"I Want 100kWh" Is Not an RFQ — 5 Details That Filter Out 80% of the Wrong Suppliers

"I want a 100kWh LFP battery system." That is not an RFQ. That is a wish. When you send that to 20 factories on Alibaba, you get 20 quotes ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 — and no way to compare them, because each factory filled in the blanks differently.

Here are the 5 details you must define before you send an RFQ. Without them, you are not sourcing — you are fishing.

1. Application and load profile

Off-grid cabin? Telecom backup? Commercial peak shaving? Residential self-consumption? Each application demands a different BMS, cycle life, and thermal design. A $5,000 off-grid pack is not comparable to a $15,000 C&I peak-shaving system.

2. Peak and continuous power in kW

100kWh at 50kW continuous is a different product than 100kWh at 10kW continuous. The inverter, BMS, and cell parallel configuration change. If you do not specify kW, factories quote the cheapest version — and it will not start your air conditioner.

3. Installation environment

Indoor, ventilated? Outdoor, IP65? Coastal salt air? Desert heat? Cold climate below -20°C? Each changes enclosure rating, thermal management, and cell chemistry tolerance.

4. Required certifications

CE? IEC 62619? UN 38.3? UL 1973? Grid-tied certification for your country? If you do not list them, factories will quote without them — and you will pay double later to retrofit.

5. Delivery term and destination port

FOB Shanghai? CIF Rotterdam? DAP your warehouse? The price difference is 10–20%. If you do not specify, factories quote FOB their nearest port — which is not what you wanted.

The filter working

When you write these 5 details into your RFQ, the reply rate drops from 20 factories to 5 — but those 5 are actually buildable to your spec. The quotes become comparable. That is the point of an RFQ filter.

Use this as a procurement framework, not as legal, tax or technical advice. Always confirm spec, price and timing in writing.

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