Reducing barriers to the uptake of renewable energy technologies
The Australian Government has provided $18.4 million to the Advanced Electricity Storage Technologies program, which supports the development and demonstration of efficient electricity storage technologies for use with variable renewable generation sources such as wind and solar.
The Program is managed by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and aims to identify and promote strategically important advanced storage technologies, in order to increase the ability of renewable energy-based electricity generation to contribute to Australia's electricity supply system.
Advanced storage technologies for electricity applications include, but are not limited to, batteries, electro-mechanical, chemical and thermal storage technologies in either on-grid or off-grid situations.
The Program awarded funding to five projects:
- Wizard Power (ACT)
- $7.4 million to demonstrate a solar energy storage system based on ammonia dissociation and reassociation into hydrogen and nitrogen. - Lloyd Energy Systems (NSW) - $5 million to demonstrate a solar thermal energy storage system involving concentrated solar energy and graphite blocks. Project completed
- ZBB Technologies (NSW) - $3.1 million to demonstrate an integrated zinc-bromine flow battery at CSIRO's National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle. Project completed
- RedFlow Pty Ltd (QLD) - $1.113 million to demonstrate the viability of zinc bromine batteries in maximising on grid and fringe of grid solar photovoltaic systems. Project completed
- Smart Storage Pty Ltd trading as Ecoult (NSW) - $1.82 million to demonstrate an UltraBattery system located at the end of an 11 kV rural grid attached to a 660kW wind turbine at Hampton NSW. Project completed
As part of ACRE’s aim to disseminate information on projects, reports on the four completed projects are available.