Redflow Batteries Beating Blackouts

RedFlow CEO Simon Hackett and a ZBM2 Battery | Image: Redflow

Australian company Redflow’s ZBM2 energy storage solution has rescued a South African manufacturer plagued by rolling blackouts.

Rolling blackouts¹ are a part of life in South Africa. The frequency of load shedding has its roots in a failed attempt to deregulate the nation’s electricity supply in the late 1990’s, while at the same time stopping the country’s biggest electricity generator from installing more capacity. The country has been playing catchup ever since.

Other factors leading to the frequent blackouts are a little more unusual. Just this month, a large part of the city of Johannesburg was blacked out due to cable theft.

The blackouts cause significant financial losses to the nation’s manufacturers, including Johannesburg-based Bosco Printed Circuits. The company was experiencing electricity loss as frequently as twice a week, often during the middle of shifts.

“It could cost as much as 10,000 rand per power failure,” says Bosco Printed Circuits Director Philip Verheul . “What was more of an issue was that we lost our delivery time, which created inconvenience and concern for our customers, who depend on us.”

Bosco says it no longer has these issues as a result of installing 14 Redflow ZBM2 zinc-bromine flow batteries, which keep the lights on and the lines running during load shedding events.

“These demanding mission-critical environments are where our batteries stand out,” said Redflow CEO Simon Hackett.

Another benefit of the battery system is it helps Bosco avoid buying mains-supplied electricity during peak demand periods, when electricity charges can increase by up to 400%.

The ZBM2  is the world’s smallest zinc-bromine flow battery and also forms the basis of Redflow’s ZCell battery, which is primarily designed for residential solar energy storage.

In other recent Redflow news, last week the company announced it had secured its second major international sale of  ZBM2 flow batteries, with Auckland-based Hitech Solutions placing another order valued at $750,000. The batteries will be used as part of a hybrid energy system to be installed at multiple remote sites in a unnamed Pacific Island nation.

“This second major sale confirms the unique advantages of our zinc-bromine flow batteries for this high-workload deployment in the tropics,” stated Mr. Hackett.

Redflow has had its share of teething issues, but seems to be getting on top of its various challenges.

In May the company announced it was shifting its battery manufacturing from North America to South East Asia. Last month Redflow said it had established a company in Thailand to manage production, stating the country offered suitable manufacturing expertise, logistics and favourable tax treatment for international manufacturers.