{"id":7405,"date":"2016-08-31T08:59:29","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T06:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=7405"},"modified":"2022-02-28T14:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T12:59:39","slug":"energy-storage-disruption-with-redflow-victron-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/31\/energy-storage-disruption-with-redflow-victron-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy storage disruption with Redflow & Victron Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is far more to Victron Energy’s Color Control GX than immediately meets the eye. Whilst browsing the ever expanding capabilities of the Color Control<\/a>, I became curious about some of the more elusive options.<\/p>\n

Digging a little further I discovered a company rated in a top 20 list of ‘Energy storage disruptors’, that uses the Color Control in innovative ways. That rated company is Redflow and they are avid integrators of Victron Energy products, which includes using the Color Control GX<\/a> and other products such as the Quattro<\/a> and Multiplus<\/a> with their flow battery systems.<\/p>\n

Product integration<\/h3>\n

Whilst Victron products work with many common battery technologies, energy storage disruption technologies (such as flow batteries) often require a deeper integration and communication between their power electronics and battery management hardware.<\/p>\n

You can learn more about Victron\/Redflow integration at Victron Live<\/a>, but maybe the best way to discover more about a top energy storage disruptor is to start with a guest blog from Redflow themselves.<\/p>\n

First though here is what Redflow had to say about Victron Energy’s products when asked: “When Australian battery company Redflow Limited launched its ZCell zinc-bromine flow battery this year, the first compatible inverter brand it announced was Victron, which Redflow\u2019s Executive Chairman Simon Hackett describes as ‘an innovative and \u00a0technically capable product that works brilliantly’. Indeed, Redflow has a wall covered by Victron inverters at its battery lab in Adelaide”.<\/div>\n

Guest blog<\/h3>\n

This guest blog content, in its edited form, was first published in Solar Nexus Today under the title, ’20 energy storage disruptors’.<\/p>\n

Going with the flow: Looking beyond lithium batteries<\/h3>\n

By Redflow Limited Executive Chairman Simon Hackett<\/em><\/p>\n

“After embracing photovoltaic solar panels to generate their own power, householders globally are now looking to take the next step by using batteries to store that energy for when it\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n

Although many companies, including Tesla, Enphase and Panasonic, have chosen lithium-based chemistries for their batteries, it\u2019s important to recognise that not all batteries are created equal.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m the proud owner of multiple Tesla electric cars and believe that Tesla\u2019s lithium-based pack is the ideal battery for automotive applications.<\/p>\n

However, I believe there are more compelling chemistries, such as zinc-bromine flow batteries, for stationary battery applications such as residential, commercial and grid-scale energy storage.<\/p>\n

To understand why, it\u2019s necessary to recognise the distinction between \u201cpower\u201d and \u201cenergy\u201d batteries.<\/p>\n

A \u201cpower\u201d battery is a sprinter, able to serve short sharp bursts of power when required, whereas an \u201cenergy\u201d battery is more of a marathon runner, delivering energy consistently, day in and day out.<\/p>\n

An example of a \u201cpower\u201d battery is found in Tesla\u2019s Model S P85D electric car. a lithium-based battery that stores 85 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy. While that equates to drawing one kilowatt for 85 hours, the outcome is quite different when a driver mashes his foot to the floor – launching this big luxury sedan like a railgun as its twin motors draw more than 500 kW from the battery pack.<\/p>\n

But maintaining the power-draw rate at that huge level would exhaust the battery in minutes and make it very hot, perhaps dangerously so. Thus, a \u201cpower\u201d battery fits a light duty cycle, with occasional bursts of activity, plenty of rest time rather than active charging\/discharging, and a small average depth of discharge, suited for typical daily driving cycles.<\/p>\n

In order to provide the long-term, relatively constant power supply that emulates a baseload power generator and to combine seamlessly with renewable energy sources, you need an \u201cenergy\u201d battery.<\/p>\n

An example of this is the flow battery<\/a>, such as the zinc-bromine flow battery made by Redflow<\/a>, which offers a distinctly different approach to energy storage.<\/p>\n

Redflow\u2019s flow battery contains about 100 litres of a water-based zinc bromide salt solution circulating through two separate hydraulic circuits. When charging, zinc is extracted from the zinc solution and stored on a plastic membrane. During discharge, zinc is released back to the solution.<\/p>\n

With flow batteries, this process is completely reversible, with no damage to the battery through each discharge cycle. This process delivers some unique benefits to flow batteries including:<\/p>\n