Melbourne-based Relectrify has commissioned its first commercial AC1 battery energy storage system in Renmark, South Australia, deploying an inverterless architecture that integrates cell-level power electronics directly into the battery modules to eliminate the need for a separate central inverter. The project, delivered in partnership with local energy retailer YES Energy, marks the first revenue-earning installation of a technology designed to lower capital cost, reduce system complexity, and improve reliability for commercial and industrial storage applications by removing a primary failure point and efficiency loss in conventional designs.
Relectrify’s approach differs fundamentally from standard BESS configurations. Rather than stringing cells into high-voltage DC blocks that feed a single large inverter, each module in the AC1 system contains its own switching hardware and control firmware, allowing individual cell management and direct AC output. The company originally developed the technology to extract value from second-life electric vehicle batteries, where cell-to-cell variance demands granular control, but has since adapted it for new-cell deployments where the same architecture simplifies thermal management, enables modular scaling, and avoids the oversizing penalties of central inverters that must handle peak array current.
The Renmark installation arrives as Australia’s commercial and industrial sector faces rising demand charges and grid export constraints that make behind-the-meter storage increasingly economic — but only if installed cost and operational risk can be compressed. Inverterless systems address both: fewer power conversion stages mean higher round-trip efficiency, while distributed electronics reduce single-point-of-failure risk and allow continued operation even if individual modules fault. For developers and end-users, that translates to a stronger business case in a segment where project sizes of 100 kWh to 2 MWh have traditionally struggled to justify the overhead of utility-scale hardware.
YES Energy’s involvement signals retailer appetite for distributed storage that can be aggregated into virtual power plants or used to firm renewable supply for commercial customers. South Australia’s high rooftop solar penetration and volatile wholesale prices create a natural proving ground; if the AC1 demonstrates the reliability and cost trajectory Relectrify projects, the architecture could reset expectations for C&I storage procurement across the National Electricity Market. The next test will be repeat deployment speed and long-term performance data — metrics that investors and asset owners will scrutinise before committing to pipeline scale.
Read the full report at Energy Storage News.