Queensland’s Redflow powering storage solutions for renewables

3 May 2022

A Queensland company is at the forefront of the global renewable energy transition, supplying its innovative batteries to countries around the world.

Brisbane-based Redflow is a world-leader in the manufacture of zinc-bromine flow batteries – one of the world’s safest and cleanest energy storage solutions.

Redflow’s batteries are the world’s smallest commercially available flow battery and are manufactured from readily available tow-toxicity materials, as well as being fully recyclable at end of life. Their small form factor allows greater flexibility for a wide range of customer types and applications from remote off-grid systems to mega-scale installations for the power grid.

Global demand for innovation

The company’s products exemplify Queensland innovation, and the vital role downstream businesses have in creating a scalable and sustainable renewables ecosystem. Global demand for innovative Queensland products and expertise in the renewables and green hydrogen sectors is growing.

Redflow alone has delivered 2GW of energy-storage capacity to customers across Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America – that’s the equivalent of around six million standard photovoltaic panels.

Zinc-bromine flow batteries are an ideal energy storage solution for medium to long-term back-up power as they can be placed in hibernation mode for long periods without losing their charge.

Redflow CEO Tim Harris said, “Where lithium is a sprinter, we’re more like a marathon runner. When you want to effectively and efficiently shift energy for use over longer medium to long-term duration, that’s really where flow batteries have a unique value proposition”.

“Redflow’s flow battery is developed and manufactured in Queensland because not only do we have access to highly skilled engineering capabilities, we also have the ideal environment to develop and test robust long-duration energy storage systems,” he said.

International market support

The ability to capture and store energy from abundant renewable sources is a vital step in the journey to a zero-carbon energy market. That is a goal shared by regions and countries around the globe and Queensland is helping to achieve it.

“In fact, Redflow views California as the company’s single biggest market opportunity, representing about a quarter of the global market for grid-connected batteries. Furthermore, it is a market that is actively seeking non-lithium solutions, and this is where Redflow’s technology uniquely fits a huge market need,” said Redflow’s Chief Commercial Officer and President of North America, Mark Higgins.

Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ) assisted with Redflow’s entry into the US market during 2021, providing strategic market entry advice and connecting the company with the US Department of Energy.

TIQ also helped secure a travel exemption into the US during the COVID-19 pandemic for Redflow staff. This enabled the delivery of a two megawatt-hour energy storage system for Anaergia’s Rialto Bioenergy Facility in California.

“As our biggest single deployment system to date, Anaergia will provide a high visibility MWh reference installation for our growth into the United States and other global markets. It is a very significant milestone for Redflow and TIQ’s involvement was pivotal in making it happen when it did,” Mr Harris added.

A state of great opportunity

Redflow is just one of many Queensland companies exporting its products and expertise in the energy sector to international markets, and the opportunities to do so are growing.

Queensland is also growing in desirability as a leading investment destination for Australian and international investors looking to support the state’s flourishing renewables and green hydrogen sectors.