The zinc-bromine flow batteries of Brisbane-based Redflow and the iron flow batteries from Australian-owned Energy Storage Industries have been tapped by the Queensland government for two new large-scale energy storage projects to help support the state’s transitioning grid.
Redflow said on Tuesday that it has been contracted to supply a 4MWh zinc-bromine flow battery to Energy Queensland, with a preferred site of Ipswich, as part of a $12 million network battery project.
ESI says it will provide Energy Queensland with a 1MW/5MWh iron flow battery system for installation somewhere in the Wide Bay region, in an area of high solar penetration, where it will be used for solar soaking and network resilience.
The commissioning of the two long-duration battery energy storage systems follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in February, when Queensland’s network companies agreed to evaluate and assess how flow battery technology could help meet the changing needs of the state’s increasingly renewable-powered grid.
As well as using state funding to promote and support local manufacturers and suppliers, the plan has been to test alternatives to lithium-ion battery systems, which currently dominate Australia’s large-scale battery fleet and are predominantly manufactured overseas.
“The MOU provided us with the avenue to delve deeper into project details together and engineer … a long-duration energy storage solution that will be a perfect complement to lithium-based systems to meet Queensland’s energy storage needs,” said Redflow CEO Tim Harris in a statement on Tuesday.
“Significant amounts of stationary energy storage will be required to meet the Queensland government’s strategic plan and deliver the Queensland Energy and Jobs plan, which targets 70% renewable energy penetration by 2032.”
Flow batteries like those produced by Redflow and ESI offer longer duration energy storage than their lithium-ion counterparts, and usually use safer, more abundant and more stable ingredients, making them well suited to harsh environments.
Redflow has been working up its Queensland made ZBM batteries for more than 15 years, but so far has generally had greater success with its product in overseas markets.
As Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk noted on Tuesday, this success has recently included an investment from the Californian Energy Commission to deliver a massive 20MWh storage project in the US.
“If we don’t back investment in batteries in Queensland we will see investment go offshore,” Palaszczuk said.
“Our government is backing local manufacturing of batteries because that means more jobs across more regions in Queensland.”
ESI’s iron flow batteries use an iron, salt and water chemistry and can be deployed either in containers, or in a large-scale grid-connected warehouse.
The company currently imports the batteries from its US partner ESS, but from 2024 onwards the batteries will be assembled at a $70 million manufacturing plant ESI is currently building in Maryborough, north of Brisbane. Another Queensland company will make the electrolyte solution for the batteries in Townsville.
In January, an ESI battery completed commissioning at the National Battery Testing Centre in Brisbane, where it demonstrated its ability to store energy and return it to the grid at peak times.
“The new zinc-bromine and iron flow battery projects are an important trial for Energy Queensland as it is a step towards diversifying our overall battery program away from the more commonly available lithium battery systems,” said Energy Queensland chief engineer Peter Price.
“The batteries will be located close to areas of high solar penetration, while supporting the whole electricity supply chain, alongside other complementary solutions to maximise the growing uptake of renewable energy.”
