Brisbane battery company Redflow cracks US defence contract
Brisbane-based battery company Redflow has won a $4.38 million deal with the United States Department of Defense to repower a solar microgrid at an airbase in New York state, in what it hopes will be a string of lucrative deals at their bases around the world.
The deal with the Department of Defense’s innovation unit is part of the closer collaboration between the US and Australia on defence, trade and clean energy after the signing of the historic AUKUS agreement in 2021.
Redflow CEO Tim Harris said the US defence deal could help it with its installations across the world. Olive + Maeve
It is a big foot in the door for the listed Brisbane company, because the US Department of Defense has 450 bases around the world. It is also the first deal between an Australian battery company and the department.
Importantly, the contract to provide 1.2MWh long duration batteries to the Stewart Air National Guard Base’s solar-powered microgrid is directly with the Department of Defense, rather than through an intermediary.
This makes Redflow, which has a market capitalisation of $46 million, a prime contractor with the department.
The contract follows an $18 million deal that the ASX-listed Redflow signed with the California Energy Commission in June to build one of the world’s largest zinc-based battery and storage projects.
Redflow chief executive Tim Harris said the Defense contract to supply a total of 120 batteries across six “pods” was a big leg-up for the company.
“We have been working with Defense Innovation Unit for the past year to support their energy resilience objectives across the military’s global operations,” he said.
“To be selected as the solution provider is validation that Redflow’s LDES [Long Duration Energy
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