UK-based redT energy has sold 14 of its energy storage units to underpin “critical communications infrastructure” at sites across the African nation of Botswana.
The 40kWh modules using vanadium redox flow technology, sold to an unnamed Botswana-based customer, will be installed at sites “in remote locations with no grid connection and will use 11kWp of solar panels per site as the sole form of generation”, redT said.
The units will be used to store a proportion of the solar energy generated during daylight hours for use during the evening. “This process is known as ‘time shifting’ and effectively creates ‘firm’ 24-hour solar power, which is cheaper per kilowatt-hour of energy than running a diesel generator off-grid”, redT said.
CEO Scott McGregor said redT’s technology was chosen owing to the machines’ “long service life, low maintenance requirements and the product’s ability to operate at challenging sites such as these, where conventional lead-acid and lithium batteries have been used before and have experienced critical failure”.
The company, which has an office in South Africa, said it had already sold other units in the region and sees sub-Saharan Africa as a “key future growth market” for its products.
Last month, redT confirmed it had signed “initial” deals to supply 12 energy storage units to firms in Europe and Southeast Asia.
