The agreement with the US Department of Defense opens the doors to the 450 US bases spread around the world
Brisbane-based Australian battery company Redflow has landed a $4.38 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to repower a solar microgrid at an air base in New York state, in what it hopes Let it be a series of lucrative deals at US bases around the world.
The agreement with the Department of Defense innovation unit is part of the close collaboration between Washington and Canberra on defence, trade and clean energy following the signing of the historic AUKUS agreement in 2021.
For this publicly traded Brisbane company, it is a big step forward, as the US Department of Defense has 450 bases around the world. It is also the first agreement between an Australian battery company and the Department of Defence.
More importantly, the contract to supply 1.2 MWh long-life batteries to Stewart Air National Guard Base’s solar microgrid is direct with the Department, rather than through an intermediary.
This makes Redflow, whose market capitalization is $46 million, the department’s prime contractor.
The contract follows the $18 million deal Redflow signed with the California Energy Commission in June to build one of the largest zinc-based battery and storage projects in the world.
Redflow to build one of the world’s largest zinc-based battery projects in California
Redflow CEO Tim Harris said the Defense contract to supply a total of 120 batteries in six “pods” was a major breakthrough for the company.
“We have been working with the Defense Innovation Unit for a year to support their energy resilience objectives in all global military operations,” he said. “Being selected as a solution provider is validation that Redflow’s LDES (long-duration energy storage) solutions have the potential to deliver significant benefits to US Department of Defense installations around the world.”
Redflow’s outsourced engineering partner for the project is Ameresco, whose executive vice president, Nicole Bulgarino , said the deal would help boost the Department of Defense’s clean energy credentials. “This exemplifies the deployment of innovative technologies to deliver resilient and sustainable solutions at U.S. military installations,” she said.
The U.S. Air Force intends to use Stewart Air National Guard Base’s repowered solar microgrid to provide energy resiliency to the base’s critical loads.
Source : elperiodicodelaenergia.com
