Australian energy storage company Redflow has launched its 10kWh household battery storage offering the “ZCell”, pitting it against 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 ZCell will sell for between $17,500 and $19,500 – more expensive than 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 Australian market for battery storage to “explode”, due to a combination of high electricity prices, high penetration of rooftop solar, the conusmer desire for more “independence” from utilities, and because people care about the environment.
And he argues that Redflow has a better battery storage product than Tesla 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.
You can find a full interview with Simon Hackett on RenewEconomy here.
© 2016 Solar Choice Pty Ltd
The price in the article is an estimate of a full and completely new home Solar installation, not just the Redflow Z-Cell battery, which would be less that this and could be added to an existing system.