TrinaBEST’s PowerCube 7.2kWh systems. Image: TrinaBEST.
Chinese energy storage company TrinaBEST launched its residential storage product for the Australian market at last week’s All Energy show, while the USA’s Enphase and Australian flow battery maker Redflow were among the other exhibitors showcasing residential products.
TrinaBEST told Energy-Storage.News that its second generation product, PowerCube 2.0, integrating lithium-ion battery and AC-coupled power electronics, can be installed with new or existing solar PV installations. The company’s director of sales and marketing, Ray See, said it was “poised to expand our presence in the Australian market”, where “growing energy demand is driving energy costs”.
Frank Qi, TrinaBEST’s general manager, who told Energy-Storage.News earlier this year that the company hoped to launch an IPO by 2020, said the home product and another on display at the All Energy show, a portable one dubbed Handy Power, came about following an “in-depth analysis of the market”.
PowerCube is available with 7.2kWh duration, coming in at the larger end of the residential scale and with a round-trip DC efficiency of 92.5%, weighing in at 95kg.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
Meanwhile Enphase, which made its name producing microinverters for the home solar market, allowed visitors to its booth to have a go at ‘installing’ its AC battery in a mock-up of a real-world install. The battery was officially made available in May, with the company pricing it at AU$1,150/kWh (US$838/kWh).
Test your skills and install an Enphase AC Battery on the Enphase Install Wall at #AllEnergyAU pic.twitter.com/DslJup9kMF— Enphase Energy (@Enphase) October 4, 2016
Flow battery maker announced compatibility with inverters for Australia market
Another company making a name for itself in Australian home energy storage, Redflow, announced to the Australian Securities Exchange at the end of September that it received orders for 48 units of its ZCell flow battery system for residential use. The order is said to be worth around AUS$600,000 (US$455,500), according to energy blog One Step Off the Grid. Redflow touts its battery systems as being cost-effective and potentially cheaper to make than comparable lithium-ion systems, including the use of plastic parts.
Redflow last week announced its batteries are compatible with inverters made by another Australian company, Selectronic Australia, and has just announced that the 10kWh devices will be compatible with GoodWe’s ES-series bi-directional inverters.
