Redflow says Tesla lifts storage profile, but it can still compete

Australian battery storage developer Redflow says it welcomes the public profile created by the release of the Tesla battery storage products from Tesla, and insists that its technology will be able to compete in what will be a rapidly expanding market.

Tesla, as we know, has grabbed headlines and much interest with the release of its home, business and utility-scale battery storage products, and its pricing guide, which beats the offerings of any of its lithium-ion battery storage rivals by at least half.

The question for many investors, consumers and the energy industry has been: what does it mean for Tesla’s rivals?

Brisbane-based Redflow responded to those questions with a release to the stock exchange on Friday, reassuring investors that Tesla may have brought public attention to the possibilities of battery storage, but it will not conquer all in its wake.

Redflow CEO Stuart Smith says there is no doubt the release of Tesla’s lithium-ion battery modules has raised the public profile of “affordable energy storage as a disruptive technology that enables renewable generation sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, increase distributed generation and deliver energy independence.”

But he says that Redflow’s zinc bromide technology will be able to compete, and unlike the Tesla modules, are already on the market, at least at the commercial scale.

But it also says that the technology advantages of flow batteries will be applicable to the emerging home energy storage market.

“It is important to note that Redflow’s ZBM batteries are available now, and that they offer substantial technical and environmental advantages over Lithium-ion and Lead-Acid battery chemistries,” Redflow said in a statement.

It said this was especially effective when paired with renewable energy sources, to deliver energy time-shifting and grid- demand-levelling applications through distributed generation.

“A key differentiator of Redflow’s ZBM is its capability to operate as a daily full-discharge, full-power workhorse that thrives upon being fully cycled each day, allowing customers to work the battery hard every day of its life without stress or strain.

“The maintenance-free lifetime energy throughput of a flow battery is insensitive to variations in daily cycle depth.

“In contrast, conventional Lithium-ion and Lead-Acid batteries are highly sensitive to discharge depth.

“Their overall lifetime is a complex function of the depth of discharge that is engaged by the energy application. A large proportion of their battery capacity must be reserved simply to ensure an adequate operating lifetime. “

Redflow also noted that other battery storage technologies were temperature sensitive, and required complex thermal controls.

“Redflow is confident of our ability to leverage the unique advantages of our advanced flow battery technology to meet demand from the rapidly expanding energy storage market and that our products will be a valuable part of the energy supply chain,” the company said.