The Agreement focuses on deploying Zinc8's Zinc-Air Energy Storage System at aquatic centres, remote mines and behind-the-meter applications using SmartConsult's extensive knowledge, contacts in and relations with a broad range of energy users, energy systems suppliers throughout Australia and a pipeline of customers. They have built this extensive network through the deployment of 128 commercial projects with a total of over 8.5 MW of installed solar capacity. The agreement also sets in motion the joint examination of microgrids and utility scale transmission & distribution opportunities in Australia.
“SmartConsult, as an Australian industry leader in renewable energy projects, is the ideal company to work with to deploy Zinc8's long duration storage system to this rapidly developing market” said Ron Macdonald, President and CEO of Zinc8 Energy Solutions.
In recent years, Australia and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ‘ARENA' have been setting more aggressive renewable energy and energy storage targets with significant funding support for 543 projects to date and a total of $1.58 billion invested to expand the development and deployment of GHG reducing energy projects.
SmartConsult CEO Luke Hardy added that the company is excited about the prospects of collaborating with Zinc8 in Australia, and that the company has been looking for a battery solution that does not have the inherent issues that surround existing battery types with uncertain cycle life and limited longevity. Mr Hardy said that the Zinc8 solution will be ideal for SmartConsult’s large-scale industrial customers.
SmartConsult is a leading energy management and analytical consultancy services company, focusing on reduction of energy and infrastructure costs by recommending and implementing tailored strategies for all sizes of business and government entities. The company specialises in poly-source energy systems, thermal storage and solar PV, with over 8.5 MW of solar capacity installed to-date across 128 projects.
Zinc8 is engaged in the development and commercialisation of a dependable low-cost zinc-air battery, offering both environmental and efficiency benefits in order to meet the growing need for secure and reliable power. The Zinc8 ESS is a modular Energy Storage System designed to deliver power in the range 20kW - 50MW with capacity of 8 hours of storage duration or higher. With the advantage of rechargeable zinc-air flow battery technology, the system can be configured to support a wide range of long-duration applications for microgrids and utilities. Since the energy storage capacity of the system is determined only by the size of the zinc storage tank, a very cost-effective and scalable solution now exists as an alternative to the fixed power/energy ratio of the lithium ion battery.
The Zinc8 ESS is based upon unique patented zinc-air battery technology. Energy is stored in the form of zinc particles, similar in size to grains of sand. When the system is delivering power, the zinc particles are combined with oxygen drawn from the surrounding air. When the system is recharging, zinc particles are regenerated, and oxygen is returned to the surrounding air.
The flexibility of the Zinc8 ESS enables it to service a wide range of applications. Typical examples include:
Smoothing energy derived from renewable sources such as wind and solar
Commercial/Industrial backup replacing diesel generators
Industrial and grid scale, on-demand power for peak shaving and standby reserves
Grid-scale services such as alleviating grid congestion, deferring transmission/distribution upgrades, energy trading and arbitrage, and increasing renewable energy penetration.
Architecture
The Zinc8 ESS is designed according to a modular architecture that enables a wide variety of system configurations to be created from a small number of common subsystems. Each subsystem implements a single element of the technology:
The Zinc Regeneration Subsystem (ZRS) provides the recharging function
The Fuel Storage Subsystem (FSS) provides the energy storage function
The Power Generation Subsystem (PGS) provides the discharging function
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