Global storage giant plants flag in Australia

Fox ESS has established itself as a leading force in Europe’s energy storage market and is now making a determined push into Australia.

Fox ESS, a Chinese-headquartered manufacturer of inverters, batteries, and electric vehicle (EV) chargers, and heat pumps, entered the Australian market in 2022 and is now expanding with intent. Founded in 2019, Fox ESS has grown at speed, securing recognition as one of Europe’s top residential storage brands.

According to Lyren Liu, Co-Founder of Fox ESS, the company’s Australian expansion is “a statement of long-term commitment.”

“Australia has always been at the forefront of the global solar market, with the highest solar capacity per capita worldwide. Now, the market is rapidly shifting towards energy storage. As a comprehensive storage solution provider, Fox ESS sees this as the perfect time to expand strongly into Australia,” he says.

The timing is deliberate. With the Cheaper Home Battery Program rebate opening the door for households to adopt storage at scale, Fox ESS believes it is entering precisely when the market is hungry for credible players.

The company’s expansion rests on three pillars: the right products, the right people, and the right structure.

Fox ESS offers a complete portfolio of battery storage solutions, from the stackable EQ4800-L series with capacities ranging from 9.36 to 41.93 kilowatt-hours (kWh), to the single-pack unit EP11 that can be expanded with up to four parallel units.

The company has also built a dedicated Australian team of 25, local warehousing, local sales, local technical support, and strong partnerships with distribution channels and installers.

This kind of groundwork positions Fox ESS to deliver in Australia as it has in Europe.

“We want distributors, installers and end users to know that Fox ESS is here for the long term,” Liu says.

Not leaning on offshore call centres, Fox ESS has prioritised boots on the ground. Eight engineers are based in Melbourne, three in Sydney, two in Brisbane, and one each in Adelaide and Perth. Another 10 experts provide remote support.

“The Australian market is very installer-driven, so we made it a priority to build a 25-member nationwide team early on,” says Liu.

“This means when issues arise, installers can reach a local technical expert right away – often in person – ensuring faster resolution and minimal downtime.”

That responsiveness, he argues, will be a defining factor in building trust.

“Installers know support isn’t just a hotline, but a team that can stand beside them. This reliability gives them confidence to adopt and promote Fox ESS solutions.”

Battery design shaped by policy

Australia’s subsidy regime has shaped Fox ESS’s product roadmap.

The EQ4800 and EP11 batteries, the company’s flagship models for residential users, were designed with the 50-kWh rebate threshold in mind.

Fox ESS believes aligning with Australia’s policy framework was essential to maximise customer benefits – both economically and for efficiency.

The EQ4800 can stack up to 41.93 kWh, while the EP11 scales to 41.6 kWh across four units, both comfortably under the policy cap.

Beyond compliance, the company stresses the emphasis on safety and longevity.

“We adopt multiple layers of protection – including temperature sensors, the dual relay design, and more – to ensure higher safety and reliability,” Liu says.

“More importantly, our BMS [battery management system] algorithm captures accurate battery cell condition data, calculates the optimised behaviour, and allows the battery to work at the most efficient condition, prolonging battery life.”

Fox ESS is not pitching storage in isolation. Its ecosystem includes inverters, batteries, EV chargers, heat pumps, and the ‘Fox Cloud 2.0’ energy management platform.

“With the ‘Fox Cloud 2.0’ artificial intelligence [AI] tool, we provide intelligent energy usage recommendations,” he says .

“Our full ecosystem – integrating inverters, batteries, and electric vehicle chargers – is designed to maximise overall energy efficiency for Australian households and businesses. This holistic approach goes beyond what solar-only or battery-only providers can offer, delivering smarter and more sustainable solutions.”

This strategy reflects a global shift. In competitive storage markets, companies with integrated portfolios are increasingly favoured for the ability to simplify procurement and management for installers, while giving end users a unified app-driven experience.

Warranty and credibility

One of the hurdles new entrants face in Australia is overcoming scepticism about warranty claims and long-term reliability. Fox ESS is tackling this directly.

“All our products come with a 10-year warranty,” Liu says.

“The battery cell warranty, based on energy throughput, is 20 per cent higher than the industry average, ensuring long-term reliability and peace of mind.”

For installers used to seeing brands arrive and exit, these signals matter. Fox ESS is betting that robust warranties, combined with visible service capacity, will help it sidestep the wariness that often greets new suppliers.

Another marker of seriousness is Fox ESS’s early move into virtual power plant (VPP) partnerships.

The company is already collaborating with four VPP solution providers in Australia, including Amber, Evergen, GloBird Energy, and Reposit, as well as nine distribution network service providers.

“We plan to continue expanding our integrations in the future,” Liu says.

By opening its systems to aggregators, Fox ESS aims to future-proof its offer.

With state and federal policy leaning heavily into distributed energy resources, VPP participation will soon be an expectation rather than an option.

“It’s important to be open towards VPP providers and aggregators. We are willing to support local integration as well as cloud-to-cloud integration,” Liu says.

Making the most of All Energy

This year’s All Energy Australia exhibition is not just another trade show for Fox ESS. The company has chosen the Melbourne event to signal to the market that its Australian story is only just beginning.

In Europe, Fox ESS has already established itself as a credible challenger to incumbents. Its A-Class rating from HTW Berlin and recognition by BloombergNEF as a Tier One battery storage manufacturer have reinforced its global profile.

Yet the company is entering a crowded field, where installer loyalty, warranty reputation, and policy compliance often outweigh glossy brochures.

By investing in local service capacity, tailoring its products to subsidy caps, and signalling long-term presence, Fox ESS is attempting to sidestep the pitfalls that have tripped up others.