Redflow batteries to power two children's centres

Energy storage company Redflow has signed an agreement to supply 32 zinc-bromine flow batteries to two children’s centres in Melbourne, helping them save about $140,000 in annual energy costs.

The Knox Children and Family Centres at Wantirna South and Bayswater, which are expected to open in January and March 2019, will each include 100 kW of photovoltaic solar panels and 16 Redflow ZBM2 batteries, storing up to 160 kWh of energy.

The company stated that its zinc-bromine flow batteries can discharge 100% of their stored energy daily without damaging the battery, can provide sustained energy storage capacity for 10 years, and do not have the potential fire risk that’s associated with other battery chemistries.

“As well as cutting power costs, they will provide resilience for essential services, such as backup power for exit and emergency lighting and lift motors, which is important in a community facility like this,” said Anthony Vippond, CEO of Torus Group, a Redflow partner who will install both solar panels and batteries.

Vippond said the solar panels and batteries will help reduce the centres’ dependence on the energy grid, which may be further bolstered if they shared their renewably generated energy using blockchain technology, which Lotus Energy is investigating.

“This latest deployment of 32 batteries highlights the potential energy storage capabilities of Redflow’s batteries and the substantial efficiencies and cost savings our technologies can generate,” said Redflow CEO Tim Harris. “In addition, the potential ability for the batteries to share renewably generated energy across sites provides an exciting opportunity for Redflow to lead the industry as battery technologies become a further necessity in an energy-constrained world.”

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