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ZBB Agile Flow Battery Receives Key Third Party Performance Validation

2015-03-31 08:30 ET - News Release

MILWAUKEE, WI -- (Marketwired) -- 03/31/15

ZBB Energy Corporation (NYSE MKT: ZBB), a leading developer of innovative energy management systems solutions serving the utility, commercial and industrial building markets, announced today the successful third party validation of its breakthrough Agile Flow Battery specifically designed for behind the meter energy storage applications in the commercial and industrial building market. The independent third party validation was performed at one of the world's top battery and grid power control products testing facilities, in Beijing, China. The Agile Flow Battery has been engineered based upon ZBB's industry leading flow battery design expertise, its breadth of real world application data derived from dozens of installations, and stringent lab testing at ZBB and Meineng Energy, ZBB's China joint venture company. The Agile Flow Battery enables a large amount of energy to be deployed from a relatively small footprint, and is designed for the lowest life cycle cost available for applications requiring more than 2 hours of discharged energy.

The commercial validation of the Agile Flow Battery by an independent 3rd party was the culmination of a product development program that began in July 2014 and utilized concurrent engineering, procurement, assembly and testing between ZBB Energy and Meineng Energy. The validation measured a large number of performance parameters, including maximum capacity, rated capacity, on-line self-discharge, safety, efficiency, and state of charge accuracy. The Agile Flow Battery met or exceeded performance targets for the product, including a rated energy capacity of 55.7kWh vs. target of 50kWh at rated charge of 16.5kW and rated discharge of 12.5kW. Maximum energy capacity was more than 57kWh. The battery notably delivered 46.9kWh of energy after 12 hours of operating in idle mode with pumps, motors and fans being on and electrolyte circulating, exhibiting excellent on-line self-discharge performance. Maximum state of charge inaccuracy over the 0-100-0% charge/discharge cycle was 3.15% and 0.73% on average. Cycle to cycle energy discharge variability was a very repeatable ~0.5kWh, max-min. The DC efficiency of the eight battery arrays in the Agile were measured at an average of ~75%. Safety parameters of noise and hydrogen evolution were also measured, both passing local safety specifications. Noise was < 71dB one meter from the battery while operating. Peak hydrogen evolution inside the battery cabinet was 0% of the lower explosive limit (LEL) and was 13% of LEL inside the tanks during 18 hours of running, well under the 25% government specification of 25% of LEL.

"The Agile Flow Battery was designed for commercial and industrial building applications requiring 2 to 8 hours of time, so excellent performance, reliability, repeatability and safety are a must," said Brad Hansen, President and Chief Operating Officer of ZBB Energy. "We went from start of design, to completion of first system assembly, in less than 5 months. This rapid time to first article completion allowed for us to spend 3 months in round the clock 'iron man' testing of the product leading up to this very important 3rd party validation test. Despite aggressive timelines and performance standards, we were able to meet or exceed all major performance milestones and demonstrate excellent repeatability and reliability. This is a tribute to our combined ZBB Energy and Meineng Energy team. The yield from this collaboration was tremendous as it incorporated best practices in design for manufacturability and reliability from a large population of engineers, technicians and global suppliers. It is a model for ZBB going forward, allowing rapid product development with high performance results for the products we commercialize."

The distributed energy generation market for commercial and industrial ("C&I") buildings is in the early stages of what is predicted to be phenomenal growth. While implementation of solar PV is now common in many regions, the implementation of energy storage into the distributed generation system is in its nascent stage and can enable the owner of the building to perform many more applications that can both reduce electricity expense and generate cash for the stakeholders. In the United States alone, there are more than 5.5 million commercial, industrial and occupied multi-tenant buildings that spend more than $200 billion on electricity every year, offering a huge savings pool from which to draw.

The Agile Flow Battery is the latest addition to ZBB's leading portfolio of storage solutions, and when combined with ZBB Li Ion storage packages, the hybrid storage system enables building owners or system operators the best possible performance and economics for any charge/discharge profile, providing for both power and energy applications. When coupled with ZBB's patented "Auto-Sync" DC-Bus modular control platform, ZBB provides building owners with a scalable solution that can be customized for any application, effectively "future-proofing" the building as various monetization opportunities become reality. ZBB's energy management solutions are foundational to enabling "Net Zero" or "Smart Export" electricity buildings, and turning properties into cash generating assets.

The Agile Flow Battery is available for configurations of up to 1.0MWh, with shipments beginning in the 2nd half of 2015.

Agile Flow Battery: http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201503/MOD-85560_Agileflowbatteryimage.jpg

About ZBB Energy Corporation
ZBB Energy Corporation (NYSE MKT: ZBB) is an applications solutions company providing advanced energy management systems critical to the transition from a coal-centric economy to one reliant on an enormous expansion in renewable energy and distributed generation. Whether part of the grid power transmission and distribution network, or behind the meter in commercial, industrial and multi-tenant buildings, ZBB Energy brings vital power control and energy storage solutions to the most pressing problems caused by the incorporation of increasingly pervasive renewable energy generating assets. ZBB Energy also provides energy management systems for off-grid applications such as island or remote power. ZBB is a global corporation, with a joint venture in AnHui, China at Meineng Energy, as well as a strategic partnership with Lotte Chemical in South Korea. For more information, visit: www.zbbenergy.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements made in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements in this press release may address the following subjects among others: statements regarding the sufficiency of our capital resources, expected operating losses, expected revenues, expected expenses and our expectations concerning our business strategy. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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