Australian battery storage developer Redflow on Wednesday launched its household battery storage product – dubbed the “ZCell” – which it expects to take on Tesla and other high profile international brand names in what is expected to be the first mass market for battery storage in the world.
The 10kWh ZCell will sell for between $17,500 and $19,500, pricey by comparison with its competitors. But Redflow says its ability to discharge 100 per cent of its power, and its longer life, and its greater size, means that its delivered cost of energy will match its rivals.
“ZCell breaks many of the rules that apply to legacy batteries, making it ideal for the home market,” said Simon Hackett, the IT guru who has emerged as executive chairman of Redflow and its largest shareholders, and who has taken responsibility for writing in the “smarts” that will enable the battery to integrate with home energy systems.
“ZCell lets you discharge 100 per cent of its total stored energy every day, whereas other battery types can require a significant amount of their underlying storage capacity to be locked out to prevent battery damage and to extend battery life. ZCell is a unique flow battery that loves to be fully charged and discharged daily.”
Hackett expects the market for battery storage to “explode” – due to a combination of Australia’s high electricity prices, its high level of rooftop solar installations, a desire for more “independence” from utilities, and because people care about the environment.
Hackett says he is the biggest fan of the Tesla brand in Australia – having bought its $250,000 roadster and several models of its Model S electric vehicles. And he says that Tesla’s marketing success for its Powerwalls has been a “catalyst” rather than the cause of huge consumer interest.
But he says that Redflow has a better battery storage product for households.
“We have got a better technology for stationary storage,” Hackett told RenewEconomy in an interview. “Tesla will sell a hell of a lot of Powerwalls. But it’s not a matter for them to lose or for us to win.”
Hackett says the reason for his optimism is the “durability” of the Redflow battery. Unlike competitor batteries, it can fully discharge, is long-lasting, and does not have overheating issues.
Residential installations for the ZCell battery will start mid year, initially via an introductory rebate offer to eligible shareholders in the ASX-listed company. Full details of ZCell and the opportunity to reserve a ZCell battery are available at www.zcell.com.
Redflow says its battery storage product, using zinc bromine flow battery technology developed at the University of Queensland, and then later through the company, will allow people to ‘timeshift’ solar power from day to night, store off-peak power for peak demand periods and support off-grid systems.
The Australian company is playing hard on its durability, emphasising the fact that ZCell is “warranted to deliver its full 10kWh of stored energy each day for as long as 10 years.” During that period, it says, rival lead acid and lithium batteries can lose a significant portion of their storage capacity.
It is also emphasising the fact that the materials in the battery – mostly plastic, aluminium and steel – are easily recycled. Its fluid electrolyte, less environmental benign, can be re-used or repurposed. And there is no risk of explosion or “thermal runaway” that can afflict other products.
Redflow says the core of ZCell is a Redflow ZBM2 flow battery, which will sit in a “custom-designed outdoor-rated enclosure” that sits on the ground, connecting to a battery inverter/charger unit that delivers stored energy to the home.
The battery is managed and protected by a sophisticated on-board computer control system, written and developed by Hackett’s IT team at his company Base64.
Hackett expects the first large batch of systems to arrive in the country mid-year.
“Redflow does not set the total installed system price as we supply only part of the overall system,” he said in a statement.
“Final system cost will be set by your system installer, depending on your requirements and upon any additional items, such as solar panels, you may elect to include. We expect the fully installed cost of a 10 kWh ZCell-based energy storage system will start from $17,500 – $19,500 including GST.”
He said it was easy to construct larger systems that use multiple ZCells where more energy is required, such as in larger homes or commercial installations. The ZBM2 core battery is already delivered in systems all the way up to Redflow’s grid-scale Large Scale Battery (LSB), which features as many as 60 batteries in a single LSB.”
Redflow is installing some exemplar ZCell systems between now and June and is also inviting energy storage system designers and installers to register their interest to become a qualified installation partner at www.zcell.com. It is also offering eligible Redflow shareholders a $1000 rebate for installation of a ZCell-based energy storage system.
For full interview with Simon Hackett, please see our story on our sister website RenewEconomy here.
Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of One Step Off The Grid, and also edits and founded Renew Economy and The Driven. He has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.
This post was published on March 30, 2016 10:42 am
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If the battery is incinerated in a house fire will the bromine be liberated?
As heavier than air gas it may flow to low lying areas rather than disperse.
What are the manufacturers guarantees and insurance implications?
Does the battery require a fire rated containment?
Could this be made safe under bush fire conditions?
It can't catch fire or explode as the electrolyte is a natural fire retardant and is low toxicity.
Delighted to hear this Solarguy, Do you have any more information, has it actually be tested under fire conditions? Explosion was not the question nor indeed flammability, but what happens if the bromine containing liquid is exposed to intense heating? What is the result of thermal decomposition?
Ask Redflow, but I don't think there would be a problem.
Number of cycles at 100% discharge???
Article says: "warranted to deliver its full 10kWh of stored energy each day for as long as 10 years" - so I presume that means at least 3650 cycles?
After the 10 yrs , you can replace the plates and get another 10 yrs !
Bingo!
To assume is to make an ass out of u and me..... It would be better to get a straight answer to this very simple question from Redflow. Because flow battery technology (which has been around for longer than any of us), has always had 3 major short comings. 1. Number of cycles. 2. Reliability of the electric pump that forces the fluid past the membrane. 3. Cost of the electrolyte (which needs to be replaced periodically). Previously, the hardest nut to crack with this technology has been the number of guaranteed cycles, has Redflow solved this? After discussions with individuals that have evaluated and worked with this technology in the past, I am still very skeptical about flow batteries. So a direct answer from Redflow would be appreciated. So Redlfow, how many guaranteed cycles at 100% DOD please?
Well it isn't really an assumption, it's just maths. Every day for 10 years is 3650 cycles. Perhaps 3652 or 3653 if you allow for leap years?
Not that simple, does the fluid need to be changed out every 360 cycles? As other flow batteries have had too? Or is it really one lot of fluid lasting 10 years at 100% DOD, if the fluid doesn't have to be changed then they are onto something.... still haven't had a response from Redflow? Does that also mean that the pump is warranted for 10 years too? Or is there a split component warranty, like hot water systems, where pumps can be warranted for 2 years only?
Craig, on point 3. the electrolyte doesn't need to be replaced just the electrode stack about 10yrs.
Hi Solar Guy, do you work for Redflow?
No mate I don't, but I expect in the future I will be selling and installing their batteries. As a professional I have made it my business to check things out. Redflow has a lot of boxes ticked, but I'll know more details and pricing soon I hope.
Just make sure you get the full story first.... I employed one of Redflow's head R&D engineers... back then, the tech had major issues, which I have not seen made public. You should also talk with the Uni of Qld who trialed their product, in their words "nothing good to say about it".
Thanks for the heads up. Can I ask what your business is and why you employed that guy?
Best if we chat offline, email your contact details to solarhome@freesolar.com.au
Craig,
If you go back 20 years or so the University of WA started this technology with the ZB battery obviously Uni of Qld took their technology and have continued, if I am not correct ZB batteries were listed on the ASX about 25 years ago.
The spec sheet for the Z Cell battery says "warranted total energy throughput 30 MWh or a maximum of 10 years, whichever comes first."
So, 3000 cycles.
So it will cost $20,000 and deliver 30,000 kWh. That comes out at 66 cents per kWh. I pay Origin about 25 cents per kWh at the moment. Dunno what I will be paying in 10 years but will it be averaged out at 66 cents? I would not think so. So why would I want to buy this? What am I missing? I am just a dopey average Joe so can someone explain it to me?
The value of storage isn't well reflected by average electricity prices and electricity prices don't well reflect the "value" of a transition to low emissions. With a roof covered with solar and smart management of consumption the relative amount that needs to be used from storage each day need not be very high - ie the costs get spread and diluted.
As home solar grabs more of the daytime at lower costs than the grid can deliver the 'fixed' generators will need to change more (esp. during evenings) to achieve the same revenue. Don't expect 25c plus the service charges to remain any kind of benchmark for grid power, nor ~$20K for 30MWhr for storage. It's on the high side but storage, even before it's become mainstream, is a market with fierce competition and I expect we will see those costs come down quite rapidly.
For me, I need to also factor in the $100,000 to get grid connected.
Or store energy for winter home heating as unpressurised hot water, no explosions, no Bromine, no fires just 53kWh/cubic metre (working over 45C to 90C) and the water never has to be replaced.
Compare the cost of a tank to $2000/kWh for Redflow or just use that PV to heat your electric hot water service.
And Solarguy, you obviously have skin in the game.
What's this system you speak of called for hot water storage and winter home heating?
I'm talking about a system with a long history in the northern hemisphere where hot water from the domestic hot water system is run through wall-mounted radiators to warm the house. Grid-sourced gas or electricity is the usual source of energy (these are countries where the solar panels have a layer of snow on them in winter) so there is no need for any local storage.
The way to go in NSW or Victoria would be to split the heating into separate space heating and domestic hot water with a standard mains pressure electric hot water service heated by photovoltaic panels either directly or via a heat pump. A cheap method would be to use an existing PV system on net metering together with a time switch or a "diverter" to ensure that most of the heating energy comes from the PV. The next stage up would be to fit a higher temperature tempering valve to allow the tank to run at 90 C, rather than 60 C, to store more energy. The house hot water plumbing stays the same.
To provide home heating you would need to fit the wall mounted radiators, a small pump and piping together with a hot water storage tank. The tank could be unpressurised and hence cheaper. Because the tank temperature would vary over a day you would need some sort of thermostatic control on pump speed or run time.
Regardless of what home heating you use, the house should be insulated as well as possible as a first step.
The problem here is efficiency.75 -80% round trip. That means that 100% depth of discharge of 10 kwh = 7.5 kwh. It is more than twice the cost of lithium batteries and has worse performance.
There is not a lot of detail about the Zcell on Redflow's site.
That may need to be corrected.
For those interested, Sandia labs tested the earlier ZBM2 SDK.
http://www.sandia.gov/ess/publications/SAND12-1352.pdf