Redflow Aims to Qualify its Batteries for State-based Adoption Programs

Redflow is working with relevant authorities to identify paths that will enable Australians to buy our zinc-bromine flow batteries with the support of State-based home battery incentive programs.

These programs, designed to encourage the uptake of home-based energy storage, includes South Australia’s Home Battery Scheme and the Queensland Government’s Solar Battery rebate.

The obstacle is that inclusion of energy storage systems in these programs is linked to conformance with a battery Best Practice Guide developed by a number of government and industry bodies and managed by the Clean Energy Council (CEC).

This guide was developed specifically to address and reduce the safety hazards posed by lithium-based battery chemistries; notably their potential fire risk due to the volatility of the materials in these batteries.

The unintended consequence of these programs accepting only batteries listed in this Best Practice Guide is the exclusion of energy storage systems such as those from Redflow which do not contain lithium and thus do not experience the hazards associated with lithium batteries.

Redflow’s zinc-bromine flow battery chemistry offers safety advantages over traditional battery chemistries, including substantially lower fire risk: Indeed, the bromine in Redflow’s electrolyte is a substance that is widely used as a fire retardant.

As a proudly Australian energy storage technology company that has invested many millions of dollars in research and development during the past 10 years, it is frustrating to see multinational batteries benefit from taxpayer-funded incentive programs that exclude Australian-designed batteries.

Redflow recognises that safety is always the first priority in such initiatives, so we welcome full scrutiny of our battery’s safety record, evaluation of any risks and how they are mitigated.

Redflow is working with various industry organisations and State Government agencies to identify any path that will enable Australian consumers to buy a Redflow battery via State Government-supported battery incentive programs. We will keep you posted on progress as it occurs.