Delivering technology with longer life and better performance; Relectrify

Why Melbourne?

Founded in 2015, Relectrify was born out of a PhD project centered on battery longevity at the University of Melbourne, with a focus on second-life batteries. The company started with a group of fewer than 10 people and has grown to a team of almost 50.  Relectrify has received numerous awards including being recognised on the 2022 and 2024 Global Cleantech 100 list. Relectrify is backed by leading venture investors from Australia, the US, South Korea, Portugal and Japan. 

Melbourne has been an ideal location for Relectrify’s founding. The city offers top talent who are doing cutting-edge research and ultra-supportive industry networks. Plus, Melbourne’s commitment to sustainability aligns with Relectrify’s vision to create a world abundant with clean and reliable energy. Melbourne is well known for providing a high quality of life for its residents so the location has provided a magnet for top-tier talent, regardless of their location. It has been the perfect place for Relectrify to pioneer its revolutionary battery technology.   

Challenge

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Surprisingly, this ancient adage applies directly to modern battery energy storage systems where every cell in a string has the potential to be the weakest link and undermine the longevity, performance, reliability and, even occasionally, safety. 

Conventional battery technology particularly affects the safety of lithium batteries, which sometimes spontaneously combust. This is a big deal considering they power the 130,000-plus electric vehicles (EVs) currently on Australian roads and can cause fires that burn almost indefinitely without specialised firefighting equipment. 

The root of these problems is the way conventional battery storage works, using an inverter to turn alternative current (AC) from the mains grid to direct current (DC), which is suitable for batteries, and back again. Inverters typically do this 20,000 times a second.   

When one of the battery cells in a series of connected batteries (called a string) is weaker than the rest, that cell limits the performance of the entire string. Also, cells don’t age evenly, which further reduces capacity and performance.  

Added to that, end-of-life batteries are an overwhelming problem. They contain components harmful to humans and the environment so they shouldn’t go to landfill. Many bright minds are focused on the best way to recycle lithium batteries from EVs, with the urgency to find a solution increasing as car manufacturers gear up to phase out combustion engines. 

To put the issue in perspective, only about 5% of EV batteries in the world are currently recycled but EVs are expected to account for up to 86% of vehicles on our roads by 2030. 

Solution

Melbourne company, Relectrify has developed patented cell-level control battery technology that can be used to increase the lifetime and performance of new batteries or toresurrect old batteries. Their CellSwitch technology can transform the effectiveness of existing battery storage systems and make lithium batteries safer.  

Relectrify’s CellSwitch technology solves the ‘weakest cell’ problem and does away with the need for conventional inverters by accessing energy from every battery cell individually. 

While the technical details of how this is achieved are complex, its commercial viability is crystal clear. CellSwitch extends battery life by up to 30%, improves performance by up to 30% and increases energy density (how much energy a battery contains in proportion to its weight) by 25%. 

Among many commercial and industrial applications, the technology enables discarded EV batteries to be put back to work. This alone has game changing consequences for business. 

Relectrify’s leading product, Revolve®, combines CellSwitch with nine second-life EV batteries to store over 120kWh of energy for commercial and industrial use. Revolve is certified to international standards – a first for a commercial and industrial scale storage product using cell-level control. It is also the first integrated stationary battery energy storage product using repurposed second-life EV batteries to be certified for on-grid deployment in Australia.  

The icing on the cake is that Relectrify’s tech also makes lithium battery systems safer. By individually switching cells in and out of a circuit, failed or unsafe cells can be bypassed while the system keeps operating safely. This clever function also simplifies maintenance and avoids unplanned outages, further adding to the safety and cost-effectiveness of the technology. 

Result

With an initial focus on utilising second-life EV batteries, Relectrify has proven its technology in its proprietary ReVolve® product that combines its CellSwitch technology with nine second-life electric vehicle batteries to store over 120kWh of energy for commercial and industrial applications. Its certification marks the first time that a commercial and industrial scale storage product using cell-level control has been certified to the internationally recognised IEC standards. 

The company now focuses on engineering battery energy storage products with first-life cells. The Relectrify’s team is working toward creating a world abundant with clean and reliable energy by developing the next generation of products that will fundamentally transform the battery energy storage industry. 

Relectrify’s technology has been validated by industrial companies and utilities around the world including American Electric Power in the United States, Chubu Electric Power in Japan and Counties Energy in New Zealand and various industrial customers in Australia and New Zealand. 

For example, Sydney-based paint and ink manufacturer, Colormaker Industries, incorporates Revolve as part of its net-zero cost-reduction strategy, pairing it with 100kW rooftop solar and second-life EV batteries.  

“Relectrify's inverter-less technology and use of second-life EV batteries sets an example for other companies to follow when adopting sustainable energy solutions.” 

– Colormaker Managing Director, David Stuart 

The company’s pioneering work is backed by leading venture investors from Australia, the US, South Korea, Portugal and Japan, and is well recognised in the climate tech sector. For the second year, Relectrify featured in Cleantech Group’s 2024 Global Cleantech 100 – a leading annual guide to the top organisations contributing to sustainable innovation. 

  “Being on this list is a testament to our team's dedication and a step forward in putting us on a climate-positive path.” 

– Relectrify VP Strategy, Ben Shepherd