Redflow Batteries to Store Renewable Energy for New Children's Centres in Melbourne's East

Redflow is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement to supply 32 of its zinc-bromine flow batteries for two new state-of-the-art children’s centres in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

The Knox Children and Family Centres at Wantirna South (due to open in January 2019) and Bayswater (due to open in March 2019) will each include 100 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar panels and 16 Redflow ZBM2 batteries, storing as much as 160 kilowatt-hours of energy.  Renewable energy with Redflow storage is expected to generate annual energy cost savings of $140,000 for each site.

The advantages of Redflow’s zinc-bromine flow batteries include:

• The ability to discharge 100 per cent of their stored energy daily without damaging the battery
• Sustained energy storage capacity for 10 years
• Tolerance of warm temperatures, and
• Inherent safety with a non-flammable electrolyte.

Redflow partner Torus Group, which is installing both solar panels and batteries, will install the first ZBM2 zinc-bromine flow batteries next week.

Torus Group CEO Anthony Vippond said the use of solar panels and Redflow batteries at the new centres would reduce their dependence on the energy grid: “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.”

“Also, Redflow zinc-bromine flow batteries do not have the potential fire risk that’s associated with other battery chemistries.  Redflow batteries also use components that are easy to recycle or reuse, and, of course, Redflow is an Australian technology company,” added Mr Vippond.

Mr Vippond also said that Lotus Energy, a related entity of Torus Group, was investigating the potential for the two childcare centres to share their renewably-generated energy using blockchain technology, which would further bolster their energy independence.

Redflow CEO Tim Harris said this deployment further validated zinc-bromine flow batteries as an attractive energy storage solution. “Their unique benefits mean that Redflow batteries deliver a great value proposition for long-lived energy storage.  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.  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.”