Rebranded Redflow boosts revenue, gears up for ZBM3 battery launch

Australian zinc bromide flow battery maker Redflow has announced a nearly 200% jump in revenue for the first half of the 2022 financial year, which also saw the Brisbane-based company complete its largest single BESS deployment to date.

The company, which is currently gearing up for the commercial launch of its Gen3 ZBM battery, said on Monday it had generated $1.2 million in revenue in the six months to the end of December 2021 – a 172% increase, year-on-year – and completed a “milestone” 2MWh project in California.

All told, Redflow said it had rolled out a total of 2GWh of its zinc-bromide flow batteries over the half-year period – 241 systens to customers across the United States, South Africa and Australia – and continued to build up a “strong and growing pipeline,” including growing interest in megawatt-scale systems.

A cash balance of $14.4 million was in the kitty at the end of December, the company said, including $10.8 million raised for growth initiatives.

“We delivered strong growth in revenue and cash receipts over the first half, as we executed on our US expansion plan, with our largest deployment to date to Anaergia [in California], and … the deployment to Optus for the Australian government’s Mobile Network Hardening Program,” said Redflow chief Tim Harris.

“Redflow continued to progress important research and development initiatives, including our Gen3 battery development program, which is on track for a Q4 FY22 launch,” Harris added.

“The introduction of the Gen3 battery will substantially reduce our costs as we scale up to meet the increasing market demand for medium to long duration energy storage.

Harris highlighted the successful deployment of batteries for Anaergia’s Rialto Bioenergy Facility as “a very significant milestone” for the company, providing a high visibility 2MWh reference installation for the US and other global markets.

“Given the substantial opportunities for us to leverage the accelerating demand for energy storage, we have been focused on building additional capabilities, such as our safety credentials, and made selected capital investments to deliver on the large market opportunity,” he said.

Redflow also used the occasion of its half-year result to announce a “brand refresh,” including a new logo and website, as well as the appointment of a new president of Americas and chief commercial officer, Mark Higgins.

The modest half-year gains for the ASX-listed Redflow represent steady momentum for the company, despite a challenging start to the 2020s, including a global pandemic, staff cuts, pared-back executive salaries, and a trading halt after a less successful than expected fundraising round.

Since then, Redflow has focused on accelerating development of its “much simpler” and cheaper to manufacture Gen 3 10kWh zinc-bromine flow battery, or ZBM3, and on raising capital to support international growth.