Redback offers early look at latest hybrid battery during All-Energy

Redback Technologies, a Brisbane-based battery and inverter company, has given attendees of Melbourne’s All-Energy conference this week a sneak peek of its newest hybrid battery product, boasting improved connectivity, density, VPP functionality, and ease of install. 

During the conference, the company also announced an 8,000 cycle battery life for its products, which sits alongside the 10 year warranty. “While your warranty is 10 years, the life of the battery, if you are cycling once per day, is actually 21 years,” Redback’s Chief Technology Officer, Dr Adrian Knack told pv magazine Australia.

Coming back to Redback’s latest hybrid storage product, the DC-coupled, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery stacks from 9.6 kWh to 14.4 kWh.

Much emphasis has been placed on the latest model’s connectivity capabilities, making it suitable for dynamic connections and virtual power plants (VPPs), Knack said. At this stage, the battery integrates with VPPs from Energy Australia, Amber Electric and Pilco in Western Australia. “We are going to be bringing in more soon,” Knack added.

Ease of use and install has been a major focus for Redback too, Knack said. The new generation battery has differentiated compartments so homeowners can easily access all necessary switches, while the sections for installers or maintenance people sit elsewhere to avoid confusion.

Like many new residential batteries, Redback will have a target install time on its new hybrid model, but exactly what the target install time will be is not expected until early 2024.

The model is set to hit the Australian market in Q2, 2024, with Knack saying Redback will be offering “special” pricing for early customers, though details on the deal will again not be made public until next year.

Earlier this year, Redback pushed down its retail prices across a range of its batteries, offering discounts of between $500 and $1000. “We’re in a little but of a consumer recession,” Knack said, noting the cost cut not only related to improved lithium prices by sought to address the increasing cost of living in Australia.

With Australia and New Zealand the company’s two main markets, Knack also stressed Redback’s testing program. Redback has a test facility in Brisbane where it has been testing systems since its inception in 2015. It currently has 21 systems in full-time testing to assess endurance in various weather conditions as well as aspects like rusting for batteries in close proximity to the coast.

Redback introduced its first hybrid battery product to the Australian market in 2015, with over 50% of the company’s sale originating from hybrid products today. Knack added that Australia’s  storage market has picked up significantly in the last two years – a trend borne out by recent data.