Redflow seeks $17 million funds as batteries near grid parity

Australian based zinc bromide battery developer RedFlow has embarked on another round of fundraising, this time in attempt to capitalise on the surge in demand for battery storage, and to help reduce reduce the costs of battery storage by more than one third.

The battery storage company – the only one of its kind listed on the Australian Stock Exchange – hopes to raise up to $17.1 million, including $6.4 million in a one for nine rights issue and a further $9.7 million from institutional investors.

Among those buying shares at IT entrepreneur Simon Hackett, who will spend another $3.4 million to take his holding in the company from 9.8 per cent to 13.4 per cent. Hackett recently became the first customer for the company’s new generation product, with a plan to take his Adelaide-based offices entirely off-grid.

Redflow says the main purpose of the new funding round is to help “seed the market” and speed up the sales process for its second generation zinc bromide flow batteries, which it says are already around 40 per cent cheaper than the company’s first generation products, and fast approaching grid tariffs in some markets.

Currently, Redflow has trials underway in Africa, Europe, the US, Central and South America, the Philippines and Australasia, from which commercial sales are expected to flow.

But the Brisbane-based company said that the trial period and sales cycle had “proven longer than originally expected,” due to high levels of competition in the battery storage sector and the rigours of proof of performance.

Last month, the company announced the roll-out of two new battery products, the ZBM2 and ZBM3, which it said it would use to fast-track its entry into the residential and the mining markets, which it said were, in some cases, cost-competitive already.

It is also currently in the process of delivering its first commercial “containerised” energy storage system for deployment in Australia, having successfully completed the prototype last September.

The key benefits of this container system, says Redlfow, are full DC architecture, easy installation, portability and the ability to be connected with a range of commercially available inverters.

In the residential market, Reflow says it is now in a position to offer packages to households at a cost approaching that of the grid tariff – especially in Europe, where the high installed solar capacity and grid tariffs of €0.30/kWh mean its products are fast approaching parity without any subsidies.

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