The Australian safety commission has announced a recall of Ecoult’s Ultraflex lead-acid/ultra-capacitor hybrid battery technology due to “risk of fire and electrocution, which may lead to serious injury or death”.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) identified the UltraFlex 48-4, 48-3 and 48-2, which was sold through Smart Storage t/as Ecoult and electrical integrators between June 2014 and November 2019.
The commission statement read: “UltraFlex was not designed to independently protect itself or the user against excessive voltage, overheating, or excessive gassing when combined with particular other equipment in a system.”
ACCC is asking consumers to immediately contact Ecoult to arrange for the decommissioning and removal of the UltraFlex units by a licensed electrician.
Ecoult will provide a refund and remove the UltraFlex units.
The UltraFlex is designed for commercial, large-residential, microgrid and small-industrial users needing energy storage rated up to 20 kW. It is powered by the firm’s UltraBattery, which combines a Deka 12V lead-acid cell and a lead-carbon ultra-capacitor.
Ecoult’s website states the UltraFlex has been installed both on the grid and on remote off-grid sites.
The recall follows a similar one in New Zealand, which ended on 26 August after Ecoult arranged for the UltraFlex units to be removed by a licensed electrician in the country.
Ecoult had not responded to BEST about the recall at time of going to press.
