Benefits of Redflow battery range from backup and storage to peak-demand shaving and consumption-profile management

27th November 2020

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Accessing reliable power cost effectively in industrial environments is a challenge in South Africa and many other emerging markets. Energy storage systems allow industrial companies to reduce their energy costs by shifting their use times to low-tariff periods, ensure reliable power and prevent disruptions, which can have far-reaching consequences if production lines are halted.

Flow battery technology multinational Redflow MD and CEO Tim Harris says energy storage makes industrial operations more resilient, and also provides operational benefits by allowing them to control the sources of the electricity they use.

“Ensuring reliable power to mission-critical equipment at all times is the core of our customer demands in Africa and globally. We think the Redflow battery provides a key element in the energy portfolio of industrial companies, namely long-duration energy storage and dispatch capabilities whether to support renewable energy systems or to bridge the gap created by power outages. Our batteries are suited to these uses.”

Its industrial clients in South Africa have realised multiple benefits from back-up and storage, to peak demand shaving and managing their consumption profile.

“The benefits of our battery is that it can help companies to manage variable energy sources, as well as dispatch power to support the loads while maintaining stored energy to provide enough power during an outage, which is typically three hours long.”

As the world transitions away from traditionally fossil fuel-based energy to a heterogeneous energy ecosystem, energy storage will not only support greater use of alternative energy sources, but is also a keystone component of such an ecosystem to manage variability and sustain power during peak demand periods.

“The medium term presents significant opportunities for Redflow to grow in the South African and African markets. Similar to other markets, including developed and developing markets, there is an increased desire to reduce dependence on the grid. This can be to prevent negative impacts in countries that have unstable national electricity grids, but also to reduce an operation’s environmental footprint and impact.”

Smart and effective energy management is another reason industrial, commercial and agricultural operations are investigating energy storage because it not only enables companies to reduce costs, but also reduces the pressure on the electricity grid. Further, energy storage will eventually be an important part of smart grids that will include both drawing energy from the grid as well as feeding energy into the grid.

Harris adds that Redflow has made significant advances in the agriculture sector. Its battery system helps to reduce the use of generators, support solar energy and, in some cases, have helped clients to go off grid.

Additionally, the Redflow batteries can operate in temperatures up to 50 °C. The company has seen significant demand for its energy storage systems in Western Australia, which is vast and this leads to significant costs to connect to the grid.

“We are also exploring the mining sector, which presents good prospects as most mines have significant energy costs that can potentially be lowered using energy storage systems. We believe the mining sector in Africa is a good opportunity for us, and our batteries can tolerate the conditions. Deployments in the mining sector will also support our growth in other industrial sectors by demonstrating what we can do in the field,” he says.

Further, the energy deficit in Africa leads to significant use of generators, which strengthens the business case for energy storage. Redflow already has clients in the telecommunications, manufacturing and agriculture sectors in South Africa and foresees good medium- to long-term opportunities on the continent.

Redflow has also done design and test work to develop energy storage solutions that can be scaled up to megawatt sizes, which will be needed on mines and utility-scale electricity grids.

“Renewable energy systems present a stronger business case than some traditional fossil fuel-based systems. The information available to us, including in Australia (Redflow’s home market), indicates that, in the future, we will see a renewable-energy-based world with dispatchable and reliable energy. Energy storage sits at the heart of this, and we think this provides enormous opportunities across multiple markets and applications,” concludes Harris.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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