Council taps Redflow battery system to help power animal shelter

Brisbane based battery manufacturer Redflow has commissioned a 30kWh zinc-bromine flow battery storage system at the Willawong Animal Rehoming Centre in Brisbane.

Installation of the flow battery system is part of a new program being undertaken by the Brisbane City Council to explore the use of energy storage as a part of its sustainability program.

The Willawong Animal Rehoming Centre was chosen as the first site in the Council due to ongoing issues with grid outages. The new battery energy storage system will guarantee a constant power supply to support its work, including refrigeration for the storage of vaccines and medications.

“The recent commissioning of the Brisbane City Council Willawong Rehoming Centre is a great example of local government looking at innovative, safe and reliable long duration energy storage to help with their transition to net zero,” said Tim Harris, Redflow CEO and managing director.

Redflow’s zinc-bromine flow battery’s store energy in electrolyte liquids – as distinct from lithium-ion batteries which store energy in metal.

These batteries also rely on minerals sourced from non-conflict areas and HDPE plastics which are often recycled into plastic bottles.

With a less-than-1-second start-up response time and the ability to discharge for up to 12 hours, Redflow’s zinc-bromine batteries can be left 100% charged indefinitely, or “parked” at any state of charge with no impact on future performance.

The new Redflow energy storage system installed at the Willawong Animal Rehoming Centre was deployed with the company’s new integration partner, Bright Spark Group, and includes two Deye hybrid inverters which will allow for the future addition of solar PV.