commercial and industrial) markets,” he said, adding the collaboration would create “exciting opportunities” for Redflow and Sol-Ark to work together to deploy new smaller scale systems across the US.

The announcement comes just months after US non-profit standards development organisation Underwriters Laboratories revealed it would include Redflow batteries in a test program to study the key technical attributes of redox flow batteries under nominal and off-nominal conditions. The research aims to enhance the knowledge base around the operating and safety characteristics of zinc-bromine flow batteries, enabling interested parties to better understand and compare a broad range of product chemistries.

Months earlier, Redflow had signed a US$1.2 million agreement with tech company Anaergia to supply a 2MWh energy storage system, comprising 192 zinc-bromine flow batteries, to Anaergia’s bioenergy facility in California.

Redflow’s 2 MWh energy storage system for Anaergia in California.

Redflow

Redflow’s 10kWh 48V ZBM3 ZBM3 battery is the world’s smallest commercially available zinc-bromine flow battery. Its modular, scalable design makes it suitable for a wide range of applications, from small commercial installations to multi-megawatt hour storage systems.

Redflow’s Battery Management System architect Simon Hackett said the testing had been completed at the company’s Integration and Testing facility in South Australia.

Hackett said the testing had demonstrated complete compatibility between Redflow’s ZBM3 zinc-bromine flow battery and Sol-Ark’s product line of advanced hybrid inverters for solar PV and energy storage.

“The integration testing between Sol-Ark’s product line and Redflow’s batteries was simply seamless,” he said. “With a simple CANBus connection between the Redflow BMS and the Sol-Ark inverter, everything just … works.”

Sol-Ark founder and chief executive officer Tom Brennan welcomed the successful completion of integration testing, saying the flow batteries have an important role to play in the future energy storage eco-system.

“From small to large commercial installations, our innovative product range is the enabler of scalable and sustainable renewable energy deployments in this rapidly growing market,” he said.

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