RedFlow Technologies Ltd

Transcription

1 RedFlow Technologies Ltd Quarterly Report Period ending 31 March 2010

2 CORPORATE DIRECTORY Board of Directors Mr Chris Winter (CEO) Mr Phillip Hutchings (Chairman) Dr Alex Winter (CTO) Mr Richard Aird (Director, Projects) Company Secretary Mr Iain Smith Address - Australia 1 / 27 Counihan Road Seventeen Mile Rocks, Brisbane QLD 4073 Australia Representation in USA Mr Christopher Freitas, Business Development, North America Phone Solicitors DLA Phillips Fox RedFlow Group Companies ACN RedFlow Technologies Ltd RedFlow Pty Ltd RedFlow International Pty Ltd Auditors PriceWaterhouseCoopers Contact Details info@redflow.com.au Phone: Fax: Patent Attorneys Fisher Adams Kelly Bankers Commonwealth Bank of Australia Company Overview RedFlow develops and sells products that reduce the cost of supplying electricity. General Information RedFlow is one of the world s leading developers and manufacturers of kilowatt scale zinc-bromine (ZnBr) batteries. RedFlow is an unlisted public company, owned by management and external investors. It is located in Brisbane, Australia, with representation in Seattle, USA. RedFlow s ZBM will also shortly be available as a stand-alone OEM package, designed to augment large lead-acid battery banks. RedFlow plans to release several other products (both smaller and larger) during Customers RedFlow s products are used by major electricity utilities and renewable energy companies to supply reliable power to end users. Zinc Bromine Batteries RedFlow s proprietary zinc-bromine battery modules (ZBM) provide 5 kw of power, and store 10 kwh of energy in a 240 kg sealed unit. Multiple ZBMs can be linked together for higher power and capacity. Energy Storage Products RedFlow supplies its ZBM batteries in readyto-run energy storage systems that include all necessary electronics and enclosures. Currently available in the Grid+BOS and Power+BOS products. These are certified for grid connection, with 10 kwh to 20 kwh capacities. Both products are available with either conventional lead-acid batteries or zincbromine batteries. The company deals with customers in Australia and in several locations internationally. Applications RedFlow s products: Reduce peak demand on electricity grids; Make intermittent solar energy more reliable; Increase the value of the Smart Grid; and Reduce the operating cost of off-grid power systems RedFlow Power+BOS systems are installed with solar PV for managing peak load on rural electricity grids. With sophisticated control and communications systems, RedFlow s products are Smart-Grid ready. Page 1 of 6

3 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE QUARTER 2010 has started well for RedFlow. We shipped seven energy storage systems to three utility customers and started initial sales to the Australian stand alone power systems market. Highlights of the March 2010 quarter included: A good level of deliveries with: o Shipment of another five zincbromine based energy storage systems to Ergon Energy for peak demand management in their rural network; o Launching of our integrated SAPS product with Powerco, one of the largest utilities in New Zealand; and o Installation of a Grid+BOS unit for Energy Australia, the largest electricity distribution network in Australia. Maturing of our marketing program into the stand alone power systems market in Australia, with good initial interest and the first unit sold being manufactured in the quarter. Quality certification under ISO9001:2008 for our manufacturing processes. Participation in a major bid with two leading Australian companies to the Federal Government Solar Flagship program. Further cost reductions for our core zinc bromine battery based on improved procurement and more competition amongst suppliers. Good prospective customer interest in RedFlow s planned larger scale (0.5 MWh) X-BOS energy storage product which is in the engineering scoping phase. Additional equity raising with the addition of a new group of shareholders. Continuing raising of international awareness with meetings with prospective customers in US and Malaysia and participation in the Energy Storage Forum in Bejing. Completion of independent performance testing of a RedFlow zinc-bromine battery module by Reslab, a NATA-certified test facility in Perth. Leasing of additional factory space as part of our Phase 2 expansion of manufacturing capacity. Shipment of an additional five zinc-bromine energy storage systems to Ergon Energy. Page 2 of 6

4 SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RedFlow had another positive quarter, with seven energy storage systems delivered to utility customers. In addition, RedFlow s business development continued with several favourable developments during the quarter. Our marketing efforts are focused on three niches: 1. Electricity distribution utilities in Australia and New Zealand, for peak demand management and support in rural grids; 2. Stand alone power systems (SAPS) in Australia. These are non-grid connected residences, telecom sites or small communities that rely on solar and diesel generation and incorporate electricity storage; and quarter. These are for installation in a new location near Wambo in southern Queensland. They will be used for peak demand management within a SWER network Beginning early in the quarter, RedFlow started to address the SAPS market in Australia with the appointment of a National Sales Manager. By the end of the quarter, the first unit sold into this market was being manufactured for delivery in April. RedFlow is receiving growing interest from this market sector. Our website has been updated with more information on our products and data sheets. 3. Selected international markets, primarily USA. We promote both conventional lead-acid and zinc-bromine based energy storage systems. We continue to receive encouraging interest from utilities in Australia and New Zealand. During the quarter, we met with relevant companies in NSW, Victoria, South Australia, WA and New Zealand. In late February, we installed our first energy storage system in NSW, sold to Energy Australia, the largest electricity distribution company in Australia. This is a Grid+BOS unit which is integrated in Energy Australia s Smart Village Demonstration Home in the Sydney suburb of Newington. It is installed along with solar PV generation panels. A fuel cell will be installed shortly. The Grid+BOS unit currently installed uses lead-acid batteries and will be upgraded to high performance zinc bromine in due course. We also delivered an integrated SAPS system to Powerco in New Zealand. Powerco is one of New Zealand s largest distribution utilities. This system is a package of energy storage along with a RedFlow customised diesel generation set. It is currently being demonstrated to relevant stakeholders and other interested utilities by Powerco before field deployment. The lead-acid battery based Grid+BOS 300 model installed in Energy Australia's Newington House project The Ergon AEST trial program continued with delivery of a further five systems during the Page 3 of 6

5 SOLAR FLAGSHIPS PROGRAM During the quarter, RedFlow participated in one of the bids under the Federal Government s Solar Flagship program. This is a $1.5 billion competitive grant program designed to support large scale and emissionfree solar generation (including up to 200 MW of solar PV in the first round). RedFlow was approached by a major solar PV development contractor to support its proposal in conjunction with one of Australia s major generation companies. RedFlow offered to supply its X-BOS large scale energy storage units as part of this particular proposal. ERGON ENERGY TRIALS RedFlow s installation team was busy in the second half of the quarter preparing for the Ergon Energy installations at Wambo. Ergon Energy is providing additional support with appointment of a Project Manager to work with the RedFlow team on the existing and the new installations. Part of this program is being funded by the Federal Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (DRET). The supervising DRET officer visited the Wambo site during the quarter. The relationships developed in that process are ongoing. RedFlow also put a joint proposal with that PV development contractor to one of Australia s utilities looking for a cost effective supply solution for a rural township. There is growing need for inclusion of energy storage as an important part of renewable energy generation. The most attractive renewable sources (wind and solar PV) while clean, have the disadvantage of being intermittent. For example, solar PV generation only occurs in sunlight. RedFlow s energy storage systems overcome this problem. Typical charge-discharge cycle of our 5kW/10kWh zinc-bromine battery module (ZBM). One of the advantages of our zinc bromine battery is that it is designed fo repeated 100% discharges. Demonstration of the RedFlow SAPS system delivered to Powerco to other NZ Utilities, Palmerston North, NZ. Page 4 of 6

6 PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ZnBr BATTERY RedFlow engineers continued with ongoing optimisation of our core zinc-bromine battery modules. The design has been slightly enhanced to reduce costs and increase performance. Additional cost reductions in battery manufacture are occurring as we continue to improve our procurement and supply chain, with new suppliers and more competitive costs for material and components. RedFlow supplied a sample zinc bromine battery to ResLab, the test centre of the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy at Murdoch University in WA. The test program is planned to provide independent verification of our performance specifications. By the quarter end, the testing program was mostly completed through multiple battery cycles with excellent results. X-BOS, LARGE SCALE ENERGY STORAGE During late 2009, we carried out some scoping work on the X-BOS product, a much larger energy storage package. This will have 500 kwh of electricity storage capacity (using 50 of our core ZnBr modules) and be packaged in a standard 20 foot long shipping container format. We held initial discussions with prospective utility and large scale solar PV contractors to gauge market interest. Encouraged by that, we are accelerating the X-BOS development program. There is an opportunity to have some of the development costs supported by a Federal Government grant program, and that will be pursued in the current quarter. MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS In January, we relocated the zinc bromine manufacturing operations into the new floor space leased as part of the Phase Two factory upgrade. The Phase Two factory expansion is partially completed. The remaining plant and equipment has been designed and specified. It will be ordered following completion of the current fundraising. Zinc bromine battery manufacturing operations have resumed in the new space. QUALITY MANAGEMENT During late 2009 and early 2010, RedFlow upgraded its internal manufacturing and control systems to enhance our quality control. As a consequence, RedFlow successfully achieved ISO9001:2008 certification during March RedFlow s planned X-BOS large scale energy storage system is designed to deliver up to 0.5 MWh of energy. Page 5 of 6

7 CORPORATE NEWS During the quarter, RedFlow met with several prospective investors as the first part of an organised equity raising program. As a result, we welcomed a group of new shareholders to our register. The balance of the capital raising program is planned for completion in the current quarter. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT While our primary business development focus is in Australia and New Zealand, RedFlow is also careful to develop a profile in North America and Asia. During the quarter, CEO Chris Winter met with several utilities in the US. He also visited a large scale SAPS installer in Malaysia. A RedFlow Grid+BOS system was shipped to USA for demonstration use in the current quarter. Late in March, RedFlow Chairman Phil Hutchings presented a paper on RedFlow at the Energy Storage Forum in Beijing. Several of RedFlow s peer companies presented as well. It was clear from those sessions that our zinc bromine battery has a good potential for unit cost advantage over competing technologies in the appropriate applications. Chris Winter CEO If you have any questions, I would be pleased to assist. Phone chris.winter@redflow.com.au Manufacturing facility at Seventeen Mile Rocks, Power+BOS 600 being assembled. Page 6 of 6

8 Corporate Office and Factory RedFlow Technologies Ltd 1 / 27 Counihan Road Seventeen Mile Rocks, Brisbane QLD 4073 Australia Phone: Fax: info@redflow.com.au Sales Australia Gary Jubb, National Sales Manager, Australia Phone: Fax: gary.jubb@redflow.com.au sales@redflow.com.au Sales USA Christopher Freitas Business Development, North America Phone: christopher.freitas@redflow.com.au RedFlow Head Office Brisbane, Australia