ESJ, Issue 17: Summer 2017

Issue 17: Summer 2017

Charging the future – special supplement on global ees exhibition series

The great cobalt price spike The rollercoaster of supply and demand The CEO interview Solarwatt’s Detlef Neuhaus and the move to the top again

Doosan Gridtech An electronic skeleton that turns distributed energy into a reality

Island microgrids Asia’s challenge of replacing gensets with solar+storage

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CONTENTS COVER STORY

22

COBALT: WHERE SUPPLY AND DEMAND COLLIDE Could the fate of the renewables revolution — and the EV one too — be at the mercy of the availability of one metal: cobalt? Without cobalt where would high energy density lithium batteries be? How much is speculation, how much reality?

EDITORIAL

2

NEWS

4

The price of everything, the value of nothing

Wärtsilä to acquire Greensmith Energy • Saltwater battery firm Aquion goes into bankruptcy, snapped up by Chinese Titans at auction sale • Skeleton Technologies launches Skelgrid energy storage system • Australian Vanadium releases residential flow battery storage design plans • Younicos to test Li-ion project in Austin • Li-ion project to explore methods of modernizing US grid system • South Africa’s Eskom opens battery testing facility to find 2000MW back-up power • Indian fuel retailer announces a step into battery technology • Hoppecke records impressive 25% growth for 2016-17 • 30MW Tuscon, Arizona storage to deliver 3¢ per kW for next 20 years • Hybrid system to stabilize Caribbean power grid • Pier Giuseppe Bernini — 1967-2017

PRODUCT NEWS

15

SOFTWARE FOCUS: DOOSAN GRIDTECH

18

SQUARING UP TO THE LITHIUM CHALLENGE

27

US Navy, Enzinc develop zinc alternative to lithium batteries • Trojan Battery launches new solar AGM line • High-purity metals firm opens three production lines for 99.98% pure nickel • Positron power The electronic skeleton that turns distributed energy into a reality

Finding high volume deployments for energy storage systems based on vanadium redox flow chemistry

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT — EES IN NORTH AMERICA

Inevitability: price volatility 22

Pier Giuseppe Bernini: much loved, sorely missed 9

29-40

• USA: The state of the union • Coming soon to San Francisco • And the winners of the ees 2017 awards • Energy storage technologies reshape LatAm’s energy sector • Battery technologies enhance India’s grid reliability

MICROGRID STANDARDIZATION

41

THE CEO INTERVIEW: DETLEF NEUHAUS, SOLARWATT

44

BACK TO BASICS: BATTERY DIAGNOSTICS ON THE FLY

48

CONFERENCE IN PRINT

51

EVENT REVIEW

58

EVENTS

60

Accelerating island microgrid adoption across south-east Asia

• PMESS the shape of ESS to come • Protecting lithium batteries and battery packs from runaway thermal events An intelligent approach — NAATBatt’s annual meeting, for the record

Our comprehensive listing of energy storage conferences and events.

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Publisher: Karen Hampton karen@energystoragejournal.com +44 7792 852 337 Editor: Michael Halls, mike@energystoragejournal.com +44 1 243 782 275

Let cool heads prevail

Associate editor: Sara Verbruggen sara@energystoragejournal.com The lead-lithium storage debate steps up a notch +44 7981 256 908 The new titan of lead Ecoult’s UltraBattery, ready to take lithium on, head-to-head

The CEO interview Anil Srivastava and Leclanché’s bid for market dominance

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Next gen integrators Coming soon to a smart grid near you, the ideal middle man

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Doosan: software the key 18

CEO interview: Neuhaus 44

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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 1

EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@energystoragejournal.com

The price of everything, the value of nothing Forget all that guff about free markets working in an efficient manner. And all that nonsense that the freer the market, the more efficient they become.

In a previous lifetime as a financial journalist I quickly became aware of how much markets swing and lurch from one extreme to another. And oddly enough those same rules apply to the vagaries of battery prices and profits as they do to international capital markets.

I used to be fascinated by the way that two opinions could create buy/sell opportunities. Sometimes ludicrously.

I once asked 20 banks to say where the Japanese yen versus US dollar exchange rate would be in five years’ time. The spread was huge enough to be ridiculous.

Two extremes stood out — one predicted ¥40/$, the other ¥180/$. It was trading at $/¥90 at the time. Five years later the rate stood at $/¥107.

Both were impossible positions but each highlighted the difference in opinions in what was then, and still is, the most traded market in the world.

In those dark pre-internet days in the early 1990s, Citibank in New York even had a different price forecast for the dollar than Citibank in London. And they all traded happily on that.

Interesting times, watching freewheeling capitalism at its crankiest.

There were days when I interviewed traders who would take a view from a UK daily newspaper — the pin-up page — on the strength of the dollar. Which way would her anatomy be facing? Left a dollar climb?

Right a slide?

And yet these traders made a fortune for themselves and their banks. Short term trading is rarely about longer term consistency ... or any related accuracy.

Price discovery from everything to the cost of a metal to the value of the dollar is rarely about the fundamentals or economics of a situation — the laws of supply and demand are only part of the process.

Not to be ignored but just part of the process.

Instead it’s almost invariably about how market participants feel about the situation. Not plain logic about fundamentals but feelings. Hunches. Guesses too. What side of the bed people woke up on.

This has been a long preamble before we touch the world of energy storage — and the worries about to erupt into the world of lithium ion batteries given the price of cobalt — but it is these illogical logicalities

2 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

that underpin the battery business.

Cobalt is the magic ingredient in high energy lithium batteries. Lithium batteries come in about six basic chemistries. Some, such as lithium iron phosphate with a specific energy of just 120Wh/kg, need no cobalt.

However, more powerful batteries, such as lithium cobalt oxide ones — where cobalt oxide is in the cathode and graphite carbon is the anode — can punch out almost double that. The trouble being that cobalt accounts for 55% of the materials in the anode.

Look at the price of cobalt for the past 15 years or so.

You’d have to be a magician to understand it properly — at least in the longer term. From the 1990s its price was mostly stable — around $30,000/tonne.

In the summer of 2006, a different trend emerged.

Market expectations took over, the cobalt price rocketed.

Between 2006 to its peak in 2008 cobalt quadrupled in price to peak around $115,000/t. It then bounced a little before settling back to the $30,000/t level. A speculator’s dream — you could make money both as the price climbed and by forward selling on the way down.

These prices changes had little to do with real supply and demand. They were based on market expectations of supply and demand but — and here’s the most important bit — with a huge dash of speculation mixed in.

Guesses, hunches and a huge mix of greed had been added to the price. (Which way were the pin-up’s assets pointing?)

So why did investor sentiment change in 2006 to 2007?

With hindsight it’s clearer (it always is) to see the larger picture. The collapse of a housing bubble that ravaged North America — dragging many of its leading financial institutions to collapse — and large swathes of European real estate made the whole investment world tremble.

So, as the bubble popped, investors rushed for the hills.

Where would it be safe to place their money?

Why not commodities? Everyone needed oil and steel and investors in developing countries thought a safe bet for returns would be to stick away from traditional capital markets and look to where the fundamentals would emerge.

In the event, the speculation proved fruitless as the

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EDITORIAL Mike Halls • editor@energystoragejournal.com global economic crisis started to bite — the result was a lot of money was lost by investors and many battery manufacturers had their fingers burnt.

But ever since the first futures market in rice was established in Dojima, Japan in the 1730s — do you want to lock in a price for rice now or wait to see if the harvest is good or bad? — markets repeat themselves. And that’s just what’s happening now.

For the past couple of years many metals traders have quietly been building stockpiles of lead (and now cobalt) in the expectation — let’s be honest, the hunch — that prices are about to go up.

Their expectation is that with demand outstripping supply in the next couple of years, they will be able to sell at a very tidy profit. Who cares if the battery makers lose out? It’s all about buying and selling — nothing to do with making things.

Since at least the end of December 2015 speculators have been stockpiling cobalt. As a glut of supply had depressed prices to under $25,000/t, it seemed an ideal moment to corner a part of the market. It’s now trading just under $60,000/t.

ore is mined — and cobalt is almost completely a sideproduct of mining for copper and nickel. If demand for copper and nickel diminishes — prices are near 10-year lows and some mines are being temporarily shuttered — so will cobalt production.

Market rumours suggest that at least two large investment funds (and countless other firms taking smaller positions) have bought large stocks of cobalt in the past year. The US and Chinese governments are known to be stockpiling it.

Moreover, cobalt has a variety of uses for more highvalue products such as superalloys, hardened steel for machine and diamond tooling and desulphuring catalysts for cars, as well as pigments and magnets.

The expectations are that we will see a huge boom in EVs in the coming years. China, for example, says it plans to make five million EVs by 2020.

And in a huge land-grab that is still taking shape, it’s clear that China is ensuring it will be in control of large chunks of the cobalt supply. Some estimates suggest that China Molybdenum’s recent acquisitions will give it huge control of the cobalt supply — and that supply will be geared to China’s domestic interests rather than international ones.

As the world shifts from a cobalt glut to a cobalt shortage, prices will have to change and the likelihood is that the EV market will falter with it.

The interconnected worlds of residential storage will falter too, a couple of years later. And the drive to an integrated world of energy storage will be put on hold — probably only temporarily, but on hold all the same.

Analysts at Macquarie Research expect shortfalls of 885 tonnes next year, 3,205 tonnes in 2019, and 5,340 tonnes in 2020. The supply and demand balance is, they reckon, going to become heavily lop-sided as less

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In a price squeeze it’ll be the EV manufacturers that will lose out first. Improvements to top end grid storage projects will follow next. And all this could well spin down to the rest of the energy storage industry.

It’s not the place of an editorial such as this to suggest where cobalt prices will go — though of course it is worth pointing out that the price has doubled in the past year.

Rather it is to put forward an idea, the vagaries of capitalism, the shifting sands of market pricing and, finally, the essentials of supply and demand may spell the shipwreck of a decade of hopes, sometimes inflated, but hopes all the same of an energy storage revolution that could change this planet forever.

A world shortage of cobalt might mean that the energy storage revolution predicated on an abundance of lithium ion batteries is about to stall.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 3

NEWS

Wärtsilä to acquire Greensmith Energy The Finnish supplier of power generation and marine equipment, Wärtsilä, announced in May its intentions to acquire Greensmith Energy Management Systems. The transaction should close in July, although no price tag has yet been announced by either of the two companies.

The acquisition should give Wärtsilä, which provides technologies and lifecycle products for the marine and energy sectors, a foothold in the energy storage market.

The acquisition follows a clear trend within the industry of foreign players increasingly seeking to enter the potentially lucrative US

“The combination of Greensmith’s position and capability in energy storage technology with Wärtsilä’s global leadership in integrated energy solutions will bring both market and technology synergies to both organizations” — John Jung, Greensmith

energy storage market.

Some of the recent acquisitions over the past two years include an Italian utility buying Demand Energy, a French utility buying a controlling stake in Green Charge Networks, France’s EDF buying Groom Energy Solutions and Doosan’s acquisition of 1Energy Systems.

US-based Greensmith — whose software is adapted to be chemistry neutral — says it deployed about a third of total new US energy storage capacity last year.

Greensmith Energy will operate within Wärtsilä as an independent business, retaining all of its staff and management.

The acquisition will also support Wärtsilä’s diversification into solar PV, which the company announced in 2016. The company develops utility-scale solar PV plants, 10MW and above in capacity. In many cases the solar PV plant is combined with traditional power generation based on Wärtsilä’s own liquid fuel and gasfired generators to form hybrid plants.

Projects include a retrofit hybrid plant in Jordan, in the Middle East. The plant will combine 46MW of solar PV with a 250MW fuel-fired generation plant, to reduce fuel consumption during daylight hours.

In a project in Burkina Faso, Wärtsilä is developing a 15MW solar PV plant next to one of its 55MW heavy fuel powered engine plants. The electricity will be sold to a gold mine, requiring reliable round-theclock energy to operate.

“Adding energy storage is the final component in large-scale solar PV and solar PV-hybrid plants,” says Wärtsilä’s director for energy storage, Risto Paldanius.

4 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

Greensmith CEO John Jung said: “The combination of Greensmith’s position and capability in energy storage technology with Wärtsilä’s global leadership in integrated energy solutions will bring both market and technology synergies to both organizations.”

By offering energy storage, Wärtsilä will be able to target emerging solar PV markets with high-growth potential, such as in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, where demand for electricity is growing and the falling cost of renewable energy, especially solar PV, means demand for energy can be met by renewables.

However, in many developing markets, grid infrastructure lacks investment, limiting the amount of renewables that can be fed into the system. Energy storage can support the integration of intermittent renewables.

Earlier this year, before announcing the planned buyout of Greensmith, Wärtsilä announced another hybrid plant offering, combining energy storage with its thermal power generation plants.

By using the energy storage capacity as spinning reserve, thermal generation can be operated on higher load with better fuel efficiency, opening up the possibility of running fewer engines. Another application is to use the same energy storage component for providing grid services, like frequency control.

With the acquisition of Greensmith Energy, Wärtsilä’s hybrid systems range will cover configurations that combine solar PV+storage, engine power generation+storage, solar PV+ engines and all three;

engines+solar PV+energy storage.

The other potential growth markets are those where demand for energy storage is growing, such as in North America and in European markets, like the UK. In these markets the company is exploring standalone battery opportunities to provide grid services as well as projects for new thermal generation/gasfired power generation that can potentially incorporate storage to provide grid services as well as spinning reserve.

Another interesting market is Australia, according to Paldanius, where buildout of renewables has led to demand for large-scale energy storage to help support the grid as more solar PV and wind capacity is added.

Australia also spans offgrid and remote grid opportunities for energy storage.

“We are looking for all options in Australia,” says Paldanius.

“Today the market is mainly for standalone energy storage, but we believe there are opportunities with all hybrid combines.”

Since partnering with Greensmith Energy in mid2016, the past year has given the two companies the opportunity to get to know each other’s culture and how each other works.

“Adding energy storage is the final component in large-scale solar PV and solar PVhybrid plants” — Risto Paldanius, Wärtsilä www.energystoragejournal.com

NEWS “Since announcing the acquisition I have been speaking with customers of ours, which include utilities and independent power producers, and I cannot exaggerate the level of excitement the announcement has generated,” says Javier Cavada, president of Wärtsilä Energy Solutions.

Through the acquisition Wärtsilä will gain knowledge of the integration of energy storage into grids and with other generation sources.

Greensmith Energy’s core offering is a software control platform that can programme energy storage systems to carry out various different applications, services and functions, including spinning reserve and frequency regulation.

However the company also integrates different batteries,

including makes of lithium ion batteries and different inverters, usually undertaking months of testing how the hardware components operate together under its software platform GEMS. “We believe that Greensmith Energy is one of the energy storage integrators that is highly valued also by the battery manufacturers, like Samsung and LG Chem, two of the biggest lithium ion battery producers,” says Cavada.

He refers to the co-development responsibility undertaken by Greensmith Energy on projects that has helped make the company a preferred partner in many projects.

“In addition, what we can offer — and what has got our customers and other utilities and power producers so excited — is that we

have a global reach, have been around for decades and have a bigger balance sheet,” says Cavada.

The company has a global installed power plant base of 60GW, which offers potential to convert to hybrid generation.

Power producers Eon and AEP have been early investors in Greensmith Energy.

Cavada acknowledges they have helped to support the company’s growth.

“Close co-operation with Eon and AEP will continue and even more so now on a global scale,” says Cavada.

Eon, which is one of Europe’s largest energy players, is also reported to be developing renewable energy and storage projects in the North American market, where Greensmith Energy’s energy management software is used.

“Greensmith Energy is one of the energy storage integrators that is highly valued also by the battery manufacturers, like Samsung and LG Chem, two of the biggest lithium ion battery producers” — Javier Cavada, Wärtsilä

Saltwater battery firm Aquion goes into bankruptcy, snapped up by China’s Titans at auction sell-off The bankrupt saltwater battery firm Aquion Energy was bought for $9.8 million by Juline-Titans, an investment holding company affiliated to the China Titans Energy Technology Group, on June 20, according to Fox Business quoting the Dow Jones.

The Titans Group owns many companies that are all involved in the electronics and energy industry.

Battery firm BlueSky Energy, which advertises Aquion batteries on its website, had before the auction submitted a bid of $2.8 million. This pushed the price up to $3 million but was far less than the $9.8 million eventually achieved.

The sale included everything, from the intellectual rights – dozens of current and pending patents – to the manufacturing equipment and inventory.

Despite announcing a new project in February with one of Japan’s largest electric power companies, Kyushu Electric, to provide storage for solar power in Kagoshima Prefecture, just a month later Aquion was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States District of Delaware.

Under Chapter 11 a company can continue trading while a restructuring

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or sale is put in place.

So what went so wrong, so suddenly and so soon after the company this January won the North American Company of the Year Award from the Cleantech Group, which included Aquion in its 2017 Global Cleantech 100?

“Creating a new electrochemistry and an associated battery platform at commercial scale is extremely complex, time consuming and very capital intensive,” said outgoing CEO Scott Pearson.

“Despite our best efforts to fund the company and continue to fuel our growth, the company has been unable to raise the growth capital needed to continue operating as a going concern.”

Aquion Energy began life in 2008 when Jay Whitacre, with support from Carnegie Mellon University, produced the first Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI) battery.

Since then Aquion has spent a total of $190 million on honing its battery technology, which works with a saltwater electrolyte, manganese oxide cathode, carbon titanium phosphate composite anode and synthetic cotton separator.

By 2011, low-volume production of the batteries had begun and the ground was broken on a full-scale manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.

In mid-2014, Aquion began shipping its batteries commercially and had installations in Japan, South Africa, Northern Ireland and Australia, as well as California.

The team travelled far and wide to spread the word about its technology, declaring on its website: “In 2016 we attended, presented or exhibited at more than 50 different solar, energy storage and other industry events around the world. If you didn’t catch us this year, there will be just as many opportunities (if not more) to say hello in 2017!”

It had a string of well-known investors, including Bill Gates, Shell, Total, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Bright Capital.

Energy Storage Journal received no response from Aquion over the sales process in June. However, before the auction chief restructuring officer Suzanne Roski said the company had not completed its analysis of how the sale proceeds would be distributed.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 5

NEWS

Younicos to test li-ion project in Austin German firm Younicos said in May it is to supply a 1.75 MW/3.2 MWh lithium-ion system to test the use of multiple energy storage services in the US city of Austin, Texas.

The system will explore how renewable energy and storage can be integrated on the grid at utility, commercial and residential scales in the city, and potentially US wide.

Younicos, which opened a headquarters and technology centre in Austin in 2015, will install the system using its Y.Cube systems. The seven Y.Cubes and Y.Converters represent the company’s largest Y.Cube deployment in the US to date.

The company is working alongside the project’s prime contractor, Doosan GridTech, and publically owned utility Austin Energy.

The storage system is part of a Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) that will examine how to maintain grid reliability while also enabling the highest penetration of distributed PV generation.

The battery storage system is part of a US Department of Energy (DOE)-funded initiative Sustainable and Holistic Integration of Energy Storage and Solar PV (SHINES) project.

The SHINES project aims

to test and forge a template on how other states can use storage and distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar photovoltaics, to harness and ensure grid reliability when utilizing renewable energy.

Stephen Prince, CEO of Younicos, said: “The SHINES project is the perfect showcase for an alternative, distributed energy system with resources like energy storage providing resiliency and security.”

Integrating energy storage with solar will be an ‘essential’ part of the City of Austin’s goal of reaching 55% renewable energy by 2025.

The Austin SHINES program is more than a tech-

nical pilot, said Jackie Sargent, Austin Energy general manager. “It’s phase one of a larger rollout to maximize the value of distributed energy resources for our customers and the utility.

Ultimately, it’s about testing innovative technologies that could have long-term benefits.”

The Austin Energy SHINES Project was initiated in 2016 with a $4.3 million grant from the DOE’s SunShot Initiative with the goal of analyzing and determining best practices for integrating renewable energy and energy storage on the grid at utility, commercial and residential scales.

Li-ion project to explore methods of modernizing US grid system The US Department of Energy announced in June it is backing a project to examine how lithium-ion energy storage can allow grid-scale power operators to modernize its infrastructure.

The challenges of developing technology that offers both a reliable and efficient electrical grid service to rural parts of Texas led the DOE to choose the University of Texas at Austin to lead a $1.6 million project to develop the technology.

The university’s Center for Electromechanics (CEM) in the Cockrell School of Engineering will look at how utilities can integrate distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar photovoltaics, combustion engines and energy storage systems, onto the grid in a sustainable way.

“Augmenting and modernizing the legacy electric grid while continuing to maintain reliable electrical service is a lot like rebuilding a ship while at sea, there’s a huge downside if you don’t do it right,” said Bob Hebner, CEM director and a research professor in the Cockrell School’s Department of Mechanical Engi-

neering.

Network operators in the US are quickly having to develop ways to cope with the two-way flow of power — from distributed energy and traditional sources — as America adopts a changing energy mix to meet low carbon targets.

New methods for monitoring this energy mix will have to include new modelling capabilities that will crunch real-time, big data to ensure fluctuations, caused by the inherently unpredictable wind and solar energy sources, are smoothed and the grid remains stable.

Hebner said: “The UT

Austin project will leverage machine learning and big data, maintain cybersecurity and use a technical approach like that supporting the Internet of Things. And it will do all of that while preserving the best of what we have today.”

CEM will work with project partners Argonne National Laboratory, Verivolt, National Instruments and Pedernales Electric Cooperative to use existing and emerging sensor technology and enable real-time gridwise monitoring and modelling of loads and DERs. The project expects to develop affordable sensors that

Maldives turns to battery hybrid system to combat energy crisis The Republic of Maldives is the latest country to turn to a hybrid-lithiumion energy storage system to stabilize its electricity supply historically plagued by poor power quality and high costs.

The system, which was announced by Chinese firm Sungrow in mid-

6 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

June will use 700kW/333 kWh energy storage system using batteries developed by a joint venture between Sungrow and the South Korean company Samsung SDI. When combined with a diesel generator and 2.7 MWp of solar PV the system will be able to

will offer detailed information about the behaviour of the rural distribution system and inform a modern control approach that uses better situational awareness to minimize outage time.

The system will be extensively modelled and tested at UT Austin and elsewhere.

Then it will be installed to obtain field data and achieve a high level of system performance.

It is one of seven major projects launched by the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability as part of a nearly $10 million research investment. supply grid-scale services included frequency regulation, peak-shaving and load-shifting.

The project, which uses Sungrow’s inverters and energy management system, is expected to meet more than 30% of local domestic and office energy demands on the islands Addu, Villingili, Kurendhoo, Buruni, and Goidhoo.

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NEWS

Skeleton Technologies launches Skelgrid energy storage system Skeleton Technologies, the ultracapacitor manufacturer, has launched another product in its ‘Skel’ range, announcing on May 30 an energy storage system for industrial power back-up applications that the company says is the first of its kind.

SkelGrid is an ultracapacitor-based energy storage system for ensuring power quality in manufacturing plants and data centres and for starting and bridging power for diesel generators.

“The SkelGrid product family is based on a new generation of SkelRack modules, which can be installed in industry-standard deep cabinets and in up to 40ft containers to provide short-term power at the megawatt level,” a spokesperson for Skeleton told Energy Storage Journal.

“SkelGrid products are already in use in data centres and a wave energy production application, but unfortunately we are un-

able to reveal the customer names due to non-disclosure agreements. We have more orders lined up and are in constant negotiation with more potential customers.

“Diesel generators are a great example of an industry where SkelGrid can offer savings, and can bridge the gap between the power outage and the generators turning on. This is essential for production facilities and hospitals, where even a short disturbance in the power grid can have catastrophic consequences. With SkelGrid, gen-sets can also be turned off, instead of keeping them in stand-by mode, leading to further reduction in fuel consumption and emissions.”

A single SkelGrid cabinet can provide power of up to 1.5 MW for short periods.

“In the semiconductor and electronics industries power quality is of the utmost importance,” Taavi Madiberk, CEO of Skeleton

Technologies toldEnergy Storage Journal at the Munich ees/Intersolar meetings in early June.

“A power outage lasting for under a second can damage all the products on the production line, and the losses are compounded by the unavoidable downtime of clearing the backlog and setting everything up again.

On average, our customers face one such event per year.

The SkelGrid product family ensures no manufacturing losses or downtime even in the event of short-term power outages.”

All of Skeleton Technologies’ ultracapacitors are based on the company’s patented curved graphene technology.

Separately, the firm made two separate advances this spring.

The first was the opening at the end of March of a new production line in Saxony, Germany capable of producing up to 4 million supercaps a year. It will

be the largest of its kind in Europe.

“The investment that we were able to make in expanding our production line here is indicative of the demand that we are seeing for ultracapacitors from a huge variety of industries, including the automotive sector, power grids, heavy transport and haulage,” said Madiberk.

The second coup was the signing of a €15 million ($16 million) loan with the European Investment Bank in February. “This is a milestone for the company,” said Madiberk.

Jan Vapaavuori, a vice president for the European Investment Bank, said: “The EIB financing will provide Skeleton with a powerful financial boost to accelerate production, R&D and commercial development with a view to deploying its graphene-based ultracapacitors not only across the European continent, but also globally.”

Australian Vanadium releases residential flow battery storage design plans VSun Energy, the whollyowned subsidiary of mining company Australian Vanadium, announced on April 12 it was in negotiations with the designer of a residential vanadium redox flow battery that will provide an alternative to the lithium-based Tesla Powerwall.

VSun Energy business development manager Sam McGahan told Energy Storage Journal that negotiations with the holder of the battery design for home storage were under way, and a study had been commissioned to look at the timescale and market size in Australia.

“What we would like to do is to manufacture in Australia, so we need to partner with someone who has manufacturing expertise,” she said.

“Other angles we’re investigating are things such as having a larger battery at the substation level which can be used to soak up excess production from the suburb and then can be drawn upon by the householders. This would involve a product such as Reposit or Power Ledger to manage the ownership of the energy and would enable people to trade their generated energy.”

Reposit and Power Ledger are two software systems

8 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

that can be fitted to solar panels and allow consumers to trade surplus energy.

McGahan said the main benefits of vanadium redox flow batteries over lithium are they are non-flammable, have a lifespan of more than 20 years, do not degrade, can be recycled as many times as required and provide more hours of storage.

“The state of charge is measured across one body of liquid, rather than multiple cells. It’s a much simpler set-up,” she said.

To date, VSun’s smallest product was a 10kW/100kWh battery that would be suitable for farms and industrial premises. The

new design is more suitable for a residential property, at 5kW/20kWh. Vanadium redox flow batteries have a bright outlook, according to market analysts.

One report, by IDTechEx, says that the expiry of a number of patents related to redox flow batteries in 2006 has sparked interest in the market, which will grow to an estimated $4 billion by 2027.

The report says potentially the largest battery in the world, at 800 MWh, is being built in Dalian, northwestern China and will be powered entirely by redox flow batteries.

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NEWS

Pier Giuseppe Bernini — 1967-2017

It is with sadness that we report the death of Pier Giuseppe Bernini, general manager for Solith, the lithium subsidiary of Italian battery machine manufacturer Sovema. Pier was a talented and highly respected engineer. as well as a warm generous friend to many — to which we, at Energy Storage Journal counted ourselves one.

Professionally, Pier will be remembered as a leading innovator for the manufacture of lithium ion battery production systems where his encyclopaedic knowledge of everything from punching electrodes, pouch forming and cell formulation made him a huge asset to Sovema, the Italian machine maker.

Pier joined Sovema in May 2011 before helping set up Solith in September 2015.

His most recent patent “Machine and process for obtaining cells for electric storage batteries and cell for electric storage battery” was awarded in May

2016.

The Sovema Group expressed its sadness over his passing saying: “Pier was an important player of its team of experts, which he helped create and constantly inspired.

The group is close to Pier’s family and to the Solith team and will honour his legacy.”

Tributes have also come in from friends and colleagues alike. Bob Galyen, chief technology officer at CATL told Energy Storage Journal: “Pier was full of life! We shared many work experiences from Italy to China, and the world between. He beamed with life, always

$6.3 million funding pot to support emerging energy storage technologies The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on June 21 announced that $6.3 million will be made available to aid the commercialization of energy storage to support renewable power sources in the State.

The move, albeit relatively small scale for a global industry worth billions of dollars, is a sign that governors in states such as New York believe embracing a cleaner, more resilient and affordable energy mix will combat climate change.

New York will continue to look for innovative technologies to build a “resilient and efficient electric grid” and energy storage would play a critical role as renewable energy resources were added throughout the state, said Janet Joseph, acting president and CEO of NYSERDA. NYSERDA will accept concept papers during the first round of this solicitation through July 20, 2017.

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Papers should focus on advancing, developing and field testing energy storage technologies, and identify how the technology will advance the state’s goal to have 50% of its electricity

come from renewable resources by 2030.

Success in the initial round will lead to companies being asked to submit follow-up proposals. The best will then receive funding to move for-

Battery solution as Dong Energy helps UK meet changing power needs Dong Energy announed it will install a 2MW battery at one of its UK wind farms at the end of the year to deliver frequency response services as the increased generation of power puts strain on the grid.

The battery system, supplied by ABB, at Dong’s 90MW Burbo Bank offshore wind farm will ensure UK power operator National Grid can keep the grid frequency stable at 50Hz. Once installed, it will be the first time a hybrid offshore wind farm and battery system has been used to deliver frequency

response to the grid.

As the world’s energy mix changes, the need to ensure a safe and stable supply of energy will require grid operators like National Grid to embrace more flexible services, and smarter ways to deal with the integration of intermittent renewable power generation.

Richard Smith, head of Network Capability (electricity) for National Grid said he was looking forward to seeing how the Dong Energy solution of storage connected to the offshore wind farm would provide services to help the company respond to

speaking of his love of family and steadfast determination in his career. Anyone who was close to Pier knew what a kind man he was.

“We spent many hours discussing equipment design and philosophy in manufacturing, always trying to create perfection for his customers.”

Pier died suddenly from a heart attack on April 29 while cycling. He was a month short of his 50th birthday. He leaves behind his wife Giulia, who he married in 2008, and young son Filippo who he adored.

The world is a sadder place without him. ward with their projects.

The initiative follows NYSERDA’s $15.5 million funding for energy storage projects that are already commercially available.

Initial concept papers under that solicitation will be accepted through December 31, 2019 or until all funds are committed. day-to-day operational challenges and maintain frequency on Great Britain’s electricity system.

Ole Kjems Sørensen, senior vice president, Partnerships/M&A and Asset Management at Dong Energy, said that by focusing on enhancing what they offered on the generation side to help the National Grid manage grid stability was part of its move to make the energy system smarter.

“We’re excited to use battery technology to demonstrate this wind power and battery hybrid capability. With eight existing offshore wind farms in the UK and another four under construction.”

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 9

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NEWS

30MW Tuscon, Arizona storage to deliver 3¢ per kW for next 20 years A 30MW energy storage system will be at the heart of a project to deliver clean energy to a third of homes in the US city of Tucson, Arizona for at least the next two decades, the utility announced at the end of May. Power utility Tucson Electric Power (TEP) will buy the system’s output for less than three cents per kilo-

watt for 20 years — less than half of the cost of its current similar contracts.

The ESS and accompanying 100MW solar array are due to be commissioned at the end of 2019.

Carmine Tilghman, senior director of Energy Supply and Renewable Energy for TEP, said that by focusing its resources on the de-

velopment of cost-effective community scale systems the company could provide more solar energy to more customer.

An affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources will build, own and operate the system, which will become TEP’s largest dedicated renewable energy resource.

NextEra Energy Re-

sources also will build and operate a 120MWh battery storage system on the site to help integrate renewable energy resources into TEP’s local energy grid.

The latest project comes as TEP aims to use more energy storage, having already added three battery storage systems to its local energy grid this year.

Hybrid system to stabilize Caribbean power grid Jamaica is poised to get its first flywheel and lithiumion hybrid energy storage system with a groundbreaking hybrid energy storage solution approved by the utility company Jamaica Public Service before the end of June.

The system was approved by the JPS’s board of directors, and is now awaiting a positive decision from the Office of Utilities Regulation.

The system will help with grid stability and reliability as the country continues to bring increasing amounts of renewable energy online.

If approved by the Office of Utilities Regulation., the 24.5MW facility will be located at the Hunts Bay Power Plant Sub-station, and would become operational by the third quarter of 2018.

“The proposed initiative will allow JPS to provide a high-speed response when the output from renewables is suddenly reduced, to mitigate stability and power quality issues that cause outages to customers,” said a JPS spokesman.

“It will also provide a much faster, cost-effective and environmentally friendly spinning reserve (or back-up) as an alternative to traditional generation spinning reserve,

which is required by the company.”

Researchers are lining up potassium-ion to replace Li-ion for grid scale storage.

Researchers in the US believe their potassiumbased batteries can answer the questions hanging over lithium-ion’s sustainability and cost as energy storage systems become business as usual in the utility-scale power industry.

Scientists at Indiana-state Purdue University believe they have developed a rechargeable battery based on potassium that could one day prove a sustainable alternative to lithium.

Vilas Pol, an associate professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, said there had been growing concern over lithium’s sustainability, but in the last decade there had been rapid progress in the investigation of metal-ion batteries beyond lithium, such as sodium and potassium.

Pol said: “The intermittent energy generated from solar and wind requires new energy storage systems for the grid.

“However, the limited global availability of lithium resources and high cost of extraction hinder the application of lithium-ion

12 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

batteries for such largescale energy storage. This demands alternative energy storage devices that are based on earth-abundant elements.”

Potassium is around eight times more abundant than lithium and one-tenth the cost, he said.

Three research papers on the potassium-ion battery work have been published in recent months, in collaborations with the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan.

One paper explained how replacing graphite in a lithium-ion battery anode with carbon nanofibers, generated using a process called electrospinning, had shown “promising” results.

The team studied batteries for up to 1,900 cycles, and found they achieved “reasonable capacity” after being charged for only six minutes.

This was because the carbon nanofibers allowed the battery to be charged much faster because the battery’s ions only had to travel a very short distance.

The batteries have a capacity of 110 milliamp hours per gram, one-third of the capacity achieved after 10 hours of conventional lithium ion battery charging, Pol said.

In a second paper, platelike structures made of MXenes called titanium carbonitride were used to create a new type of potassium-ion battery.

The researchers reported that MXenes allowed them to side-step potassium’s issue of poor intercalation.

Using potassium also could bring less expensive batteries by replacing copper with aluminium as a current collector for anodes.

Lithium-ion batteries require copper for the purpose, whereas aluminium can be used instead in the potassium-ion batteries.

In the third paper, the researchers chemically treated vehicle tyres, followed by pyrolysis to form hard carbon, which they then used to create anodes for a potassium-ion battery.

“This study demonstrates how material engineering of carbon can address some of the issues resulting from bulkier potassium-ion intercalation, and may bring possible strategies to improve performance of these batteries in the future,” Pol said in a commentary about the paper.

The three papers were published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Chemical Communications and the Journal of the Electrochemical Society.

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NEWS

Grid-scale VRF storage system for Hawaii UniEnergy Technologies, the energy storage company, will install a 100kW/500kWh vanadium redox flow battery in Hawaii next year, the company announced in June.

The installation will serve as a buffer between the load, variable renewable generation, and expensive fossil fuel generation.

The ReFlex storage system will start operations at the Hawaii Ocean Science and Technology Park (HOST Park).

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, Hawaii Electric Light Company, Ulupono Initiative and UET are working together on the project.

The ESS uses vanadium

flow battery technology developed by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Hawaii is reliant on more than 56% of its electricity being generated from solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal.

“Electricity from renewable resources is produced when the resource is available and not necessarily when it’s needed,” said Jay Ignacio, Hawaii Electric Light president.

“To maintain grid stability and prevent an oversupply situation, it’s critical that we have the tools to control and balance the energy supply with customer demand.

“Energy storage is one of several solutions we’re con-

RES sells UK EFR project days after signing 40MW US deal Grid-scale energy storage firm Renewable Energy Systems sold its UK-based enhanced frequency response project just a week after announcing a 40MW project in the US, the firm announced on June 21.

Investment firm Foresight Group has put its faith in lithium-ion energy storage by buying the 35MW Port of Tyne UK-based battery storage project from RES. RES bid a £4.2 million ($5.5 million), for the project in the UK’s National Grid EFR tender process in 2016. The tender process saw companies bid for a total of 201MW of EFR services.

This sell-off is the largest of the National Grid’s EFR battery storage projects to attract investment from an infrastructure investment manager in the UK. Rachel Ruffle, RES managing director, said: “Energy storage has a crucial role to play in delivering a flexible electricity network to support the UK’s economic growth and enable more low

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cost, renewable energy to be used.”

The project will still be constructed and operated by RES. Construction on the project will start immediately with full commissioning due in early 2018.

Prior to the sell-off, RES announced an agreement with an independent power producer to build a 40 MW RESolve® ESS in California, US. RES was awarded the project through a competitive RFP process and will provide a full turnkey ESS powered by its proprietary Energy Management System (EMS).

RES will also provide engineering, procurement, and construction services, along with asset management and performance guarantees.

Construction will begin this summer with an expected commercial operation date of Q1 2018.

The deal marks RES’ second large-scale energy storage project in the California energy storage market this year and its third globally, totalling 90MW/190MWh.

sidering. This partnership allows us to test a variety of applications for current and future renewable energy interconnections while maintaining high standards of safety and reliability.”

The ESS will improve grid stability through frequency, voltage and reactive power control services as well as dispatch capability of distributed renewable energy, said Gary Yang, UET CEO. The ESS installation is funded in part by Ulupono Initiative, the US Department of Energy Office of Electricity, and Hawaii Electric Light. NELHA is providing the land and will connect the ESS to its data acquisition system.

Kyle Datta, Ulupono

Initiative’s general partner, said: “Installing adequate grid-scale storage is an important step in furthering Hawaii’s energy resiliency and increasing the amount of highly variable solar energy that can be integrated into the Hawaii island grid.”

Sandia National Laboratories will provide technical consulting and conduct research to analyze how a flow battery performs in an island climate and on an island grid.

“The more installations we have of various energy storage technologies, the more we learn and disseminate,” said Dan Borneo, Sandia National Laboratories’ ESS demonstration program lead.

Hybrid flywheel system to bridge power generation between UK and Ireland The largest flywheelbattery hybrid system to be installed in Europe will connect to the Irish and UK grids to smooth increasingly volatile renewable energy penetration, a consortium announced in June.

The consortium includes Adaptive Balancing Power, who will provide adaptive, flywheel technology, and Freqcon, who will design and build scalable multisource power converters to connect flywheels to the grid.

The initiative received €2.9m under the Horizon 2020 scheme and was coordinated by Schwungrad Energie Limited.

CEO of Freqcon Norbert Hennchen said increasing renewable penetration was a huge challenge for grid stability worldwide, and there was an important need to

develop innovative grid support solutions.

Following installation in Ireland, the system will be implemented at the UK’s University of Sheffield’s 2MW battery facility at Willenhall.

The grid-connected research facility is one of the largest and fastest battery storage systems in the UK. Dr Dan Gladwin, from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: “The UK national grid is becoming increasingly volatile due to the rising share of intermittent renewable energy sources.

“Battery and flywheel technologies can offer a rapid response and can export and import energy, enabling this technology to respond to periods of both under and over frequency.”

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 13

NEWS

South Africa’s Eskom opens battery testing facility to find 2000MW back-up power South Africa’s largest power supplier, Eskom, opened a battery-testing and demonstration facility in Rosherville, Johannesburg, in early June. Here it will compare different battery technologies with a view to installing 2,000MW of back-up power for the country’s national grid.

Two battery chemistries — lithium-ion and sodium nickel chloride — are already being tested but the facility, believed to be the first of its kind in South Africa, is capable of testing five chemistries simultaneously.

“The facility is not limited in terms of the technologies and if we were presented with interesting business cases for lead-acid cells we

would carefully consider them,” a spokesperson for Eskom told Energy Storage Journal.

“This is not the first time we have looked at storage but it is the first time we have tested cells at a relatively large scale with a view to developing bulk grid storage options for Eskom going forward.

“At this stage battery storage is one of the best solutions in South Africa but we are aware of CAES, flywheels and the like, and monitor them all closely to see what is possible and available.”

Eskom operates 23 power stations with a total nominal capacity of 42,000MW, of which 35,700 is sourced

from coal-fired stations.

The country’s Integrated Resource Plan of 2010 called for 18,000MW of renewable energy generation capacity to be added, which would require up to 2,000MW of additional energy storage within the existing grid, according to Barry MacColl, Eskom general manager for research, testing and development.

The capacity expansion programme should be completed in 2021.

Eskom intends to look at using energy storage to cope with peaks in demand and using solar power at night, as well as investigating the role of energy storage in deferring spending on grid transmission and distribution infrastructure.

Eskom is traditionally the main supplier of generation, transmission and distribution capacity to industrial, mining, commercial, agricultural and residential customers.

“The facility is not limited in terms of the technologies and if we were presented with interesting business cases for lead-acid cells we would carefully consider them”

Indian fuel retailer announces a step into battery technology India’s largest fuel retailer, the Indian Oil Corporation, is planning to develop its own batteries, the company confirmed to Energy Storage Journal on June 20.

The firm is looking at lead-acid batteries as well as developing lithium-ion battery chemistry and other chemistries that are not lead or lithium based.

“Our R&D team has developed an advanced lead acid battery utilizing nanotechnology, which will be commercialized shortly,” Sreejit Basu, manager of sustainable development at the IOC, told Energy Storage Journal.

He did not give further details of the lead-acid battery work, but did say that where electric vehicles were concerned the company was looking into implementing fast-charging facilities and battery-swapping facilities at retail fuelling stations.

According to the March 2017 report India Battery Market by Application, Competition Forecast and

Opportunities 2011-2022 by market analyst TechSci Research, India’s battery market is projected to be worth $8.6 billion by 2022 because of growing automobile and industrial sectors.

“Strong growth in domestic production and exports of automobiles, coupled with an expanding vehicle fleet, is projected to drive demand for batteries from OEMs (original equipment manufactuers) as well as replacement segments through 2011,” the report says.

“Moreover, rising penetration of two-wheelers in semi-urban and rural India is projected to surge replacement demand for twowheeler batteries during the forecast period.”

Basu said the IOC is India’s largest commercial enterprise and is involved in the entire oil and gas value chain, from refining and petrochemicals to distribution and marketing. The move into battery development would be a very dif-

14 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

ferent direction for the oil company, which has subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, the Middle East, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States.

The report cites what

would be the IOC’s main competitors in the lead-acid battery field as Exide Industries, Amara Raja Batteries, Luminous Power Technologies and HBL Power Systems.

Hoppecke records impressive 25% growth for 2016-17 Hoppecke Industrial Batteries announced at the end of May it had recorded a 25% growth in revenues for the financial year 2016-2017.

The company, the UK arm of Germany’s Hoppecke Batterien, has also completed a major overhaul and restructure that it says has led to improvements across all areas of the business.

Hoppecke’s batteries — which include nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion as well as lead-acid ones — are used in around 50% of trains in Great Britain,

as well as around 75% of Siemens trains worldwide.

The company says all four of its main business areas — service, motive power, special power and reserve power – have seen impressive growth.

“Our new management structure has focused on sales and cost savings which has resulted in vastly improved results for us in 2016-2017,” said regional managing director Jason Howlett.

“This also positions the business very well to take advantage of projected market growth in all areas during 2017-2018.”

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PRODUCT NEWS

US Navy, Enzinc develop zinc alternative to lithium batteries Scientists at the US Naval Research Laboratory and battery technology developer EnZinc announced on April 27 they had developed zinc-based batteries as “a safer alternative to fireprone lithium batteries”, which have recently been banned in some applications from US Navy ships and other military platforms.

The key to the research is the development of a threedimensional zinc sponge, which replaces the traditional powdered zinc anode and allows the batteries to recharge — a major advantage over traditional zinc batteries, which cannot recharge because they form dendrites that can grow to cause short circuits.

Bismuth and indium is added to help control chemical reactions, but not strictly required, EnZinc president Michael Burz told Energy Storage Journal.

“The primary solution is the structure,” he said.

Burz said that several criteria had to be met before the technology could be

taken further, and they had all met requirements. The criteria included material strength, electrolyte combinations, cell lifetimes, cycle life and scale of production.

“It will very much be able to compete with lead-acid,” said Burz.

“We estimate that where a lead battery costs $130 per kilowatt hour, a zinc one will cost around $150 – with twice to three times the energy and a much longer life and half the weight.

“It’s also totally recyclable.”

In findings published in the journal Science, the researchers said they had achieved extended lifetimes in single-use cells; cycled cells more than 100 times at an energy content that was competitive with lithium; and cycled cells more than 50,000 times in short-duty cycles with intermittent power bursts. (This is much in the way that batteries are used in some hybrid vehicles.)

“We can now offer an energy-relevant alterna-

“Our team at the NRL pioneered the architectural approach to the redesign of electrodes for next-generation energy storage” tive, from drop-in replacements for lithium-ion to new opportunities in portable and wearable power, and manned and unmanned electric vehicles while reducing safety hazards, easing transportation restrictions, and using earth-abundant materials,” said Jeffery Long, from the NRL’s advanced electrochemical materials group.

“Our team at the NRL pioneered the architectural approach to the redesign of electrodes for next-generation energy storage,” said Debra Rolison, senior scientist and principal investigator on the project. “The 3-D sponge form factor allows us to reimagine zinc, a well known battery material, for the 21st century.”

According to Burz, the new technology would have a large range of ap-

plications. “Large batterypowered electronics from electric vehicles to home energy storage will be able to be powered by cleaner, fully recyclable zinc-based batteries – and they’ll carry none of the fire risk of lithium-based batteries,” he said.

“The size that we are going to shoot for will be cells of two inches by two inches that we put into a quilt pattern, which then means we can scale them up to very, very large sizes.

“This breakthrough in rechargeable battery technology means that zinc has the potential to displace lithium because it is a safer, more affordable, and more readily available material.”

Burz says EnZinc plans to have a battery ready for production by the end of 2019.

Trojan Battery launches new solar AGM line Trojan Battery, the deepcycle AGM battery manufacturer, launched a new range of batteries for solar and renewable energy applications at the Intersolar Europe conference in Munich on May 30.

The range of Solar AGM batteries also features a carbon additive that Trojan says helps to reduce the effects of partial state of charge making the batteries, suitable for practically any application.

“Trojan’s Solar AGM is referred to as a true deep-cycle AGM battery because it is specifically engineered for deep-cycle applications, un-

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like most AGM batteries on the market today which are designed for dual-purpose or standby applications, such as UPS back-up,” Trojan director of new market development Ganesh Balasubramanian told Energy Storage Journal.

“Trojan’s new line of true deep-cycle batteries has been designed from the ground up and optimized for applications where batteries need to be charged and discharged on a daily basis.”

The battery line has been honed for solar applications with an advanced plate design and premium separa-

tors for overall extended cycle life, says Balasubramanian. They can also operate within a wide temperature range with shock and vibration resistance and higher charging efficiency, he said.

Trojan’s new line of true deep-cycle batteries has been designed from the ground up “These features make it the ideal battery for the harsh and demanding environments of off-grid as well as grid-connected sys-

tems with frequent cycling needs,” he said.

Because the batteries do not require watering they are suitable for use in the remote locations, where they are typically installed.

Trojan uses smart carbon in all of its industrial and premium flooded battery lines. This is a proprietary formula, which has been developed so that batteries can operate better in partial state of charge and are therefore suitable for many applications in which the battery is under charged on a regular basis.

The new batteries are available in 6V, 8V or 12V.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 15

PRODUCT NEWS

High-purity metals firm Hpulcas opens three lines for production of 99.98% pure nickel plate, strip, wire Three production lines for manufacturing high-purity nickel plate, strip and wire for use in batteries and supercapacitors were opened

by Hpulcas, a new producer of high-purity metals, the firm announced on June 19.

The proprietary technology purifies the metal to 99.98%, which means vastly improving performance, the firm said.

In batteries, nickel is used

for protection from chemically aggressive electrolytes.

“A small amount of solute impurities brings Habout a drastic change on the mechanical properties of otherwise pure metals.

Segregation of impurities facilitates stress corrosion fracture and inter-granular corrosion,” the statement said.

Hpulcas works on producing high-purity metals

with a focus on developing advanced materials with partners throughout the global battery, electronics and aviation industries.

Pure metals are transformed into advanced materials for these fields.

“Our customers are very happy with the set of properties which the new grade supplies,” said Theodor Stuth, Hpulcas chief technical officer. “In meeting cus-

tomers’ requirements for measurement and control devices, individual properties and their consistency are greatly improved because of the low level of trace elements.

Hpulcas says that it now uses special properties of high purity nickel, such as a low recrystallization temperature, for developing layered composites with other metals.

Property

Value

Significance

Application

Degree of purity

Ni = 99.98%

A small amount of solute impurities brings about a drastic change on the mechanical properties of otherwise pure metals.

Segregation of impurities facilitates stress corrosion fracture and inter-granular corrosion.

Sputtering targets.

In batteries and super-capacitors, nickel is used for protection from chemically aggressive electrolytes.

Glass molds for optical glass quality.

C-content

< 20 ppm

C results in hot-shortness, which increases hardness and electric resistance.

Soft strip and foil of high electrical conductivity.

HPN 1 can be used for deep drawn products requiring a high degree of deformation, such as electrode shells.

S-content

< 2 ppm

S segregates at both free surfaces and internal interfaces (such as cavities, grain boundaries, inter-phases and metal/oxide interfaces). Surface segregation of sulfur results in sulfur induced breakdown of the passive film on nickel facilitating corrosion.

Segregation at grain boundaries results in hot-shortness and reduced mechanical strength.

Products relying on a catalytically active surface, such as fuel cells, or keeping the passive film intact must avoid degradation by S. To uphold mechanical strength, sulfur segregation at internal interfaces is to be excluded.

Very low level of nonmetallic inclusions, as Si-, Al- and Ti-oxides

Unoxidized elements amount to 0.1 ppm for Si and <0.006 ppm for each Al and Ti.

Oxides are hard ceramics resisting deformation. Thin products can break (wire) or develop holes (strip).

Foil, thin wire. Reduced die wear e.g. in the production of expanded metal.

Softness

< 65 HV

HPN 1 can be deformed by more than 95% without intermediate annealing.

Electrode cups and other deep drawn products.

Recrystallisation temperature

350 °C

Standard nickel clad to other metals with a lower melting point cannot be soft annealed after cladding.

HPN 1 can be annealed after cladding to metals with low melting points.

Electrical resistance

7.1 µΩ*cm

Resistance results in Joule heating during charging and discharging.

Current collector, terminal, battery tab

Temperature coefficient of electrical resistance (TCR)

Approximatively linear correlation from 100 °C to 800 °C. The TCR for nickel is +0.33%/°F (+0.59%/°C) over a temperature range of +50 °F to +150 °F (+10 °C to +65 °C).

Allows temperature measurement. Pure nickel shows high resistance versus temperature sensitivity.

Temperature sensor

Linear correlation from 800 °C to 1,200 °C.

Current limitation without further control device.

Temperature sensor and current limiter used e.g. as regulator coil in glow plugs for Diesel engines

Curie-point

360 °C +/- 1 °C

Due to the low level of impurities, the value is consistent.

Temperature sensor

Oxidation

low temperature

Stable contact resistance even in the presence of sulfur bearing materials.

Contact for low voltage and low current work

high temperature

Due to deviating expansion coefficients, two layer scales, which usually develop, tend to flake off.

Fuel cells

Corrosion

Corrosion proof in - alkaline - thionylchloride

Both substances are used as electrolyte in batteries.

Use inside of batteries as electrode substrate and current collector

Surface area

Up to 100 m2 per gram

The surface area can be dramatically enlarged by a special heat treatment.

Electrode substrate; catalytically active surface

16 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

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LITHIUM RESEARCH The lattice structure within lithium ion batteries is only partly understood.

Using positrons it is possible to explore these spaces further.

Positron power Rechargeable lithium batteries with nickel, manganese, and cobalt cathodes comprising, are currently the most potent today. But they have a limited lifespan — in just their first cycle they lose up to 10% of their capacity.

A team of scientists using positrons at the Technical University of Munich have looked at why this happens to see what can be done to alleviate this gradual loss of capacity.

So-called NMC batteries, whose cathodes are made up of a mixture of nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium have largely displaced conventional lithium-cobalt oxide batteries in the market. They are cheaper and safer, and are thus deployed in electric and hybrid cars, among other applications.

But ultimately, less than 50% of the lithium atoms contribute to actual capacity. While electrodes investigated at the Technical University of Munich released 62% of their lithium atoms during the first discharge, only 54% of them returned upon recharging.

Although the loss is significantly lower in subsequent cycles, the capacity continues to decrease gradually.

After a few thousand cycles, the remaining capacity is so small that the battery becomes unusable.

Investigations by other researchers have shown that during charging not all of the lithium atoms find their way back into the respective vacancies in the crystal lattice. However, until now, previous methods were not able to shed light on the underlying atomic processes.

Irmgard Buchberger, researcher at the Chair of Technical Electrochemistry at Technical University of Munich turned to Stefan Seidlmayer, who also researches battery technologies in the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center at the neutron research source FRM II. He organized the contact to Christoph Hugenschmidt, who supervises the NEPOMUC instrument at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum. The NEPOMUC provides a high-intensity low-energy positron beam for applications in solid state and surface physics as well as for fundamental research in nuclear and atomic physics.

The positrons can be used to directly

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ANTIPARTICLES

Thomas Gigl and Stefan Seidlmayer at the positron source NEPOMUC

search for vacancies in crystal lattices.

“As tiny and extremely mobile particles, positrons can easily probe matter.

When they meet an electron, positrons are instantly annihilated in a flash of energy. However, when they find a vacancy in the crystal lattice, the positrons survive significantly longer,” says Markus Reiner, who conducted the experiments at the NEPOMUC instrument.

Since the positrons remain briefly trapped in vacant spots of the lattice before they ultimately decay, positron annihilation spectroscopy, as the technique is called, can be used to draw precise conclusions on the immediate surroundings – and that with a very high sensitivity that allows the determination of vacancy concentrations as low as 1:10 million.

The study clearly shows that lingering “voids” in the lattice of the cathode material accompany the irreversible loss of capacity, and that this blockage is attributable to the failed refilling of vacancies in the material.

“Now it is up to us, as chemists,” says Hubert Gasteiger, a professor at the Chair of Technical Electrochemistry.

“Using targeted modifications of the

The positron is the antiparticle or the antimatter counterpart of the electron. The positron has an electric charge of +1 e, a spin of 1/2, and has the same mass as an electron. When a low-energy positron collides with a low-energy electron, annihilation occurs, resulting in the production of two or more gamma ray photons.

The research was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the ExZellTUM project. Operation of the Coincident DopplerBroadening Spectrometer used in the study was also funded by the BMBF. cathode material, we can search for possibilities to circumvent this barrier.”

“The Garching Research Neutron Source is an extremely useful instrument for battery research,” says Ralph Gilles, who coordinates the measurements at FRM II for the ExZellTUM battery research project.

“Using neutrons, we can observe small atoms like lithium very well while in operation, even through the metal casing. With positrons, we have now developed a further option for understanding the processes better and improving them.”

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 17

SOFTWARE FOCUS: DOOSAN GRIDTECH

The electronic skeleton that turns distributed energy into a reality

18 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

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SOFTWARE FOCUS: DOOSAN GRIDTECH

The acquisition by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction of 1Energy Systems last summer was a signal that managing a digital distributed grid required a level of software not seen until now. Sara Verbruggen reports

L

ithium ion batteries might be synonymous with energy storage. But you’d be wrong in thinking that. Underpinning the grid’s transition to distributed generation — where the traditional energy customer is also a purveyor of grid services to the utility — is a deep and complex network of programming.

Software has always been a component of energy storage systems. Today the majority of installed grid-scale energy storage installations have been designed to be used for one or two main functions, or applications. However, the more functions the system can carry out, the more value can be attached to it.

No wonder, then, that some major energy players and also their suppliers have been making investments in energy storage players. Companies like Younicos, Greensmith Energy, Sunverge and Green Charge have all been recipients from investment from the energy industry’s bellwether players; the Eons, the RWEs and the AGLs. In mid-2016 Doosan, which has supplied equipment for most of South Korea’s nuclear reactors, acquired 1Energy Systems, now renamed Doosan Gridtech, to get its hands on some on advanced energy storage software and carve out a business supplying utilities and commercial and industrial customers with energy storage systems.

1Energy Systems was founded in 2011 to develop the software platform needed to automatically integrate distributed energy resources into electric power systems The company’s software architecture is two-tier.

The first tier is an intelligent controller embedded in the individual storage asset, many of which to date are substation sited. The controller contains algorithms that implement the different use cases for the storage plant, such as renewables integration, peak shifting, power factor correction, frequency

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regulation and so on.

According to David Kaplan, the founder of the company, who became chief operations officer, when Doosan acquired it, from the outset the company designed its intelligent controller software to enable energy storage systems to be able to address multiple applications, to provide stacked services.

Over a dozen different operating modes, such as peak shaving and solar firming, and variations of these main modes, have been developed. Different modes can operate simultaneously and the company has also extended the platform to work with third party systems and platforms.

“You might have a merchant storage developer with a unique insight into how a regional energy market values services like frequency regulation,” says Kaplan. “They could license our Doosan GridTech Intelligent Controller (DG-IC) as their platform and we would give them a developer’s kit so that they could create their own operating mode and then deploy that on

the DG-IC and we would not have to know anything about how that mode worked,” However, to date most deployments of the company’s energy storage systems and software have been with utilities as the direct customer.

The second tier of Doosan Gridtech’s software architecture, called the Distributed Energy Resource Optimizer (DG-DERO) enables, for example, multiple storage-equipped substations owned by a utility, to be networked together and controlled and managed singularly or at the same time, so they can be operated as a fleet.

“Just like capacitor banks, load-tap changers and transformers, we see energy storage as another resource that utilities need to be able to integrate into their distribution systems. But if the utility has to manually control each energy storage system that is impractical and the resource will never be truly integrated,” says Kaplan.

“We saw DG-DERO from the beginning as essential to enable automatic dispatch of a fleet of energy storage assets. Without that capability, utilities would never be able to get the full value from the resource.”

The DG-DERO software is also designed to communicate with other grid control systems in the utility’s grid operations centre such as their supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) or distribution management systems.

Before Doosan’s acquisition, which completed on June 30 last year, the company grew organically, through customer revenues, project by project,

“You might have a merchant storage developer with a unique insight into how a regional energy market values services like frequency regulation.

They could license our intelligent controller as their platform and we would give them a developer’s kit.” – David Kaplan, chief operations officer, 1Energy Systems

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 19

SOFTWARE FOCUS: DOOSAN GRIDTECH advancing the software platform as it developed each new project.

In terms of where Doosan Gridtech is in terms of its technology, Kaplan says the focus and effort is more directed at the DG-DERO layer at this point.

“Though we are not done innovating in the DG-IC, in terms of new modes and iterations, by any means,” he says.

Should a third party customer only require either the intelligent controller (tier-one) or the DG-DERO (tier-two) portion of Doosan Gridtech’s software

architecture for their energy storage offering, they can use one or the other part of the architecture depending on their requirements.

“We have designed both products to be able to be used independently, though of course we think they work great together. The MESA standards are what really enable this,” says Kaplan.

Depending on their requirements the third party might have their own operational mode controls for energy

“We saw DG-DERO from the beginning as essential to enable automatic dispatch of a fleet of energy storage assets. Without that capability, utilities would never be able to get the full value from the resource.”

MESA — THE NEW STANDARD FOR STANDARDS In November 2016 the Modular Energy Storage Architecture (MESA) Standards Alliance released the first draft of a protocol for communications between utility control centres and energy storage systems.

Open standards are defined, publicly available specifications for how different elements of a system communicate with each other. In energy storage, open standards break down a complex system into components so that each component can innovate at its own pace without the entire system

“MESA-ESS enables electric utilities or grid operators to scale the deployment of energy storage” — Mike Rowand, Duke Energy

20 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

having to wait for the slowest piece to move forward.

The open, non-proprietary specification, referred to as MESAESS, provides a standard framework for utility-scale energy storage system data exchanges. The draft addresses areas such as energy storage system configuration management, operational states, and the applicable functions for these types of systems from the IEEE 1815 (DNP3) profile for advanced distributed energy resources (DER).

“MESA-ESS enables electric utilities or grid operators to scale the deployment of energy storage and manage energy storage assets and fleets of assets, from various vendors, to meet specific needs and use cases with minimal custom engineering,” said Mike Rowand, director of technology development at Duke Energy and MESA’s board chair.

As big boxes of batteries, flywheels or other storage systems multiply on utilities systems, MESA’s efforts in standards and standardization will help reduce the complexity of managing these distributed assets.

The MESA-ESS specification is supports the use of non-proprietary communication standards, promoting interoperability, which also reduces the amount of nonrecurring engineering that is required to integrate an energy storage system into utility control systems using DNP3.

storage but may want to use the second tier, aggregation, architecture for example.

Or if they had only designed their own controls to do one or two modes such a frequency regulation in a specific wholesale market they could, therefore, be looking at licensing other modes to include in their own system controls.

“It’s probably a little early to say on this. We believe there will be a wave of energy storage system owners that want to upgrade their control software as they begin to truly understand what it means to get the full value out of the resource,” says Kaplan.

“However, we have only done one upgrade to date. And we are just beginning to have customers come to us that already have energy storage systems deployed and are interested in using DG-DERO to dispatch them as a fleet and to access the bulk power system value streams that are available. Of our 10 projects to date, only one has been an upgrade or has involved technology other than our own software written to the energy storage system.

“As a predominantly software-based company we kept our head down and got on with our knitting, and as our systems got deployed and MESA came together, there was more attention. There are companies that call themselves energy storage developers, but were more like providers of turnkey battery systems. They were realising that software able to do only one or two modes of operation wasn’t enough,” he says.

Kaplan’s start-up began working with Doosan closely several months before the acquisition was completed on June 30 last year. “Some might think that the cultures of a small Seattle start-up mixing with that of a large Korean conglomerate might be tricky to pull off but there was a high degree of resonance between what they wanted to achieve and what we have been doing,” he says.

The company represented several new opportunities and entry points for Doosan, to allow it to gain more of a foothold in the electricity distribution segment of the energy sector, which is a very different industry to generation.

“Energy storage systems are a new grid tool, which utilities are using, and also we’ve given Doosan a software capability it didn’t previously have. Our architecture is a basis for software-led technology for modernizing the grid and distribution systems,” says Kaplan.

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SOFTWARE FOCUS: DOOSAN GRIDTECH Installations and projects

To date about eight to 10 projects have been supplied by Doosan Gridtech. In most of them the company has acted as integrator, supplying the whole system, along with its software. Most operational systems are in the single-digit megawatt capacity.

Kaplan says: “In total we’ve installed about 30MW/25-28MWh. Most projects are in the US.” The exception is the Cochrane project in Chile, for the customer AES, which installed a 20MW battery storage array, but which uses Doosan Gridtech’s software controls.

“With Doosan as our parent we’ve been looking at how to expand the business. Potentially we are looking at applications on both sides of the meter, currently we do mainly front of meter utility-integrated projects,” says Kaplan.

The company is looking at the high end of the commercial and industrial (C&I) market, where there may be industrial customers that would benefit from its megawatt-scale experience and where there may be a benefit of interacting with the utility and providing grid services in addition to the customer’s on-premises needs. “We think our experience would be valuable in these situations,” he says.

Doosan Gridtech’s pipeline is expanding beyond the US too. In South Korea and in east Asia, there are projects for solar PV integration and also some for wind integration.

Projects in the US include two with Austin Energy in Texas, where in one project Doosan Gridtech is selling energy storage to the utility, which is the Kingsbery substation project. The company is delivering the whole energy storage system as a turnkey project.

In the other, called Austin SHINES, set up by the utility, Doosan Gridtech’s intelligent controls will be deployed.

The project consists of different sized solar PV projects, including rooftop, as well as a utility-scale substation sited storage project, at the Mueller substation. Over the various distributed generation assets sits the company’s DGDERO architecture, to demonstrate a distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) project.

“Some might think that the cultures of a small Seattle start-up mixing with that of a large Korean conglomerate might be tricky to pull off but there was a high degree of resonance between what they wanted to achieve and what we have been doing,” In some cases Doosan Gridtech will supply the whole system energy storage system by acting as integrator and in other projects it is vetting other suppliers of energy storage.

Kaplan says: “The component suppliers into the Austin projects will be well known energy storage component providers. Our software will provide the controls. The benefit of using open standards and putting out to tender the battery and power conversion system components is that these two components comprise the vast majority of the cost of an energy storage system.”

“By standardizing your control software and using open standards in your design, you preserve the ability to easily complete the most expensive parts of each new energy storage system you buy while avoiding the headache of having each energy storage system come with its own control software that has to be integrated into existing grid control systems in order to have the system deliver maximum value to the utility.”

Doosan Gridtech will work with any energy storage technology but to date most of it has been lithium ion battery technology.

In its latest project with Snohomish

“By standardizing your control software and using open standards in your design, you preserve the ability to easily compete the most expensive parts of each new energy storage system you buy.” www.energystoragejournal.com

PUD Doosan Gridtech’s software will be used with a vanadium redox flow battery supplied by Unienergy Technologies. The project requires an energy intensive application, a 2.2MW/68MWh battery.

“In this case, Snohomish applied for a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce that helped fund the project and the UET battery was specified as part of the grant application, as was our software,” says Kaplan.

Through Doosan Babcock the company is exploring opportunities in Europe.

OPEN STANDARDS APPROACH Since its inception Doosan Gridtech has been an advocate and pioneer in open standards architecture and put out portions of its software into the public domain along with one of its first customers, Snohomish Public Utility District (PUD), which helped to set up Modular Energy Storage Architecture (MESA) standards.

Open standards and standardization enable the industry as a whole to build economies of scale much more quickly than if each individual energy storage system has to be entirely customengineered for a specific project.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 21

COVER STORY: COBALT SUPPLY CONCERNS Could the fate of the distributed energy revolution — and the EV one too — be at the mercy of the availability of one metal: cobalt?

Without cobalt where would high energy density lithium batteries be?

Jim Smith reports.

Where supply and demand collide Supply and demand. One of the great fundamentals of economic thinking dating back to Adam Smith and his epic 1776 work The Wealth of Nations. And it’s as internationally important as ever, as the world braces itself for a possible — some say inevitable — shortage of cobalt.

Cobalt dominates large swathes of the lithium ion battery industry.

Using variants of lithium-cobalt (LiCoO2 or LCO), such as nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), and nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA) with their high specific energy, energy density and cycle life make them a good fit for applications from power trains for electric vehicles, batteries for energy storage systems and power for lap-tops and mobile-phones.

(That said, Samsung’s recall of their hand-sets last year proves safety concerns still surround lithium chemistries.)

NCA cells for EVs typically need about 200 grams of refined cobalt per kWh of battery capacity and NMC cells for Powerwalls typically need about 425 grams per kWh. Up to now the supply of cobalt has matched demand from lithium-ion battery manufacturers, but times are changing as a variety of factors from the rise and rise of electric vehicles — with an increasingly important residual value for later use in residential storage — through to greater adoption on large grid scale storage products.

Cobalt is potentially one of, if not the biggest, several concerns for the advanced battery industry within the next decade.

As a by-product of mining for copper and nickel, the metal is subject to the vagaries of demand for those metals, and with new cobalt-specific mines in the

“Without sustained growth in high-energy lithium-ion battery production, there can be no sustained growth in EVs and stationary energy storage system production — both technologies will be capped at levels that aren’t even close to relevant until somebody develops an alternative battery technology that doesn’t need cobalt.”

22 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

early stages, the fear within the battery industry is that demand will outstrip supply easily before 2020.

Brigette Amoriso, an official at the Cobalt Development Institute, believes for the next couple of years “the supply of cobalt should be fine, but in three to four years’ time, around 2020, there could be quite a bit of a shortage”.

Others such as analysts at Macquarie Research expect shortfalls of 885 tonnes next year, 3,205 tonnes in 2019, and 5,340 tonnes in 2020.

The big issue that concerns the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is at the heart of cobalt mining. This small country in the heart of Africa suffers from a national political crisis, and the fear is its subsequent instability will trigger the kind of regional war that scarred central Africa at the turn of the century.

The DRC is intrinsically linked to the developed world’s desire to be environmentally neutral and meet CO2 targets because it supplies more than half of the world’s current cobalt supply. In 2016 the DRC delivered 64% of the world’s cobalt supply and that percentage is set to rise.

However, the country’s political instability — its elections are overdue and have been rescheduled for the end of the year — could result in a huge supply risk

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COVER STORY: COBALT SUPPLY CONCERNS within months, rather than decades.

There are also international issues surrounding child labour as reported by a host of humanitarian organizations, that could de-stabilize supplies.

Currently the battery industry only uses around a third of all cobalt supply.

But this is set to change. Big time.

In its 2016-2017 Cobalt Market Review, Darton Commodities Limited reported that total mine mouth cobalt production was 120.4 KT. In 2016 refined cobalt production was 93.5 KT. Of that total, over half (47.2 KT) was used in battery manufacturing and the balance went into a variety of highvalue products including super-alloys, hardened tools and materials, pigments, catalysts and magnets.

Darton noted that the global cobalt supply and demand balance shifted from surplus to deficit in 2016.

Darton predicted that the cobalt supply deficit was likely to widen, driven primarily by soaring demand from the battery industry. It forecast growth in the EV sector could drive battery industry demand-to 89.1 KT by 2022.

This, it said: “could seriously challenge the cobalt supply chain”.

Cobalt has a variety of uses for more high-value products such as superalloys, hardened steel for machine and diamond tooling and desulfuring catalysts for cars, as well as pigments and magnets.

This means that in a price squeeze it will be the EV manufacturers who lose out first. Improvements to top end grid storage projects will follow next. And all this theoretically will spin down to the rest of the energy storage industry.

John Petersen, a long-time commentator on the energy storage industry, says: “Without sustained growth in highenergy lithium-ion battery production,

The great speculative 2008 bounce: a warning from history.

there can be no sustained growth in EVs and stationary energy storage system production — both technologies will be capped at levels that aren’t even close to relevant until somebody develops an alternative battery technology that doesn’t need cobalt.”

In 2015, the battery industry used around 11,375 tonnes of unrefined cobalt for every 9,760 tonnes of finished product, and with an output of 60GWh that year, the industry used 38,300 tonnes of cobalt. If things were to stay as they are now, the battery industry will remain relatively stable.

However, if, as some predict, that output rises to 140GWh by 2020, the supply from the DRC will have to be strong and stable but new mines and sources will have to come on stream quickly.

For instance, Tesla’s 35GWh gigafactory will need around 7,000 tonnes of cobalt a year, that’s 7% of 2014’s global supply of 91,754 tonnes, to run at full capacity. Tesla has to date sourced its

cobalt from Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining, which has a cobalt mine based in the Philippines, but it says it intends to source its materials from North America, according to reports.

However, if we look at figures from the CDI, Sumitomo only produced 3,654 tonnes of refined cobalt in 2014.

And the CDI’s members in North America, namely ICCI and Vale — both in Canada — produced 3,210 and 2,051 tonnes of refined cobalt respectively in 2014. So just looking at one example of a gigafactory, it’s easy to see the issue that is unfolding.

Of the Tesla conundrum, Caspar Rawles, an analyst at BenchMark Minerals, says that theoretically the firm could source all its cobalt from outside the DRC, but: “In the current market, with material already in short supply, it would be hard to do. They would likely need to secure off-take deals with a number of projects to get enough material.”

As the global industrial recovery matures (left) an acceleration in battery demand is implied.

Source: National Statistics, Macquarie Research, February 2017

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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 23

COVER STORY: COBALT SUPPLY CONCERNS Of all the raw materials that go into building batteries, there are a number of reasons why cobalt is the most critical, Rawles says.

In 2016, cobalt was the smallest market of the three main critical minerals that go into a lithium-ion battery (lithium, cobalt, graphite) at just 93,000 tonnes per year. The cobalt chain also faces a challenge in scaling up supply to meet the predicted demand of the battery industry.

That is because it has a number of structural issues in its supply chain, says Rawles. “First, 98% of global cobalt production comes as a by-product from the mining of other minerals, largely copper and nickel. The supply of cobalt is therefore at the mercy of these far larger markets, and in times where the prices of the primary mineral are suppressed the rate of production can decrease, or in extreme cases whole projects go on care and maintenance, heavily impacting the supply of cobalt.”

By 2021 the mined supply from the DRC is set to increase to 70% (from 64% in 2014) so the country’s stranglehold, rather than being curtailed by mining opportunities outside the country, is set to rise.

Of the large supply projects that are

due to come online in the next four years, Glencore’s Katanga and Eurasian Resources Group’s Metalkol Roan Tailings Reclamation project (that aims to produce 14,00 tonnes a year) are both based in the DRC. And of the number of interesting projects outside the DRC in development, none match the scale of those in the DRC. With such a large amount of supply reliant on DCR, could the country’s stranglehold be negated? Rawles doesn’t think so. In fact he puts the situation simply as: “There will be no lithium-ion battery industry without DRC cobalt.”

Not only does the DRC produce about half of all cobalt, it also holds 47% of all

AN ETHICAL DILEMMA The role of batteries is set to increase as their use in applications from grid-scale storage to vehicles continues to grow and develops in the next 10 years. But an ethical issue also exists. Companies such as Apple, Tesla and Google for example take a stand about how they ethically source their cobalt.

But as demand overtakes supply, those firms may be forced to step down from their moral high ground and look to both China and the DRC to keep our cars running and lights on.

“There will be no lithium-ion battery industry without Congo (DRC) cobalt” — Caspar Rawles, Benchmark Minerals 2017 COBALT PRODUCTION — DRC DOMINATES DRC 67,975 tonnes China 1,417 US 524 Rest of world 52,785 Total 122,701 Source: CRU Group

Cobalt supply-demand balance: where it goes and where it comes from Cobalt demand (t) Superalloys Batteries Dyes & Paints Catalysts Other chemicals Magnets Diamonds & hard facing High strength steel Total demand % change YoY

2012 13,115 30,600 6,178 2,233 7,977 3,623 8,964 1,660 74,350 10.4%

2013 14,595 32,900 6,363 2,345 8,417 3,405 9,144 1,710 78,879 6.1%

2014 15,750 39,100 6,554 2,521 8,864 3,473 9,144 1,744 87,151 10.5%

2015 2016 16,264 16,755 41,055 43,108 6,620 6,818 2,647 2,779 8,991 9,318 3,543 3,649 9,235 9,327 1,709 1,709 90,064 93,464 3.3% 3.8%

2017F 2018F 2019F 2020F 2021F 17,261 17,508 17,737 17,981 18,202 47,419 49,552 52,030 54,111 56,005 7,023 7,233 7,450 7,674 7,904 2,918 3,064 3,217 3,378 3,547 9,662 10,097 10,445 10,807 11,125 3,686 3,722 3,760 3,797 3,835 9,421 9,515 9,610 9,706 9,803 1,726 1,744 1,761 1,779 1,779 99,115 102,436 106,011 109,233 112,201 6.0% 3.4% 3.5% 3.0% 2.7%

Primary/Secondary cobalt supply (t) Zambia DRC Russia India China Finland Australia Canada Secondary sources Other Total supply % change YoY Balance

2012 5,735 2,999 2,186 580 29,725 10,547 4,869 5,682 2,800 10,942 76,065 0.7% 1,715

2013 5,000 3,000 2,368 295 33,200 10,010 4,981 5,559 3,050 14,331 81,794 7.5% 2,915

2014 4,317 3,300 2,302 100 35,400 11,452 5,419 5,261 3,050 15,845 86,446 5.7% -705

2015 2016 2,997 3,500 3,300 1,900 2,040 3,200 150 100 44,100 47,000 8,582 11,000 5,150 3,000 5,591 5,900 3,050 3,000 17,389 18,155 92,349 96,755 6.8% 4.8% 2,285 3,291

2017F 2018F 2019F 2020F 2021F 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,500 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 3,200 100 100 100 100 100 51,500 53,500 54,588 55,702 56,845 11,000 11,000 11,000 11,000 11,000 2,100 2,100 2,100 2,100 2,100 6,150 6,150 6,150 6,150 6,150 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 15,551 15,501 15,669 15,641 15,613 99,601 101,551 102,806 103,893 105,007 2.9% 2.0% 1.2% 1.1% 1.1% 486 -885 -3,205 -5,340 -7,194

Source: CDI, CRU, Macquarie Research, February 2017

24 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

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COVER STORY: COBALT SUPPLY CONCERNS

Designing cobalt out of batteries How could the shortage in cobalt change the landscape in the next 10 years? Adding mining opportunities to secure supply is one way of tackling a potential crisis; another is to use less of the material in the manufacturing of batteries.

That could include the increased use of NCA and NMC variants of lithiumcobalt (LiCoO2 or LCO), which would allow most of the cobalt to be replaced by nickel and manganese and aluminium.

Daniel Abraham, materials scientist at the Argonne National Laboratory, believes NCA technology will continue to be among the various layered oxide technologies being pursued for EV and ESS applications because of its ability to deliver reasonably high energy and power densities.

But being slow to change does not mean researchers are not pursuing other variants of NCA. “For instance, some researchers propose eliminating cobalt and aluminium altogether from the NCA and using magnesium instead, and so on,” he says.

NCA contains much less cobalt than LCO. For example Li(NixCoyAlz)O2 layered oxide typically breaks down like this: x=0.8; y=0.15; z=0.05, making it a nickel-rich oxide. And early examples of Li(NixMnyCoz)O2, layered oxide with manganese had values: x+y+z=1. But the chemistry can take various values, for example in NMC532, x=0.5, y=0.3, z=0.2 or in NMC811, x=0.8, y=0.1, z=0.1 (which contains less cobalt than NCA), and so on.

Isidor Buchmann, the founder of Cadex Electronics, says the issue of cost is encouraging battery manufacturers to move away from cobalt systems toward nickel cathodes, with nickelbased systems giving a higher energy density, lower cost, and longer cycle life than the cobalt-based cells but with a slightly lower voltage.

There is also a trend for battery makers to move to using five part nickel, three part cobalt and two part manganese (5-3-2), rather than early NMC technology, which had equal nickel, cobalt and manganese (1-11), says Buchmann, who also believes that LCO is losing favour to lithiummanganese and NCA because of the high cost of cobalt and improved performance attained by blending it with other active cathode materials.

NCA-based, as well as NMC-based,

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Daniel Abraham: “Argonne researchers and others have been trying to replace cobalt with elements such as nickel, manganese, iron and chromium, for example.”

oxide compounds were initially considered for hybrid electric vehicles, because the batteries are cycled over a narrow voltage window, so the energy density of the battery was less important than the power density, says Abraham, who has been conducting research on the compounds for the past two decades.

Cells with NCA oxides have very good energy and power densities, and in combination with certain electrolyte systems, can display long life, says Abraham. However, NCA cells are not as safe under thermal abuse, overcharge, or other abnormal conditions.

These are key concerns when an EV OEM is looking to increase its battery range — distance travelled on a single charge — to alleviate range anxiety and push the 200km benchmark. Whereby power density is also important because it determines the rate at which the energy is delivered, which in turn facilitates rapid charging and rapid discharging (needed for vehicle acceleration and non-domestic charging).

Abraham says the bottom line is “NCA cells display very good performance but are less safe under off-normal conditions”, whereby “NCA oxides are also more expensive to produce than NMC oxides”.

But could another material be used

in its place? Are there alternatives to using cobalt in the cathode?

Abraham says that because cobalt is expensive and shows greater price volatility, Argonne researchers and others have been trying to replace it with elements such as nickel, manganese, iron and chromium, for example.

“Replacing the cobalt with nickel and manganese leads to the NMC oxides: some NMC oxide compositions display better safety performance, and thus have the best chance of replacing NCA in commercial cells,” he says.

“Some researchers are working on the concept of oxides that have a gradient in composition from the surface to the bulk; for example, higher manganese content at the oxide particle surface for improved safety performance and greater nickel contents in the oxide particle bulk for improved energy density.”

The Argonne National Laboratory is also looking to the increase the lithium content of the layered oxides to obtain higher energy densities.

These oxides are superstoichiometric in lithium, i.e., an example composition would be Li1+a(NixMnyCoz)1-aO2, which is sometimes referred to LMR-NMC (lithium and manganese-rich NMC oxides), says Abraham.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 25

COVER STORY: COBALT SUPPLY CONCERNS global reserves. Compare that with the US, which hasn’t mined cobalt in significant volumes since 1971, and the US Geological Survey reports the country only has 301 tonnes of the metal stored in stockpiles.

Alongside the instability of the DCR, human rights organisations like UNICEF have expressed concern over child labour in the mining of cobalt.

Amnesty International says one fifth of cobalt extracted by small mines, and some 40,000 children work in southern DRC where the cobalt is mined.

Child labour is involved in the production of cobalt, and curtailing this, would add to the instability of the supply.

Last year the Responsible Cobalt Initiative, led by a Chinese business group, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce for Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters, and supported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was launched to address the issue.

The initiative calls for companies to trace how cobalt is being extracted, transported, manufactured and sold.

Despite Rawles’ claims that without the DCR the lithium-ion industry is sunk, mining exploration companies are already looking at regions like Ontario (one of the only places in the world where cobalt-primary mines have existed), Idaho (that’s historically produced cobalt), British Columbia (which has rich copper mines) and the Northwest Territories (a gold-cobalt-bismuth-copper deposit is being developed) to find tomorrow’s deposits.

Where the DCR dominates the supply

of unrefined cobalt, China dominates the refining side of the industry, with 52% of cobalt refining taking place in China last year.

All other nations contribute below 10% to the supply chain — other than Finland and the Kokkola facility, which may potentially be brought by China Molybdenum as part of the deal it did last year for the Tenke mine (in the DRC with Freeport).

And with the majority of battery producing gigafactories (Tesla is still only at around 30% of capacity) in Asia, that makes sense, especially if you are a Chinese lithium-ion battery maker.

That’s not to say Asia will be the only place producing batteries at the gigascale in the future. Recently an agreement was made to create a 15GWh lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant, using existing facilities and infrastructure in the state of New York, US. Two former Tesla employees announced plans this March for a European lithium-ion gigafactory in Sweden — although this project is still in the investment phase.

LG Chem has also opened a plant due to make 100,000 lithium-ion batteries a year in Poland, with production slated for later this year. But outside these projects the majority of lithium-ion manufacturing will still be centred around Asia.

There are also a number of large refining capacity expansions going on in China right now, for example Umicore tripling its refining capacity in China (as well as South Korea) by the end of 2018.

So is China positioning itself to have

a near monopoly of refined cobalt, thus gaining an unprecedented grip on the lithium-ion market from 2020 onwards?

Rawles believes the reality is that China already controls a significant part of the supply chain. “The lithium-ion battery industry has always had China at its heart, it’s the same story for lithium and graphite and we don’t expect that to change any time soon.”

Benchmark Mineral Intelligence predicted in 2016 that global lithium ion production would increase by 521% between 2016 and 2010. This would be from 28Gwh to 574Gwh. By 2020, the firm suggests that mass production of lithium-ion batteries will be concentrated in just four countries — though this is set to change if new factories are set up: 62% in China, 22% in the US, 13% in South Korea and 3% in Poland. Some of the staggering increases in size will be from Chinese firms such as CATL — forecast to grow from a 2016 production level of 5Gwh to 42Gwh. Given China’s ambitious plans to promote electric vehicles and boost largescale energy storage systems — the likelihood too is that roughly two thirds of world cobalt supply will be firmly for domestic use.

Mischievous rumour-makers are saying that China’s recent purchase of scrap lithium-ion batteries containing cobalt — which cannot be commercially recycled — are part of a larger price squeeze orchestrated by the country. The rumours are a direct legacy of China’s attempt to corner the market in rare earths around 2010.

Cobalt’s role in various lithium-ion battery chemistries Chemical name

Material

Abbreviation

Short form

Notes

Lithium Cobalt Oxide AlsoLithium Cobalate or lithium-ion-cobalt)

LiCoO2 (60% Co)

LCO

Li-cobalt

High capacity; for cell phone laptop, camera

Lithium Manganese Oxide Also Lithium Manganate or lithium-ion-manganese

LiMn2O4

LMO

Li-manganese, or spinel

Lithium Iron Phosphate

LiFePO4

LFP

Li-phosphate

Most safe; lower capacity than Li-cobalt but high specific power and long life.

Power tools, e-bikes, EV, medical, hobbyist.

Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide, also lithium-manganese-cobalt-oxide

LiNiMnCoO2 (10%–20% Co)

NMC

NMC

Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide1

LiNiCoAlO2 9% Co)

NCA

NCA

Lithium Titanate

Li4Ti5O12

LTO

Li-titanate

26 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

Gaining importance in electric powertrain and grid storage

www.energystoragejournal.com

FLOW BATTERY PROFILE: SCHMID GROUP In the first of a series of profiles of companies offering flow batteries we look at how Germany’s Schmid Group is finding high volume deployments for its energy storage systems based on vanadium redox flow chemistry.

Squaring up to the lithium challenge Vanadium redox flow batteries are well suited to grid-connected and off-grid energy storage applications, especially for longer duration applications, requiring energy to be stored over periods of six or eight hours, or even longer.

Schmid Group, a production equipment supplier to the photovoltaic, flat panel display and electronics industries, has been refining the technology since 2009, more recently launching a line of products.

One of the company’s earliest pilots of its energy storage system based

on vanadium redox flow batteries was with Stadtwerke Freudenstadt, a local utility in Germany, which installed a container in early 2014 to allow the partners to monitor how reliably the system works on the grid.

Schmid has also been producing, in limited volumes, a compact flow battery energy storage system for homes and small commercial installations for Germany’s growing solar PV selfconsumption market, which is supported with government subsidy.

However, due to the falling prices of lithium ion-based energy storage systems available to consumers, this has become a highly competitive market, according to Henrik Buschmann, vice president, business unit energy systems at Schmid Group.

Nevertheless, the system installations will provide Schmid with data on the performance of its compact VRFB energy storage system in reallife deployments for solar self-consumption.

Targeting telecoms

Schmid has also modified the compact system for the telecoms market.

Buschmann says: “We see lots of potential for telecoms, because the batteries have long operational lifetimes, as their degradation from cycling is minimal compared with lithium ion and other batteries. This is especially the case in hot climates.

“Another advantage over lead acid batteries in telecoms is that they are hard to steal because they are one large unit and there is no street value attached to this type of battery, un-

Falling prices of lithium ion-based systems have heightened competition between flow batteries and other energy storage products www.energystoragejournal.com

like lead acid, where the lead can be sold as scrap metal.”

To enter this market, Schmid has begun working with a reseller that supplies telecom batteries into South Africa. The batteries are undergoing technical testing at Schmid and the negotiations with the reseller are under way.

Once concluded, pilots will be arranged at telecoms installations in South Africa.

The challenge for the flow battery industry is that the stacks are expensive to produce, so long duration, energy-intensive storage applications need to be identified.

A higher energy capacity simply requires the installation of larger tanks with more electrolyte made from vanadium — the storage medium. For more power, additional stacks are installed that convert the current and store it in the electrolyte.

Flow batteries can also cost less to operate compared with other types of batteries used to provide power for telecoms sites because they are more impervious to the effects of degradation that impact other batteries and their operational lifetimes, like heavy cycling and high temperatures.

The other challenge is finding markets to sell volumes of batteries into, so that production capacities can be scaled up to produce larger volumes and achieve economies of scale to start pushing down prices.

Telecoms is a promising opportunity as it could demand high numbers of flow batteries in markets where telecom towers are being built but where there is poor or no grid infrastructure, such as in many parts of Africa and the Indian sub-continent.

UK firm RedT, which is also commercializing energy storage systems based on vanadium redox technol-

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 27

FLOW BATTERY PROFILE: SCHMID GROUP ogy, is targeting telecoms applications too. The company says its storage systems can be used as part of a micro-grid alongside sufficient PV to provide firm, stable power to the telecom tower, reducing the requirement for a diesel genset to be run.

Alternatively, the genset can be at a higher loading to charge the flow battery, instead of running for much longer periods of time at inefficient load levels to power the tower directly.

But flow battery technology also faces a bankability challenge.

While lithium ion is far from suitable for every type of use case demanding storage, especially for longer duration deployments, it is proven; and the largest producers of lithium ion batteries are able to offer performance warranties for up to 10 years.

Investors and lenders need to see this warranty, especially when they are financing installations developed by start-ups lacking longevity. Similarly in the telecoms market, VRFBs will be going up against lead acid technology, which has been around for many decades.

There is no solution to the bankability challenge except to refer to the performance results of systems that have been running for a long time, in real-world deployments, to fully understand the operational costs. Investors in projects and their lenders need to be convinced the technology is reliable. This comes from having greater numbers of deployments.

In Germany, Schmid has also recently managed to secure several deals to supply its larger containerized energy storage systems for certain projects, which will generate important information on how the technology performs.

One is with the Technical University of Dortmund, where the flow battery storage system is integrated into an AC test network for smart grid applications.

The university’s researchers have designed a smart grid infrastructure that will in the future be applicable to low-voltage grids connected up to electric vehicles, solar PV systems and a controllable local power transformer, as well as energy storage. The 30kW/100kWh system is configured to work both within the grid and in a stand-alone mode.

One advantage of vanadium redox technology for this type of smart grid deployment is that its energy capacity can be scaled independently of power.

28 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

While lithium ion is far from suitable for every type of use case demanding storage, especially for longer duration deployments, it is proven; and the largest producers of lithium ion batteries are able to offer performance warranties for up to 10 years.

VANADIUM — LOCKING IN PRICES Talk of eventual shortages of vanadium in the future are almost certainly over-hyped. Australian Vanadium is developing a site in Western Australia with the potential to mine the metal. The mine will not begin production until 2019.

The Gabanintha project, measuring 91.4 million tonnes at 0.82% vanadium, has the potential to produce the high-grade vanadium that is needed for low cost production.

Today, Largo Resources, through its Maracás Menchen mine in Brazil, produces the highest grade, lowest cost vanadium, producing a record 800 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide in September 2016, much of its output supplying the steel industry.

Even though rebar steel production is seeing little growth, new steel

applications continue to drive demand.

Australian Vanadium has also acquired a pilot line for making electrolyte from British company C-Tech Innovation. Australian Vanadium aims to be producing commercial quantities of electrolyte by this summer, buying in vanadium from third party sources until its own mine comes on-stream.

By having total control over key stages of the vanadium battery supply chain, Australian Vanadium will be able to reduce the cost of VRFB production.

Enhancements to vanadium processing across the supply chain, from the mineral itself to electrolyte synthesis to stack design, are all going to lead to reductions in production costs.

www.energystoragejournal.com

North America's Ultimate Hot Spot for Energy Storage Solutions SAN FRANCISCO, USA

EES NORTH AMERICA

PHOTOS. © Solar Promotion GmbH (July 2017).

USA: THE STATE OF THE UNION THIS JULY’S EES/INTERSOLAR IN SAN FRANCISCO LOOKS SET TO BE DOMINATED BY DISCUSSIONS OVER THE US COMMITMENT TO RENEWABLES AND ENERGY STORAGE. DESPITE THE PRESIDENTIAL HEADLINES, THE OUTLOOK IS POSITIVE. US president Donald Trump may have the pulled the country out of the Paris Climate Change agreement but its impact on the shift into renewables and the related energy storage industry could well be minimal. The age of energy storage is arriving. And arriving very fast.

“With falling prices and better technology, US states will continue to pursue their own targets, known as renewable portfolio standards — irrespective of Trump’s position,” says one commentator. “Arguably if the US had pulled out a year or more ago the impact would have been greater, but now there’s momentum on the industry’s side. The age of energy storage, the corollary to the renewables revolution, has arrived.” Several states are pushing through bills that will take their electricity generation to near-100% renewables by 2040. Leaders here include California, Hawaii, Nevada and Massachusetts.

Falling costs of solar PV and lithium batteries have resulted

in bargain prices for utility-scale solar PV-plus-storage projects in the US. One such project being built in Hawaii, coupling 28MW of solar PV with 20MW/100MWh of battery storage, achieved a power purchase agreement (PPA) price of $0.11/ kWh, between Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) and energy storage system developer AES. The system will provide 11% of Kaua’i’s electric generation, taking KIUC’s renewablesbased generation to over 50%.

According to KIUC’s chief executive David Bissell, the project delivers power to the island’s electricity grid more cheaply than the cost of oil-fired power. “It is remarkable that we are able to obtain fixed pricing for dispatchable solar-based renewable energy, backed by a significant battery system, at about half the cost of what a basic direct-to-grid solar project cost a few years ago,” he said.

Energy storage balances the grid In grids with high amounts of renewable energy penetration, energy storage is required for balancing the grid. But the technology’s versatility in addressing a variety of issues has contributed to efforts at the federal level to accelerate the deployment in the US grid as a whole, helping to create a new industry and jobs on US soil. The renewables industry now employs more workers than the oil, gas and mining sectors combined.

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This May, US Congressional representatives — Chris Collins, a Republican, and Mark Takano, a Democrat — launched the Advanced Energy Storage Caucus in Congress. They are supported by executives from utilities, storage developers and integrators, as well as manufacturers of storage system components, such as batteries and inverters. The Caucus aims to educate Congress on the benefits of storage to the US electricity system and explore ways to accelerate job growth and investment in the advanced energy storage sector as a whole. Crucially, the Caucus will also examine how changes to existing policy can facilitate uptake of battery storage.

Back from the brink Perhaps the project that showed more than any other how battery energy storage is an alternative to conventional generation is the 104.5MW of capacity being brought online, following the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak. In October 2015, a leak was detected at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in the San Fernando Valley near Los Angeles in California. In addition to providing gas to the locality it also provided 10GW of capacity for electricity generation, by supplying 17 gas-fired power stations.

Attempts by Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), to plug the leak failed and Aliso Canyon had to be shut down.

However, taking such a large facility off-line would have led

to rolling blackouts across the state. No other technologies could be constructed in time to support the grid, except battery storage. In May 2016 the California Public Utilities Commission approved the installation of 104.5MW of battery energy storage systems in the service territories of Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E).

By the beginning of March, seven out of eight energy storage projects were commissioned, to provide up to four hours of energy demand and support the grid’s stability that had been provided by the gas peakers. Two-thirds of the battery storage capacity was built and commissioned within six months. Enabling such speedy construction of grid-scale battery storage is the degree of familiarity that the state’s public utilities already have with the technology, as they strive to meet their 1.3GW storage mandate by 2021.

Among the Aliso Canyon energy storage facilities up and running is the 20MW/80MWh Mira Loma battery storage plant, supplied by Tesla, within three months. The installation consists of two 10MW systems of Powerpacks made at the company’s factory in Nevada. Energy storage software developer and integrator Greensmith Energy, recently acquired by global power producing equipment provider Wärtsilä, deployed a 20MW/80MWh lithium ion battery installation at AltaGas’ Pomona gas facility.

The energy storage system, using lithium ion batteries from

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“With falling prices and better technology, US states will continue to pursue their own targets, known as renewable portfolio standards”

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EES NORTH AMERICA

Samsung SDI, was designed, built, and became operational in under four months. SDG&E commissioned two of AES Energy Storage’s Advancion energy storage units, totalling 37.5MW. The installations have to provide up to four hours of energy capacity.

The Lone Star State Texas has one of the highest penetrations of renewables. It is the biggest wind state, with installed capacity in excess of 16GW. There is a boom in solar now that the technology has become so competitive. Provision of grid balancing services in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has emerged as a key driver for energy storage in the state.

The first commercial energy storage project built to provide fast response regulation services to ERCOT is a 10MW battery at the Rabbit Hill substation in Georgetown. Energy storage company Alevo Group has supplied the 10MW battery system, which is owned and operated by Georgetown Utility Systems and the city of Georgetown.

In 2015 Georgetown became the first municipally-owned utility in Texas and one of the first in America to buy 100% of its energy from renewable sources. To mitigate the impact of such heavy reliance on intermittent sources of electricity generation, energy storage will play an increasingly important role in Georgetown Utility Systems’ energy supply mix. Jim Briggs, general manager for utilities for the City of Georgetown,

said the use of energy storage with renewables “makes basic economic sense”.

Greensmith Energy is providing the North American subsidiary of German power producer Eon with two 10MW/5MWh lithium ion battery storage systems. Each is a 10MW/5MWh lithium ion battery storage system configured to primarily provide FRRS to the ERCOT power market, but also other ancillary services.

The batteries, which can inject power into the grid for up to 30 minutes from a full state of charge, can be charged from the grid or from the wind farms they are connected to.

According to Greensmith Energy CEO John Jung, the company is seeing more requests from existing wind farms due to the technology’s potential to provide frequency regulation and also smooth any frequency dips caused by intermittancy.

The city of Austin is host to a project that will see aggregated individual energy storage systems, connected with solar PV, operate as a single virtual power plant. Technology provider is Stem which is working with Austin Energy.

Longer-term, the model will show how aggregated, customer-sited energy storage systems can help utilities like Austin Energy reduce costs associated with ERCOT coincident peaks, defer investment in substation upgrades, and provide clean, reliable power to customers.

The program’s goal is to reduce the cost of electricity from combined solar and storage projects to below $0.14/kWh.

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In Texas fast-responding long-duration energy storage also has big potential, as the state continues to install more wind, requiring time-shifting as well as grid-balancing characteristics of storage.

Virtual Power Plants provide grid scale benefits One exciting new area of business comes from software that aggregates small, distributed behind-the-meter installations creating virtual power plants (VPP) that provide grid scale benefits.

The logistics of establishing how VPP technology interfaces with utilities’ own grid control centres, as well as the roles of energy service providers, rate structures and the market regulatory framework are all areas that need to be addressed.

As part of New York’s Reforming Energy Vision (REV), in the summer of 2016 New York utility Con Edison, US solar module maker and installer Sunpower and energy storage firm Sunverge launched a $15 million pilot deploying residential solar-plus-storage systems and applying VPP in a real grid environment.

In the pilot, 300 homes have solar panels leased from Sunpower and energy storage systems from Sunverge installed and connected.

These are being aggregated together to operate as a virtual power plant to test various applications, including peak shaving, capacity markets and transmission and distribution

(T&D) deferral. One of REV’s goals is for New York to reach a target of 50% renewable energy by 2030.

Con Edison has been investigating how it can incentivize adoption of rooftop solar by customers, and also how the technology with energy storage can defer distribution grid expansion investment.

Aggregated VPP functions include peak shaving and peak demand management as well as frequency control.

Long term, Sunverge wants to be able to provide VPP software for harnessing individual distributed energy resources to work as single grid resources.

The software is hardware agnostic and pilots and roll-outs in US states, including not only New York, but also California, Colorado and Hawaii, are enabling Sunverge to prove the performance of its VPP software and be in a strong position once demand for it accelerates.

In Hawaii, following changes in legislation that ended netmetering for standalone solar PV systems, in favour of solarplus-storage, VPP platforms are becoming more common. One such project is a 1MW fleet of aggregated storage capacity installed across 29 customer sites to accommodate more renewable energy resources on the grid on O‘ahu.

In the project Stem’s software-driven storage acts as a VPP to manage a diverse range of load shapes and site characteristics to serve the needs of the utility, Hawaiian Electric, in real time.

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Expect to hear much more about the latest developments in the ERCOT market at the ees/ Intersolar show in July in San Francisco.

EES NORTH AMERICA

COMING SOON TO SAN FRANCISCO …

HIGHLIGHTS OF EES NORTH AMERICA 2017 EES STAGE Tuesday, July 11, 2017 10:30am – 1:30pm: Market Overview, Regulatory Framework & Successful Business Models 2:00pm – 4:30pm: Finance & Bankability Wednesday, July 12, 2017 10:30am – 1:30pm: Technological Advancements Driving Energy Storage Deployment and Maximizing ROI 2:00pm – 4:30pm: Real-world Field Experiences and Insights (Residential, Commercial & Utility Scale Storage) WHITE PAPER RELEASE Don’t miss the release of a new White Paper called: “SolarPlus-Storage: Architectures, Use Cases and Case Studies on the Grid”. ees, Intersolar and CALSEIA again collaborated with GTM Research on this White Paper.

Go to Innovation & Application Stage (Level 3, Alcove 1) on Tuesday, July 11 at 10:30am.

➔ PAVILIONS Pass by the numerous country and theme Pavilions.

Experience the latest innovations and developments of the Chinese and Korean solar markets and meet New York’s energy storage companies at NY-Best’s Energy Storage Pavilion.

NY Energy Pavilion (by NY-Best): Level 2, booth 8051 China Pavilion: Level 2, booth 8241 and 8151 Korea Pavilion (by KBIA): Level 2, booth 8331

Don’t miss these Pavilions at Intersolar North America: CALSEIA’s California Pavilion, Powerhouse Pavilion, China Pavilion, German Pavilion, Taiwan Pavilion.

WORKSHOPS Learn about the latest trends and products in numerous workshops dedicated to energy storage topics. ees North America is proud to cooperate with NAATBatt, NABCEP and Solar Energy International to offer a diverse workshop program.

EES NORTH AMERICA CONFERENCE This year's ees North America Conference will be an ideal platform to exchange experiences gained from real, installed projects, on both a technical and economic level. Discuss and network with energy storage peers and high-class speakers from all around the world.

EES AWARDS

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AND THE WINNERS ARE … THE EES AWARD 2017 IT TOOK A LONG TIME COMING — SOME OF THE BEST THINGS DO — BUT FINALLY AFTER MORE THAN THREE MONTHS OF ANALYSIS BY EES’ TEAM OF INDEPENDENT EXPERTS, THIS YEAR’S AWARD WINNERS WERE CHOSEN. The three winners this year for the most innovative concepts and solutions from the energy storage industry were Solarwatt, LG Chem and Energy Depot Deutschland.

“Each had a distinctive product or approach that made them stand apart from their rivals — that said, this year the level of the submissions was again extraordinarily high,” an ees spokesman said.

“The winners of the ees AWARD 2017 all work in the area of lithium-ion technology and distinguish themselves through modularity, scalability and smart components.”

The ees AWARD 2017 ceremony — now in its fourth year — takes place at the end of the first exhibition day at ees Europe, Europe’s largest and most visited exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems. The award has become widely accepted as the most important in the industry.

Solarwatt: Customized energy storage systems Solarwatt Matrix employs two intelligent, standardized, interconnected building blocks that create tailor-made energy storage systems in its MyReserve Matrix battery.

The battery has been designed to be completely modular enabling any storage capacity from 2kWh to 2MWh to be configured. Because of its size — each module is housed in aluminum blocks slightly smaller than a car battery — and relatively light weight of 25kg, the modules can be adapted for residential use as well as commercial storage.

Part of its appeal, Olaf Wollersheim, managing director of the Solarwatt Innovation Centre, told Energy Storage Journal is that the battery was designed for open interfaces, “energy can be stored not just from PV inputs but from as diverse sources as fuel cells. It is compatible with almost all inverters and can also take up to 900V of input.”

The battery can even be integrated into a virtual power plant

via an open software interface. This is the second time that Solarwatt has won the award.

LG Chem: A compact battery module with stamina LG Chem, has developed a stand-alone battery module, high energy-density product ready for multi-purpose use. The module is suitable for a variety of applications and off-grid supply solutions thanks to a charging strategy which ensures the ideal charge transfer between battery modules.

The system is durable and easily maintained, retaining 80% of its initial capacity after 10 years. The design fits into a standard 19-inch rack. The judging panel said they had been impressed by the easy system connection and integration of up to 10 battery modules.

“Each had a distinctive product or approach that made them stand apart from their rivals — that said, this year the level of the submissions was again extraordinarily high”

Energy Depot Deutschland Energy Depot Deutschland’s CENTURIO Energy Storage System is a combination of a hybrid inverter and lithium-ion battery modules for the storage, conversion, distribution and control of photovoltaic energy. The DC-coupled system comprises the Centurio 10 hybrid inverter, DOMUS 4.1 batteries and the Vectis 30 smart power switch and meter.

The modular and scalable system has been devised for a balanced infeed into all three phases (phase symmetry) and is highly efficient from a partial-load of 20% below of the nominal load on. The yield from the PV installation can be used immediately or stored in batteries until needed with very little loss. The judging panel said they had been impressed with its innovative design approach to creating an inverter specialized in energy storage systems.

➔ THE JUDGING CRITERIA The judging panel said the submissions focused on the most burning topics for the energy storage industry: efficiency, longevity and flexibility.

To determine the winners, the panel also applied additional criteria: degree of technological innovation, the benefit for industry, environment and society, and economic viability.

Furthermore, the products submitted must have already reached the testing or application phase or else represent an important development of existing solutions.

EES SOUTH AMERICA

ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES RESHAPE LATAM'S ENERGY SECTOR BATTERIES, SMART TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS AND DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT ADDRESS POWER SYSTEM CHALLENGES Electrical energy storage is going to be the next big thing sweeping across Latin America

Electrical energy storage is going to be the next big thing sweeping across Latin America. Increases in solar deployment across the region — the market is forecast to triple in size in the coming five years — will be the trigger for a boom in energy storage.

Commercial opportunities now exist in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector, for microgrid applications and

➔ EES AND INTERSOLAR SOUTH AMERICA: QUICK FACTS Dates: August 22–24, 2017 Location: Expo Center Norte, White Pavilion, São Paulo, Brazil Areas of Focus: Photovoltaics, PV Production Technology , Energy Storage, Solar Heating & Cooling Technologies Facts and Figures: 12,000+ visitors (expected), 1,500+ conference attendees (expected), 240 exhibitors (expected)

rural electrification projects. The intellectual framework has been moving into place too. Brazil’s electricity industry has a well established R&D program mandated by the National Regulatory Agency ANEEL, and electrical energy storage related research has been on the agenda of various Brazilian R&D facilities for decades.

One of the conference sessions will provide an inside track view on the current status of research for stationary energy storage being undertaken and what the prospects are in the near and mid-term. Another session will discuss the related research for e-mobility and its future prospects.

• The ees (electrical energy storage) global exhibition series is the industry hotspot for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and users of stationary and mobile electrical energy storage solutions.

• ees is a special exhibition running within Intersolar South America 2017 and is dedicated to storage solutions for renewable energy, from domestic and commercial applications to large-scale storage systems for stabilizing the grids.

EES INDIA

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BATTERY TECHNOLOGIES ENHANCE INDIA’S GRID RELIABILITY INDIA’S GOVERNMENT STRONGLY SUPPORTS ENERGY STORAGE AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES The Indian government has supported the solar industry in various forms for the past 30 years but it was only in 2009, when the Gujarat Solar policy was introduced, that the sector leapt forward. And it was the following year that the industry went mainstream with the announcement of the National Solar Policy and its ambitious set of projects and targets.

From a mere 12MW in 2010, the grid-connected, solarinstalled capacity had risen to 12GW this March. By March 2018, the installed capacity should be near 25GW with an ambitious plan to reach 100GW target by 2022.

With continued large-scale integration of the intermittent solar power into the grid, a manageable threshold is fast approaching.

The time for introducing grid-scale projects — BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) — has arrived.

But stationery power is only part of the larger picture now emerging, The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), a think-tank set up by Narendra Modi, the prime minister, plans to accelerate adoption of electric and shared vehicles. The aim is to save $60 billion in diesel and petrol costs while cutting down as

much as one gigatonne of carbon emissions for India by 2030.

It’s a challenge.

With just 5,000 electric vehicles on the road at the end of 2016, this figure needs to rise to 10 million by 2030. This means the cost of EVs must come down drastically and an extensive infrastructure of charging stations created across the country.

The Intersolar/ees/Power2Drive conference and exhibition aim to help change challenges to reality.

With just 5,000 electric vehicles on the road at the end of 2016, this figure needs to rise to 10 million by 2030

➔ EES , POWER2DRIVE AND INDIA: QUICK FACTS Dates: December 5–7, 2017 Location: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai, India Areas of Focus: Photovoltaics, PV Production Technology , Energy Storage, Solar Heating & Cooling Technologies Facts and Figures: 12,000+ visitors (expected), 500+ conference attendees (expected), 260 exhibitors (expected)

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EES EUROPE

REVIEW: EES/INTERSOLAR, EUROPE LOOKING DOWN THE HUGE AND CROWDED HALLS OF THE EES EUROPE EXHIBITION IN MUNICH IN EARLY JUNE AND YOU’D HAVE GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT ENERGY STORAGE HAD FINALLY COME OF AGE. LOOK ACROSS TO THE PACKED HALLS OF THE PARTNER EXHIBITION, INTERSOLAR EUROPE, AND YOU REALISE HOW FAR THE INDUSTRY HAS MOVED. “It’s a natural fit — solar plus storage,” one exhibitor told Energy Storage Journal. “And what we’re starting to see now is the commoditization of energy storage. It’s the next step for the industry.

“There’s been a huge influx of entrants into the market and we’ve moved from a situation where a few early players dominated product sectors to one where there’s lively competition over quality and price.”

The history of ees Europe reflects this: just four years ago there were 48 exhibitors and 2,100 square meters of exhibition space.

This year there were 254 international companies exhibiting occupying 17,500 square meters of space. And that was roughly a 40% increase over the previous year. “ees Europe is the most important date in the exhibition calendar because it opens up great opportunities for business and its excellent marketing attracts a first-class international customer base,” said Daniel Hannemann, managing director at Tesvolt.

“We find the contacts to support the development of sustainable solutions for industry and commerce here at this exhibition.”

The exhibition is being held in parallel with Intersolar Europe, arguably the world’s leading exhibition for the solar industry and its partners.

This year’s exhibition focused on large-scale storage systems and grid integration, as well as e-mobility and global storage

system markets. Another central topic was the optimization of self-consumption in private homes and commercial buildings — how buildings can best use the electricity generated on their roofs.

Part of the reason for this has been the rapid market development, which has been driven by falling energy storage prices. Over the past three years alone, the cost of solar storage systems — in particular lithium-based systems — has plummeted by more than 40%.

EuPD Research expects the market volume for PV storage systems in Europe to reach an annual volume of €552 million ($610 million) by 2020, of which over €300 million is expected to be generated in Germany.

The accompanying ees Europe Conference held at the International Congress Center — next door to the exhibition hall on the Tuesday and the Wednesday — offered participants an even deeper insight into current trends.

The hot topics at the two-day conference ranged from storage systems for private homes, commercial and industrial buildings, as well as e-mobility, to the developments in the most important markets, energy management and the political framework for the future energy economy.

A total of over 1,700 visitors from 77 countries participated in the ees Europe Conference, the side events, and the Intersolar Europe Conference taking place in parallel — up some 30% over the previous year.

➔ SPEEDY REGISTRATION The huge number of attendees to the exhibition — the combined ees/Intersolar show attracted some 40,000 people — required special processing measures by Messe München. Their solution was to automate the process. A simple QR code on the admission ticket could be scanned at the 20 or so entrance gates automatically printing off the delegate’s badge or allowing repeated entry.

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THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME … THE SMARTER E

Next year, the ees and Intersolar exhibition and conference series will be put under a new umbrella, called The Smarter E. “It’s far more than just a rebranding, it’s reflecting the way that the energy storage industry is moving,” says Horst Dufner, senior project manager at Solar Promotion GmbH, the event organizer.

“What we’re seeing now is the gradual interconnection between energy storage in the fields of electricity, heat and transportation. It’s an integrated picture. The Smarter E will act as a strong link, covering renewable energy production, distribution, storage and the intelligent use of energy.”

In practice this means that the format of the present exhibition will be expanded. Two new events will be introduced: Power2Drive, looking at e-mobility and EMPower, an exhibition looking at the intelligent energy use in industry and buildings.

“E-mobility is a central pillar of the energy transition,” says Dufner. “Electric vehicles, especially when fuelled by energy from renewable sources, make an important contribution to this transition as efficient and climate-friendly mobility solutions. And due to the development of increasingly powerful batteries, electric vehicles are also gaining significance as storage resources. The Power2Drive concept is an extension of this year’s well attended E-mobility and Renewable Energy special exhibit. At Power2Drive, the spotlight will be on traction batteries and charging infrastructure for e-mobility.

BSW NEWS FROM THE SHOW Hot, hot, hot Part of the increasing relevance of the ees/ Intersolar exhibition and conference is the way that the two events continue to capture the hot trends of the moment.

This year the topics of e-mobility and mobile storage systems were among the most important trends at this year’s ees Europe. The new mobile applications are also serving to expand the market, which until recently was dominated by stationary storage systems.

Record solar+storage installations Across Germany there are already some 60,000 power storage systems installed and by 2020 this figure will be around 170,000.

“Market growth is being driven by continued declines in system prices,” says the German Solar Industry Association. “Over the past three years the price for lithium-based systems has fallen by around 40%” Increasing product range, growing storage capacity Products installed several years ago were for the most part smaller storage with a maximum usable capacity of 5kWh. Now

much larger systems are available with capacities of over 15kWh. German government support available German state bank KfW has set up a funding program consisting of a low interest loan and generous repayment terms to boost gridassistive storage systems.

Battery pools Storage manufacturers are combining multiple individual solar power storages systems into flexible battery pools that can provide power around the clock. As a result members of these battery pools receive electricity at cheaper rates. Inexpensive surplus electricity can also be sold at a higher price when demand rises.

Efficiency guide available German trade associations and research institutes are pushing for an efficiency guide for PV storage systems. The resulting standardization will allow consumers to compare different products’ technical specifications.

Source: BSW Solar

APP, APPROVAL “This is the best app for a show that I’ve ever had,” one delegate told Energy Storage Journal. “It’s got everything, comprehensive details of every exhibitor — including the ability to favourite them — as well as a timetable of events, a floor plan and other details.”

➔ THE EES FORUM At the ees Forum experts, exhibitors and startups offered insights into the latest developments in the energy storage industry on all three exhibition days.

The keynote presentation kicking off the forum came from market research institute EuPD Research which reported on the status quo and the future of the energy storage markets in Germany and across the world.

The ees Forum featured presentations and discussions from specialists and

experts from all over the world. These included the legal conditions for the profitability of energy storage systems, installation and operation safety, and quality assurance — and perhaps most interestingly for those seeking to understand what their competitors were up to, presentations from the shortlisted finalists for the ees Award.

On the second day the Forum looked at issues such as market strategies for suppliers of small scale and commercial

storage devices, financing start-ups and e-mobility.

On June 2, the closing day of the exhibition, the ees Forum turned to large-scale storage systems and later in the day residential storage.

“We couldn’t attend the conference,” one exhibitor later told Energy Storage Journal, “But our visits to the Forum turned out to be a useful way to get informed on some of the major trends in the industry.”

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MICROGRID STANDARDIZATION A Singaporean university and its industrial partners are building a series of microgrids to pave the way for the technology’s adoption across south-east Asia.

Accelerating island microgrids across south-east Asia

Microgrid components — solar PV systems, wind turbines, diesel generators, power conversion and energy management systems — have come of age. But although they are mature technologies, there is a huge amount of unexplored potential waiting to be tapped.

An ambitious initiative in Singapore is taking these technologies and configuring them to develop a standardized off-grid microgrid platform to bring reliable power generation to rural communities, many of them based on the island archipelagos that predominate in south-east Asia’s geography.

In places such as the US, microgrids are increasingly being woven into the

fabric of mainland centralized electricity grids, to provide large energy consumers, such as university campuses, business parks and industrial businesses with resiliency when the grid is down and as a way of optimizing local generation from renewable energy resources.

“But, tropical climates and near sea environments present some of the toughest places in the world for microgrid deployment and since Singapore is at the gateway of south-east Asia, that is where we intend to focus,” says Roch Drozdowski-Strehl, who is co-principal investigator and deputy director of the Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator, Singapore (REIDS) initiative, at Nanyang

Part of the project’s focus will be about making loads that are flexible and adaptive to match the intermittency of power generation from the renewable resources, which could help communities keep the cost of energy supply low, rather than have microgrids optimized for maximum generation output. www.energystoragejournal.com

Technological University.

South-east Asia has been identified, along with the Indian subcontinent, Africa, central America, the Middle East and China, as one of the world’s top five fastest growing energy production regions between 2010 and 2030.

But it is also one of the most challenging in terms of proving energy infrastructure because so much of the population is located on scattered islands. The Philippines, for example, consists of about 7,000 islands while Indonesia has around 17,000. Also Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar are among the south-east island nations with the highest percentage of people without access to electricity, totalling over 100 million and a considerable portion are based in rural areas.

Provision of electricity in rural and remote areas is only made possible by installing a diesel genset. The problem is that though the upfront cost of gensets tend to be affordable, the operational cost is high, when factoring in the cost of fuel and getting it delivered to far flung islands and remote places.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 41

MICROGRID STANDARDIZATION In early December the REIDS project completed the commissioning of a microgrid, built on Singapore’s Semakau island. It is one of four, with the remaining three to be constructed in 2017.

The separate microgrids will each be 400V, and each will include a few hundred kilowatts of solar PV, 50kW200kW of wind, different energy storage technologies, including lithium ion and redox flow batteries as well as supercapacitors and flywheels and up to 400kW of passive loads.

Each microgrid will operate in a fully islanded mode, but will also function as an integrated bigger microgrid, through connected shared loads and resources. This is to show how neighbouring islands, each with their own microgrid, can function as an interoperable grid.

The inter-microgrid operation demonstration will occur on a 6.6kV (AC) network and will be connected to bigger loads including a fish nursery, water desalination pland and in-stream tidal machines. Part of the project’s focus will be about making loads that are flexible and adaptive to match the intermittency of power generation from the renewable resources, which could help communities keep the cost of energy supply low, rather than have microgrids optimized for maximum generation output.

Drozdowski-Strehl says: “Each microgrid will have its own energy management system, from different partners, which include Schneider Electric and General Electric. We are providing the various industrial partners with the environment to deploy these technologies together in an off-grid microgrid platform.

“We are not just doing research.

REIDS will help give the industrial partners the push to enable them to standardize off-grid microgrid systems.”

Building blocks

Other partners are suppliers of building blocks to the projects, including solar companies REC and Trina Solar, wind turbine manufacturer Vesta and battery supplier Varta. Other energy storage providers, including a flow battery company will be announced, once contracts have been signed.

Meralco and Bawah are adopter partners. Meralco is the largest electricity distribution company in the Philippines and Bawah is developing a small group of islands 150 miles north of Singapore into an eco-tourist destination.

42 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

“Tropical climates and near sea environments present some of the toughest places in the world for microgrid deployment and since Singapore is at the gateway of south-east Asia, that is where we intend to focus” — Roch Drozdowski-Strehl REIDS will run for a total of nine years, which is the length of time the university is leasing the land on Semakau for. Over that time, the complexity of the microgrid will increase as various storage technologies as well as more loads are plugged in. The project is ambitious in its vision to deploy a wide range of technologies.

REIDS has identified numerous building blocks that all need to be tested as part of the project. These include different types of renewables and various types of energy storage, from batteries to hydrogen storage and compressed air, but also waste to energy, sustainable mobility systems, as well as aquaculture productivity systems, different energy management and the ICT architectures needed to control, manage and operate the microgrids individually and as integrated systems will also be developed as part of the project.

The main focus of REIDS is about reducing the technological barriers to off-grid microgrid deployment, by creating more rugged, lower cost and standardized platforms. However, there will be ample opportunity for REIDS to act as a high profile demonstrator to show government departments, financing institutions, utilities and stakeholders in the region that there is technology available to enable them to meet their rural electrification objectives and policies.

“But there’s a lot of digging through the jungle to be done, to understand

the different regulatory and contractual regimes and establish contacts within regulators, utilities and explain our approach before we start to see tenders happen,” says DrozdowskiStrehl.

Many of the communities REIDS is targeting have little access to electricity and are limited to running diesel gensets for no more than 12 hours of daily supply or less. “Assuming a leap to 24 hour seven days a week electricity access is probably unrealistic,” he says.

“The microgrid will enable a community’s energy needs to evolve and to grow. The platform we are ultimately going to showcase will be much more complex than most communities will require. The shorter term target is about seeing what price per kilowatt hour is being paid for and developing a solution that can come under that cost,” he says.

Over the next nine years, Drozdowski-Strehl sees hybrid off-grid microgrids commercializing into a “scalable structure.The legacy systems are diesel, so you might add some solar PV initially, then some storage, then some wind. Over time they become increasingly complex. It’s unrealistic to think that diesel power can be entirely replaced by renewable energy.

“We envisage diesel being just one of many energy sources within the microgrid, so that eventually it becomes back-up as opposed to the primary energy source.”

“There’s a lot of digging through the jungle to be done, to understand the different regulatory and contractual regimes and establish contacts within regulators, utilities and explain our approach before we start to see tenders happen” www.energystoragejournal.com

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THE CEO INTERVIEW From insolvency to vertically integrated supplier of self-consumption PV-plus-storage systems, Solarwatt’s chief executive, Detlef Neuhaus, says his company is placed to be a key player in the residential energy storage market. Sara Verbruggen reports.

Phoenix from the ashes Fast rewind five years to June 2012.

They’re grim times for Solarwatt, one of Germany’s main producers of solar PV modules. The company, a market leader for almost two decades, has filed for insolvency.

But the man who took over the reins of the firm in 2010 — chief executive Detlef Neuhaus — was also the man to bring it back.

In the reorganization plan for its creditors, Solarwatt focused on residential and commercial markets, launching a clearly demarked product line for each.

With feed-in tariff (FiT) subsidies on the wane, the selling proposition for PV modules in Europe’s non-utility markets began to change.

Buying decisions became more concerned with quality systems and components able to extract the best performance over the system’s lifetime, saving on energy bills for consumers through optimized output.

The company’s glass-glass module comes with one of the longest

guarantees in the industry — 30 years.

With a plan in place in 2012, BMW heir and shareholder Stefan Quandt stepped in to invest in the company.

Like many other solar industry companies, Solarwatt was quick to embrace the nascent energy storage trend at the time, following Germany’s introduction of a subsidy for residential energy storage systems.

The firm started by sourcing systems from Sonnen (then Prosol). However, in 2014 Solarwatt began sourcing battery storage systems from German technology firm E-Wolf, set up by the battery group from Toyota’s Formula 1 racing team, which had developed controls and battery management technology.

However, when Toyota decided to pull out of Formula 1, the team looked for a new home.

In 2016, Solarwatt bought E-Wolf.

“We needed to have the core competencies in-house,” says Neuhaus.

“We know how to make PV modules but we didn’t have that experience in

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batteries, management and controls.”

E-Wolf does everything except make the cells, which it buys in from South Korean producer SK. The lithium ion cells are made with ceramic separators to reduce short circuits. The battery management system and controls are designed to extract the best performance from the cells.

The system comes with a 10-year guarantee, but could probably work for 12 or even 15 years on a daily cycling.

The cells are encased in aluminium and a hard thermoformed plastic shell to prevent oxygen reaching them.

The software controls developed

by E-Wolf became the basis for the charging and discharging algorithms in the battery management system of Solarwatt’s stationary storage system MyReserve, which is being launched in Europe and Australia this year.

MyReserve is entering the market when the number of home energy storage brands has probably peaked, or is not far from reaching this point.

In a new market such as this, buoyed by expectations that may border on hype, some of these brands will not be around in four to five years’ time. With the acquisition of E-Wolf, Solarwatt has yet to make a profit. This is not something that has investors too worried.

“We are in this for the long term,” says Neuhaus.

Indeed, sales are steadily building.

Last year Solarwatt sold 2,000 units in Germany, equivalent to 8%-10% of the market share. This year the expectation is to increase total sales to 5,000, with 3,000 of these sold in Germany and the rest internationally.

Launch markets include Italy, France, the UK and also Australia.

Eon partnership

“From the outset we wanted to make MyReserve affordable enough to commercialize in markets without subsidy or incentives for energy storage.”

In addition to its own sales channels with distributors and installers, Solarwatt is also contracted to supply its home storage system to the German energy company Eon, which repackages it as its own ‘white label’ product called Aura.

“We didn’t ever perceive this market as one where there are good guys and bad guys,” says Neuhaus. He refers to some of the competitors in Germany,

MyReserve. THE BENCHMARK FOR THE FUTURE OF BATTERY STORAGE. 44 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

www.energystoragejournal.com

THE CEO INTERVIEW such as Sonnen, which markets energy storage and has developed services around the technology that aim to make its customers less dependent on the grid yet able to trade renewable electricity in a pool, to avoid utilities altogether.

“Eon’s core competency is energy trading and they have the customer base. We have the technological expertise.”

Eon supplies more than six million customers in Germany. In response to the shift in demand for distributed generation, it is focusing on renewables and downstream services that are aimed at customer demand for more control in terms of where their electricity comes from. It provides this through maximized self-consumption enabled by solar PV-plus-storage, as well as how that energy is used.

The Aura system package can also include a 100% green power electricity tariff created by Eon. “At the start of the cooperation we discussed the risk of cannibalizing our own sales channels in supplying Eon, making the whole initiative counterproductive,” says Neuhaus.

“But we have discovered since the partnership that there is very little overlap. Eon has brought an additional channel for our storage technology in the residential market.”

Neuhaus says the key to such a partnership working is to be open to collaboration and technological development.

It goes back to justifying the acquisition of E-Wolf: bringing the technological expertise in-house gives Solarwatt the opportunity to adapt the controls and interfaces to the requirements of a large utility partner.

In Australia, Solarwatt would like to negotiate a cooperation with a local utility. The market there is shaping up to be a battleground for the global energy storage industry, with European, North American and Asian providers converging alongside local players.

A pilot between US energy storage system and software developer Sunverge and

www.energystoragejournal.com

“A lot of other offerings are so differentiated between the different applications, even within one brand or line. Customers have to decide between a system for a small home, then another one for a larger home, or a different system if it is a small commercial property. We cut all that out.”

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 45

THE CEO INTERVIEW which sends a rapid signal to minimize draw from the grid. The whole system is designed to react within under a second and the rapid response times to match loads and generation achieve some of the highest self-consumption levels possible with any system on the market.

Storage all-sorts

Intelligent energy management system with the SOLARWATT Energy Manager

AGL will see individual storage installations at sites of AGL’s customers networked as a virtual power plant resource for the utility to deploy. It is indicative of where the industry is headed. At this stage Neuhaus won’t be drawn on Solarwatt’s plans in Australia except to say the company is investigating opportunities.

For now, North America does not figure in Solarwatt’s global strategy.

“From the outset we wanted to make MyReserve affordable enough to commercialize in markets without subsidy or incentives for energy storage,” he says. “Australia meets that criteria, the US does not. The risk with the US is that you can risk burning through cash. There is a bit too much hope and not enough facts and figures.

“Even though we have a good product, we are only a mid-sized company so we have to select our markets carefully.”

Configuration

To help make MyReserve affordable, the system is the same in whatever configuration, from kWh up to MWh. Scalable is a word bandied around the industry to such an extent these days that dubbing an energy storage system ‘scalable’ is about as descriptively insightful as saying ice is cold.

However, MyReserve does earn the term. The system comprises two basic building blocks: the battery module and the power electronics, which contain the connectors, sensors and software. Each is the size of a shoebox.

The smallest configuration is 2.2kWh. If users need more storage capacity or performance, more battery packs can be combined with command modules.

This is a good development for installers as installation times are reduced. Installers, in any market by

46 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

region and end-use, only need to be concerned with the two components.

The battery is connected to the power electronics with a single cable, cutting down on training time as well as transport costs as the system is so compact. Each battery module weighs just under 25kg, so one person can lift and fix it to the wall.

“A lot of other offerings are so differentiated between the different applications, even within one brand or line. Customers have to decide between a system for a small home, then another one for a larger home, or a different system if it is a small commercial property. We cut all that out,” says Neuhaus.

“You have one command unit for up to 11kWh of capacity and then you have to connect up another command box if you want to scale further, if more capacity is needed. This simplicity benefits both end-customers and installers.”

MyReserve is competitively priced in the market against other systems and provides installers with good margins.

Customers can also be confident that the investment in control electronics and software has resulted in a system with rapid response times needed to meet the requirements of different appliance loads in the home or when surplus electricity is generated by the connected PV array.

Solarwatt’s offering includes a sensor, connected to the electricity meter,

There is an abundance of systems around at present, backed by players from various markets. From the automotive sector alone, Daimler Group, with its new Mercedes-Benz-branded energy storage subsidiary, and Nissan, have joined Tesla in trying to grab a share of the home energy storage market, which is spreading from Germany to other pockets of Europe.

Then there are the solar industry’s big brands, mainly comprising inverter companies such as SMA and Fronius, as well as Sonnen, which has one of the biggest market shares in Germany and which made an early move state-side.

One should not forget either the presence of the giants in consumer electronics, batteries as well as power equipment, including ABB with an energy storage system based on the inverter technology bequeathed by the Power-One acquisition; Eaton, which is partnering with Nissan; Germany’s own Varta; and South Korean lithium ion battery giant LG Chem. Then there is also the Chinese contingent, which could grab share with offerings at the more economic end of the scale, in the same way they did in the solar PV module and inverter markets.

It is a difficult market to compare like with like.

Some offerings are tie-ups between inverter makers and battery providers, while others, like Solarwatt’s and Sonnen’s, are all-in-one systems, including batteries and inverters.

There is also a big difference in spending on the energy management system and software controls side of these systems, with some systems developed to optimize battery performance and designed to be future-proofed in terms of various functionalities and applications.

“There’s going to be about five or

The whole system is designed to react within under a second and the rapid response times to match loads and generation achieve some of the highest selfconsumption levels possible with any system on the market. www.energystoragejournal.com

THE CEO INTERVIEW six companies that will emerge to dominate this market in the next three to four years,” says Neuhaus.

“Mercedes-Benz, Sonnen, LG, Varta all have different strengths and weaknesses. When we compare ourselves to others, we have expertise in three core areas, which are production, energy management and storage.”

Given the number of carmakers that are spanning the e-mobility transition and making sideways moves into stationary storage, it is a wonder that Solarwatt is not making more noise about its link with BMW. Due to governance issues, there is no playing fast and loose with the BMW brand, sticking it on home storage systems to boost the marketing of its technology, as some other automotive brands have been able to do.

But it is still early days for the stationary storage industry, where pushing the e-mobility link may have little impact in the long run.

Today, Solarwatt sees the competition in Europe coming from just three companies – Sonnen, LG and Varta.

Neuhaus is refreshingly candid in his views on Tesla, whereas most other executives are at pains to describe Elon ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

“Mercedes-Benz, Sonnen, LG, Varta all have different strengths and weaknesses. When we compare ourselves to others, we have expertise in three core areas, which are production, energy management and storage” Musk as a genius and exceptional when it comes to the brand’s promotion and avoid saying anything construed as negative about the company’s energy storage offering.

At a press launch for the MyReserve system in Berlin earlier this year, Neuhaus highlighted the lack of flexibility the Powerwall offers and the inability to start from a small capacity and scale up.

Where the market will be in a few years’ time and which players will still be present is anyone’s guess, but there is a definite sense of companies launching home storage systems because they don’t want to fail to miss the opportunity, even if a fight is sure to ensue. Many of them will be able to sustain losses before exiting, while others may end up losing their shirts.

Some, such as Panasonic, have

already pulled out, preferring to focus on energy storage opportunities in the commercial and industrial market.

Addressing scalability ensures that Solarwatt is well positioned to target other markets, including the commercial one and there is a plan to install a large battery at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where Solarwatt has already supplied a 1MW solar PV system for the university’s own consumption.

However, the home storage market is at the core of Solarwatt’s energy storage strategy, and it is one of the few companies — even at a global level — with the means to develop, innovate, make and supply the gamut of selfconsumption systems. Neuhaus doesn’t need to overstate it. “Production, energy management and storage.

That’s our coreESSENTIAL expertise.”

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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 47

BACK TO BASICS Isidor Buchmann, CEO of Cadex Electronics and founder of the Battery University, discusses battery pack diagnostics and the new range of charging possibilities his firm is developing.

Battery diagnostics on the fly Battery users typically imagine a battery pack being an energy storage device that resembles a fuel tank dispensing liquid fuel. For simplicity reasons, a battery can indeed be perceived as a vessel storing electrical energy; however, measuring energy flowing into an electrochemical device and then drawing it out again is far more complex than handling liquid fuel.

While a hydraulic fuel gauge measures liquids moving in and out of a tank of known size, a battery fuel gauge reads units of current.

Battery size is specified in ampere hours (Ah), and what makes estimating battery state-of-charge (SoC) and state-of-health (SoH) so challenging is an unsteady state; a battery loses capacity with each charge and leaks energy in the form of self-discharge.

The specified capacity of a new battery is (should be) 100%; replacement is typically 80%. A standard fuel gauge only shows SoC; capacity is not revealed. A full charge lights up the entire SoC scale, even if the capacity has faded to 50% and delivers only half the runtime.

Estimating battery SoC is commonly done by coulomb counting. The theory goes back 250 years when CharlesAugustin de Coulomb first established the “Coulomb Rule”. It consists of units of electric charge in which one coulomb (1C) equals one ampere (1A) for 1 second.

Figure 1 illustrates the principle of in and outflowing currents representing coulomb counting.

Coulomb counting should be flawless but tracking errors occur. If, for example, a battery was charged for one hour at one ampere, the same amount of energy should be available on discharge.

No battery can do this.

Inefficiencies in charge acceptance,

Figure 1: Principle of a fuel gauge based on coulomb counting: A circuit measures the in-and-out flowing energy; the stored energy represents state-ofcharge. One coulomb (1C) equals one ampere (1A) per second. Discharging a battery at 1A for one hour equates to 3,600C.

especially towards the end of charge and particularly if fast-charged, reduce the energy efficiency. Losses also occur in storage and during discharge. The available energy is always less than what has been fed into the battery.

Coulomb counting becomes part of a battery management system that also assists in controlling mobile phone and laptop batteries. Furthermore, a BMS keeps the battery voltage and current in check to maintain safety and prolong battery life.

The user of a new gadget is usually inclined to trust a fancy fuel gauge graphic. A false sense of security may develop but this trust is dashed when the runtimes get shorter with each charge as the device ages.

For the casual user of a mobile phone or laptop, a fuel gauge error is only a mild irritant. The problem escalates with medical and military de-

vices, as well as with drones and electric drivetrains that depend on precise range predictions.

To maintain fuel gauge accuracy, a smart battery should periodically be calibrated by discharging it until the “low battery” symbol appears on the device. This can be done in the device.

A full cycle sets the respective flags, as shown in Figure 2. A linear line forms between these two anchor points to allow reasonably accurate SoC estimations for a time.

How often should a battery be calibrated? This depends on the application. A battery in continued use should be calibrated every three months or after 40 partial cycles. If the device applies a periodic full deep discharge, then calibration should not be needed. A user’s manual for an Apple iPad reads: “For proper reporting of SoC, be sure to go through at least one full charge/discharge cycle per month.”

What happens if the battery is not calibrated regularly? Can such a battery be used with confidence? The battery should function normally and there are no safety concerns, but the digital SoC readout becomes unreliable.

When designing a BMS, engineers often make the mistake of assuming that a battery will always stay young.

But batteries age and this is manifested in capacity loss. The SoC gauge will always show a glowing 100% after each charge. Capacity is conveniently hidden from the user.

Several methods to estimate battery SoH exist and are in development.

This article describes five technologies.

They are: • Coulomb counting as part of an integral battery system in mobile phones and laptops

Coulomb counting becomes part of a battery management system that also assists in controlling mobile phone and laptop batteries. Furthermore, a BMS keeps the battery voltage and current in check to maintain safety and prolong battery life.

48 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

www.energystoragejournal.com

BACK TO BASICS • Reading the FCC register in an SMBus battery. (SMBus stands for System Management Bus and is one of the most common so-called ‘smart battery systems’ for portable battery applications. Other systems provide similar features.)

• Adding Read-and-charge (RAC) to a charger • Rapid-tests by taking a snapshot of the “chemical battery” • Traditional full cycle.

Coulomb counting

Some mobile phones and laptops come with software that estimates SoH. This is done by coulomb count, but service technicians familiar with such systems say that the readings are not reliable.

Part of this arises from inaccuracies in measuring discharge current when running different applications.

The load is pulsed and not all mobile phones allow current measurement.

This prevents the use of the capacity app in such cases.

Coulomb counting is also used to estimate the capacity of e-bikes. Although carefully monitored, the SoH readings are not revealed to the user.

For reasons of anonymity, only authorized personnel have access by a security code.

Device manufacturers fear that showing a capacity of less than 100% would raise too many consumer complaints, especially during the warranty period. Such secrecy typically only applies to consumer products; industrial applications differ.

SoC of a portable device is usually shown in percentage or in runtime minutes: the EV does this with driving range in kilometers or miles. A

How often should a battery be calibrated? This depends on the application. A battery in continued use should be calibrated every three months or after 40 partial cycles. If the device applies a periodic full deep discharge, then calibration should not be needed true assessment in Ah, as is possible with a tank of gasoline in a vehicle, is not possible with the battery. The amount of Ah a battery can capture as it ages goes into hiding. Consumer concerns aside, knowing battery capacity has the benefit of connecting Ah with runtime and predicting battery replacement on capacity, the leading battery health indicator.

Reading the FCC register in an SMBus battery

Chargers are advancing and will soon offer battery SoH readouts. As industries switch to the SMBus battery, FCC (full charge capacity) stored in the battery can interpret SoH by the coulomb count taken while the battery is in service.

This allows checking SoH by simply inserting the battery into a charger.

The SMBus battery has a further advantage of providing a digital serial number that will enable storing historic battery performance information in a database.

If the FCC reading in such a charger is above the user-set pass/fail threshold, then the battery will pass; if below, calibration is needed. Calibration applies a full charge and discharge cycle to reset the flags and ascertain the true capacity of the chemical battery.

If the capacity is above target, then the battery passes and the FCC read-

ing is corrected; results below the line call for a battery replacement.

Digital FCC peripherals are normally lower than the actual battery capacity and this prevents a false positive result.

Figure 2 demonstrates the concept in graphics. (Cadex is developing a charger line that encompasses this feature under the Universal Diagnostic Charger (UDC) series.)

Read-and-charge (RAC)

The UDC chargers in development will also feature a new Read-andcharge (RAC) diagnostic to estimate battery capacity more accurately.

Inserting a Li-ion battery, the RAC charger determines the residual SoC with a proprietary algorithm and then measures the inflowing coulombs to fill the battery.

Combining the coulomb count with residual charge gives the full capacity. An analogy is topping a partially filled bottle by calculating the added amount. The bottle size represents 100%; what it can hold reflects the capacity.

RAC requires a onetime calibration for each battery model. Cycling a good battery provides the reference reading that can be stored in the charger. The RAC charger has the ability to estimate the capacity of a regular (dumb) battery.

Figure 2 (left) : Full-discharge and full-charge flags. A full discharge sets the discharge flag, a full charge sets the charge flag.

Figure 3. (right) Battery SoH evaluation on the fly by reading FCC. Pass/Fail is set to 80%. Not meeting the threshold does not constitute a failed battery but prompts to calibration.

FCC references are normally lower than the actual battery capacity. This prevents a false positive result.

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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 49

BACK TO BASICS Tests are showing better accuracies with RAC than what is possible with the FCC capture of an SMBus battery.

RAC validates battery performance and does quality control with no extra logistics. The green “ready” light at the end of service assures that the battery is fully charged and meets the required capacity threshold. A faded battery is identified and shown the back door.

Rapid-test

The Rapid-test takes a snapshot of a chemical battery in seconds or minutes. Electrochemical Dynamic Response uses pulse technology; the more complex Multi-model Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (Spectro) scans the battery with multiple frequencies.

Rapid-tests have the advantage of testing a broad range of batteries without smarts on the fly, but this requires complex software and hardware that is supported by battery-specific parameters and matrices.

It is important to note that the capacity of a battery cannot be measured in the same way as voltage, current and temperature. SoH can be estimated to

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various degrees of accuracy based on its symptoms; but a reliable measurement is not possible if the symptoms are vague or not present.

Many makers of battery test devices promise capacity estimation by measuring the internal battery resistance.

This is misleading and advertising features that are outside the equipment’s capabilities confuse the industry into believing that complex tests can be done with basic methods.

Resistance-based instruments can indeed identify a dying or dead battery — so can the user! Battery testers are often overstated just as shampoos promise to grow lush hair on a man’s bald head.

Full cycle

This method applies a full charge/ discharge cycle to read the capacity of the chemical battery. The time discharging a battery with a regulated discharge current determines the capacity.

Although accurate and also serving as calibration of a smart battery, a full cycle is time consuming and is not always practical, especially when checking mobile phone batteries.

ISIDOR BUCHMANN

For the past 30 years, Isidor Buchmann has studied the behaviour of rechargeable batteries in practical, everyday applications. He has written award-winning articles including the best-selling book “Batteries in a Portable World”, now in its fourth edition. He is also the founder of Battery University, www. batteryuniversity.com and CEO of Cadex Electronics.

Energy Storage Journal is always eager to hear market comment.

Speak to us!

So much so, we’ve dedicated two areas of the magazine just for you to tell it as it is.

The first is our section called COMMENT — which rather says it all. Here give us your views about what our industry is doing well (or badly) or just needs to open a discussion, this is where to air your views.

Disclaimer: Our editorial board necessarily vets every article that we print and will impartially approve pieces that it believes will be interesting and supportive of the energy storage industry and related products. Articles submitted should not be marketing pieces.

50 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

The second is called CONFERENCE IN PRINT. Here we’re looking for scholarly articles looking at the nuts and bolts of what we do. We’re looking for technical papers that can explain advances in chemistry or technology.

Contact: editor@energystoragejournal.com

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CONFERENCE IN PRINT

Welcome to a special section of our magazine, called Conference in Print.

Our aim is a simple one. We want to offer you the readers a section where you can highlight your products, technology and skills to our broader audience — rather like going to a conference or an exhibition without the inconvenience of all the travel!

We’re putting no restrictions on what you’d like to showcase — this is your section not ours — but hope that this will prove an invaluable and cost-effective way to reach our audience of subscribers and readers.

CONFERENCE IN PRINT Pole-mounted energy storage systems for residential load applications could be the next direction forward for grid balancing say researchers Mohamed Awadallah, Bala Venkatesh, and Hari Subramaniam from Ryerson University in Toronto.

PMESS the shape of ESS to come The world’s first pole-mounted ener- terms of nature, volume, and pattern. coils in chemical, kinetic, electrostatic, gy storage system (PMESS) has been There is a noticeable increasing pace potential, and electromagnetic forms, installed. The system, which is based of replacing automobiles driven via respectively. Some technologies are on prismatic lithium-ion battery mod- internal combustion engines by elec- optimal for long term storage, such as ules, aims at providing peak shaving tric or hybrid-electric vehicles. pumped hydro, whereas other forms and load profile smoothing services The load on the electric grid is ac- of storage are optimal for short term to a pole-top distribution transformer cordingly increasing in value and storage, such as batteries, flywheels, feeding residential loads. changing in nature. supercapacitors, and superconducting An intelligent control algorithm has EV chargers extensively employ coils. been developed by researchers at Ry- power electronic circuitry resulting in However, batteries are suitable for erson University to automate the pro- more waveform distortion. The charg- medium term and, in some applicacess of daily scheduling of the storage ing patterns of EV tend to alter the tions, flywheels as well. Energy storoperation. System operation is based load profile on the network.

Bidirec- age elements can primarily bridge the CONFERENCE IN PRINT on optimal utilization of the battery tional chargers also enable two-way gap between generation and demand energy available at the beginning of energy exchange either from grid to at a given time, no matter which one the planned 24-hour period. vehicle (G2V) or from vehicle to grid storage exceeds the other.

Pole-mounted energy systems for The PMESS has gone through ex- (V2G).

Energy storage can also provide the residential load applications couldwithbe nextanciltensive laboratory tests for proof of The immediate impact of EV charg- network manythe invaluable concept and performance measure- ers is on distribution transformers lary services such as power quality direction forward for grid balancing say researchers ment. Further, the PMESS is installed where charging stations are directly improvement, grid frequency support, on top of a utility pole close to Mohamed a connected. InAwadallah, addition, the typology of voltage sag compensation, system Bala Venkatesh, and and Hari 50 kVA distribution transformer feed- the EVs themselves are a cause for con- stability enhancement, to name a few.

Subramaniam from in unit Toronto. ing residential customers. Field testing cern – the industry startedRyerson with 20kWhUniversity The PMESS makes use of the of the PMESS is underway systems which is now approaching smart grid attributes and employs Renewable energy sources, such as 85kWh battery packs in cars. lithium-ion batteries to provide supPMESS of ESS come solar and wind power, are increasingly This is anthe era shape of reformation of toport to a pole-top distribution transpenetrating through power systems at the electric power systems along the former. The primary objective is load both the transmission and distribu- source axis as well as the load axis. curve smoothing combined with peak The firstpower pole-mounted energy storage tion levels. However, apart from genIn suchworld’s a revolutionary mar- shaving of the transformer. eration, renewable energy sources are ket, energy storage becomes a necessiThe heart of the energy storage syssystem ( generally characterized with uncer- ty as it provides flexible control sche- tem is an inverter which sets the opertainty, variability, and non-dispatcha- ma.

Effects of the and A ating point of the battery.

A control alcommands tointermittence the inverter. conceptual schematic bility as it pertains to the transmission fluctuation of renewables as well as gorithm is responsible for scheduling diagram of the system shown in daily Figure1. and distribution planning and capacload profile alteration due toisEVs can the battery operation 24-hours ity requirements. be mitigated through energy storage. ahead, and for sending corresponding Uncertainty denotes that it is not In general, energy can be stored in timely commands to the inverter. A known for sure whether a particular batteries, flywheels, supercapacitors, conceptual schematic diagram of the source of power will be available at a pumped hydro, and superconducting system is shown in Figure1. given time and location.

Meanwhile, variability implies that, even when a certain source is known to be available at some time and location, the value of the accessible power will be most likely changing.

Finally, assuming that a specific source is available at a fixed power value, such value will usually mismatch the system needs at the same time; in other words, the available power is non-dispatchable.

Another paradigm shift is being forced by the increased adoption of electric vehicles leading to load profile shifts on the distribution feeders in Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the system.

Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the system.

52 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

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CONFERENCE IN PRINT Testing results so far show evident effectiveness in achieving the initial objectives of the unit. The load curve on the secondary of the distribution transformer is smoothed with obvious peak shaving.

The adequate functionality of the PMESS requires control software composed of three major modules for communication, load forecasting, and optimization.

The software algorithm runs continuously on an industrial computer, which is a component of the PMESS, communicating with other peripheral devices in the system. The communication module of the control software ensures that the computer can obtain information about the load point and battery status, and can send charging or discharging commands to the inverter.

Hourly load values are obtained through the smart meters of the load and averaged over six time periods of the day as shown in Figure 2.

The load forecasting module uses today’s load variations along with information about the day and season to predict tomorrow’s load over the same time periods. The optimization module takes the forecasted load profile of tomorrow and the present available energy in the battery as inputs.

Outputs of the optimization module represent the scheduled battery power during the same time periods for the next 24 hours. It should be highlighted that a flat load profile, Figure 2, is ultimately sought, but it is only attainable if the power and energy capacities of the battery are unlimited. However, with limitations on the power rating and energy capacity, the objective becomes to minimize the error between the actual load profile and the desired flat one.

Apparently, an optimization problem is to be solved in order to minimize such an error.

spans of different time periods, as shown in Figure 2, are considered.

Therefore, the power rating of either the inverter or battery is calculated to be sufficient to bring the minimum or maximum load values to an assumed average.

On the other hand, the energy rating of the battery is estimated based on the power rating and time period durations. The next step is to seek the market-available units which could be used to make up the required ratings.

The process led to the selection of three units of a commercial inverter rated at 5.5kW, and three units of lithium-ion battery modules rated at 5.3kW and 5.3kWh each. To match the DC range of the battery pack operation with the input DC voltage of the inverter, the three inverters are connected in parallel as well as the three battery modules.

Sizing of cables and circuit breakers on both the AC and DC sides is appropriately designed. Moreover, an

uninterrupted power supply (UPS) is used to feed the industrial computer and all other low-power circuitry to help these devices overcome shorttime power interruptions.

Remote connectivity to the industrial computer is established through an internet stick run under a mobile network. Accessing the industrial computer to run or stop the control algorithm, and to monitor system performance, is possible through the remote desktop application working on a Windows operating system.

In other words, it is possible to access the industrial computer remotely through another computer connected to the internet. The control algorithm saves a spread-sheet file with the measurements of system performance indices every 24 hours. System monitoring and results acquisition is carried out via remote access of the industrial computer.

The adequate functionality of the PMESS require control software composed of three major modules fo battery as inputs.

Outputs of the optimization module represent th scheduled battery power during the same time period design mechanical for the next 24 hours. It System should be—highlighted that The PMESS mechanical design is A MEMA-4 cabinet enclo- but it flat load profile, Figure 2,threefold. is ultimately sought, sure, which accommodates all system components accessories, is to be only attainable if the power andandenergy capacities o designed in terms of the dimensions, and manufacturing process. the battery are unlimited. material, However, with limitations o Particular emphasis was placed on the power rating and energy capacity, the objectiv relevant safety codes and regulations as well as the weight profile for the becomes to minimize the error between the actual loa profile and the desiredand flatreconfigurable one.

The PMESS is scalable to meet the technical needs applications problem and load Apparently, anof other optimization is to b types. Increasing the number of inverter units or solved in order to minimize such an error. battery modules will consequently increase the power and/or energy ratings of the system.

System design — electrical

The PMESS is designed to be installed on a utility pole with or within the nearby proximity of a 50kVA poletop distribution transformer whose load curve will be smoothed. The power rating of the inverter, and the power and energy ratings of the battery are to be accordingly selected.

The minimum and maximum load values on the transformer are obtained from records, and the time

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Figure 2: Load profile over six time periods of th day.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 53 Figure 2: Load profile over six time periods of the day.

CONFERENCE IN PRINT The system, which is based on prismatic lithium-ion battery modules, aims at providing peak shaving and load profile smoothing services to a pole-top distribution transformer feeding residential loads.

PMESS and the pole. Further, the bracket attaching the cabinet to the pole and supporting its weight was also designed. Finally, an HVAC unit is required to help maintain the temperature inside the cabinet within permissible working limits accounting for weather extremes in Canada.

The major components of the PMESS are three inverters and three lithium-ion battery modules. System accessories include industrial computer, UPS, an internet switch, communication box for the inverters, disconnect switches, and connection cables. The dimensions, weights, and installation requirements of all system components and accessories are known beforehand. Such information is used to design the cabinet, Figure 3.

Next, weight and dimensions of the loaded cabinet are input to the process of bracket design. A structural analysis is conducted, accounting for ice load and wind pressure as expected in Toronto, to assure the bracket design is safe. Finally, the inside volume of the cabinet and the temperature extremes in Toronto are considered to design an HVAC unit that maintains the internal temperature between 0°C and 25°C. The inside walls of the cabinet are also thermally insulated.

System development

Components, peripherals, and accessories of the PMESS are assembled for functionality testing in the Schneider Electric Smart Grid Laboratory at Ryerson University. Communication channels are established between the host computer and system components such as the inverters, batteries, and smart meter.

Communications are carried out through the Modbus TCP/IP protocol implemented using the MATLAB Instrument Control Toolbox.

The three inverters have a common communication box to which the computer communicates. Each battery module has a battery management system which acquires cell voltage and temperature data, and manages cell voltage balancing. A master PLC controller receives battery information from the three BMSs, controls the main contactor of the battery pack, and communicates to the host computer.

The next step in system development is to assemble the PMESS unit inside its cabinet and conduct a series of factory acceptance tests including: • Communication tests • Connectivity to industrial computer • Battery cycling • Extreme loading • Scheduled operation • Anti-islanding test.

a

The PMESS unit is subsequently installed on top of a pole in a distribution network in Toronto. Due to standard requirements of pole installations by the hosting distribution utility, the PMESS is installed on an independent pole close to that of the transformer as shown in Figure 4.

The unit is commissioned by a third party commissioner who followed the test protocol recommended by the distribution utility. Field testing of the unit starts after it is successfully commissioned.

The control algorithm assures the unit is consistently scheduled for operation 24-hours ahead of time. Performance characteristics of the unit and distribution transformer are continuously measured every hour. Measurements include battery voltage, current and energy; grid voltage and THD; transformer power and power factor; inverter power; and line current THD. Every day at 11pm, the main control task is carried out as follows.

The measured load powers of today are averaged over the six time periods and used, along with day and season indicators, as inputs to the load forecasting module.

Accordingly, tomorrow’s load power values during the six time periods are predicted. The forecasted powers, as well as the present amount of available battery energy, are input to the battery scheduling module which solves an optimization problem.

Therefore, power exchange between the PMESS unit and hosting network during different time periods is optimally determined for the next 24 hours.

b

Figure 3: PMESS cabinet: (a) Front view, (b) Rear view.

54 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

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CONFERENCE IN PRINT

a

b

Figure 4: PMESS on the utility pole: (a) During installation, (b) After installation.

In other words, times for battery charging or discharging will be determined as well as the amount of power to draw from or send to the grid, respectively. At designated times, the algorithm sends operation commands to the inverters through the communication box in order to set the operation mode and power of the battery pack.

Also, at 11pm every day, a spreadsheet file containing the performance characteristics of the system for today is saved. Data files can be remotely retrieved from the industrial computer at any time. The control process continues following the exact same steps.

The whole process can be stopped by ending the execution of the MATLAB script.

The site-testing phase for the PMESS unit will continue till the end of December 2016. Testing results so far show evident effectiveness in achieving the initial objectives of the unit.

The load curve on the secondary of the distribution transformer is smoothed with obvious peak shaving. For this first prototype unit of the PMESS, a high capital cost is noticed. However, the cost of future copies should reduce for two reasons.

First, the increasing adoption of lithium-ion battery technology for utilityscale energy storage applications is anticipated to drive the prices of individual components down.

Second, upon the success of this first prototype unit, it is expected that the demand on the technology by power distribution utilities will increase.

Accordingly, mass production of the

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PMESS will start leading to significant reductions in the unit price.

The PMESS is scalable and reconfigurable to meet the technical needs of other applications and load types. Increasing the number of inverter units or battery modules will consequently increase the power and/or energy ratings of the system.

Therefore, other sizes of residential

load or other load types such as commercial and industrial can be served. In contrast, with minor modifications to the control algorithm, the PMESS can play different roles in distribution systems. Grid frequency support, voltage sag compensation, energy arbitrage, and autonomous micro-grid operation are a few possible applications in which the PMESS can be employed.

The adequate functionality of the PMESS requires control software composed of three major modules for communication, load forecasting, and optimization.

RESEARCH AUTHORS Mohamed Awadallah is a research fellow with the Centre for Urban Energy (CUE) at Ryerson University. He works on government and industry-funded research projects related to power distribution systems, with emphasis on renewable energies, energy storage and smart grid. Before joining CUE in July 2013, he was head of the Electrical Power Engineering Department, Yanbu Industrial College, Saudi Arabia.

Bala Venkatesh is founding academic director and head of the Ryerson Centre for Urban Energy. He is professor of electrical engineering at Ryerson and has also taught at the University of New Brunswick, Multimedia University (Malaysia), and Anna University (India).

Hari Subramaniam is an honorary fellow at the Ryerson Centre for Urban Energy. PMESS was a joint concept, plan and funding initiative between the three parties listed on the paper, arising from a trade mission to Brazil. He is a former CEO of eCamion, an energy storage company, and a former VP at General Electric Canada.

Energy Storage Journal â&#x20AC;˘ Summer 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ 55

CONFERENCE IN PRINT Venting excessive pressures that can develop within lithium batteries protects the user.

Protecting lithium batteries and battery packs from runaway thermal events The highly reactive chemistry of a lithium battery is carefully managed by design and control features within the individual cell and in the collection of individual cells that comprises a custom battery pack to fit an application.

Under extreme abuse conditions, it is possible for damaged or malfunctioning components, short circuits, or other events to start a thermal runaway process that develops a rapidly rising pressure, leading to an explosive release of that pressure from a cell having a durable metal enclosure.

To achieve the required power out-

put of an application, individual battery cells are combined into a single, turnkey energy pack such as those used in electric vehicles. If an individual cell within a pack is compromised and overheats or causes a fire, it can then cause a similar reaction in adjacent cells requiring that the battery pack to be vented.

To optimize application safety, lithium battery manufacturers provide protective design and control features as well as last resort venting mechanisms for each metallic cell, as well as for battery packs. Traditional pressure

A delicate balancing act is needed between the shrinking diameters of the burst area, the limitations of the specific raw materials utilized for the membrane, and the variations in designs required at low, medium and high pressures

Traditional pressure relief techniques used in legacy battery designs are significantly less reliable with next generation low mass / high energy lithium chemistry cells and battery packs. To meet the demands manufacturers have had to re-engineer the whole safety device and have been able to miniaturize the pressure relief or rupture disks to sizes as small as 1/8 of an inch.

56 â&#x20AC;˘ Energy Storage Journal â&#x20AC;˘ Summer 2017

relief techniques used in legacy battery designs, such as crimped seals or seams in the battery can that will open to relieve pressure, are much less reliable with next generation low mass/ high energy lithium chemistry cells and battery packs.

This has left battery manufacturers searching to provide more reliable, stable pressure relief technology at the low pressures demanded for low mass battery and battery pack products.

Interest in using battery technology alongside energy conservation and renewable resources has become so widespread that electric car sales and home back up power sales are soaring and are likely to fuel the future.

As battery manufacturers continue to innovate spurred by the growth in consumer demand, higher energy combined with lower mass is the guiding design principle for the next generation of lithium-ion cells.

Less visible applications will also comprise the mass deployment of next generation lithium-ion cell and battery pack technology. The use of lithium-based batteries is in industries where electric motors are used to lift and drop heavy objects, or where standby power is needed for critical applications, such as in medical suites and data centers.

The rechargeable capability of next generation lithium-ion cells allows energy consumed to lift, such as a shipping container, to be recovered when the container is dropped back to ground level.

Global demand is escalating rapidly, in particular due to new initiatives from the Chinese government that are driving the move toward electric vehicles as a national strategy and challenging the historic dominance of Japanese manufacturers in the lithium battery industry.

Energy being of strategic importance, this Asian lead is being increasingly balanced by a fast pace of de-

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CONFERENCE IN PRINT velopment in the North America and most recently in Europe.

Although battery cells and packs typically feature active and passive safety devices and protection circuitry to prevent or mitigate potential cell failures, the last resort is typically a mechanical safety vent that is intended to release the internal pressure of the cell or pack when a specified pressure is reached.

One of the most popular pressure relief devices for lower-pressure applications such as lithium batteries is the rupture disk. Also known as a pressure safety disk or burst diaphragm, the rupture disk is a passive pressure relief device long adopted by the oil, gas and chemical process industries to protect pressure vessels, tanks and other equipment from over-pressurization.

Rupture disks are available in various designs, sizes, shapes and set pressures and can be installed on cylindrical, button, prismatic, or pouch cell designs.

However, as battery cells become increasingly smaller, so must the rupture disks that protect them. This is driving the need for miniaturized rupture disks as small as 1/8” and challenging an industry in which products for many decades have been measured in inches.

“As pressure relief devices become increasingly miniaturized, the rupture disk industry is running squarely into design and raw material challenges that often require reengineering the product itself,” says Geoff Brazier, managing director, BS&B Safety Systems, Custom Engineered Products Division, a supplier of rupture disks

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As battery cells become increasingly smaller, so must the rupture disks that protect them. This is driving the need for miniaturized rupture disks as small as 1/8” and challenging an industry in which products for many decades have been measured in inches. that has been involved in the lithium battery industry for more than 30 years.

According to Brazier, this is due to a delicate balancing act between the shrinking diameters of the burst area, the limitations of the specific raw materials utilized for the membrane, and the variations in designs required at low, medium and high pressures.

Fortunately, the rupture disk manufacturer is embracing this challenge with novel structures and design elements that have led to a new category of miniaturized options from 1/8” to 1” at all ranges of pressure, with larger nominal sizes suited to battery pack applications that require a greater vent area.

The miniaturization challenge

Miniaturization of rupture disks presents unique challenges, best met utilizing reverse buckling technology.

Unlike traditional forward-acting disks where the load is applied to the concave side of a dome, in a reverse buckling design, the dome is inverted toward the source of the load. Reverse buckling disks are typically sturdier than forward-acting disks which are thin and difficult to handle, and as a result have greater longevity, accuracy and reliability over time.

“As burst diameters decrease dra-

matically it becomes challenging to design a reverse buckling disk that will reliably collapse through such small orifice sizes,” says Brazier. “In many ways it can be like trying to fit a camel through the eye of a needle.”

To resolve this issue, BS&B has created structures that control the reversal of the rupture disk to always collapse in a predictable manner.

This includes, for example, a hybrid shape that combines reverse buckling and forward bulging characteristics that are pre-collapsed. In this type of design, a line of weakness is typically placed into the rupture disk structure to define a specific opening flow area when the reverse type disk activates.

Small, nominal size rupture disks are sensitive to the detailed characteristics of the orifice through which they burst which requires close cooperation between the rupture disk manufacturer and the user to achieve the optimum mounting and installation arrangement.

“With small size pressure relief devices, the influence of every feature of both the rupture disk and its holder is amplified,” says Brazier.

For miniaturized products the rupture disk can be made from stainless steel, aluminium and nickel alloys to achieve compatibility with lithium battery operating conditions.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 57

EVENT REVIEW: NAATBATT 2017 NAATBATT 2017 Wigwam Resort, Phoenix, Arizona, US • March 13-16

An intelligent approach

NAATBatt’s annual conference has always been different — distinctive is probably a better word — from other conference meetings, proving once again that intellectual rigour and a dash of imagination can create an event that is more than a bean fest with a few rounds of golf.

What sets it apart from other conferences and industry trade shows is its unusual mix of a programme of discussions — many of which have never been aired at a conference level before — with a top-flight destination that attracts the most senior figures in US advanced batteries to meet and network.

Part of the regular schedule of the meetings is to spend time to focus on new innovations in battery technology that are expected to impact the market within the coming five years.

This year the programme included two new sessions.

The first was a workshop on special

58 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

intellectual property issues related to battery technology and perhaps the first to be aired at a major battery event.

The workshop, organized by Matt Rappaport of IP Checkups, Dan Abraham of MPEG LA and John Platt of Snell & Wilmer, examined ways that battery companies can use intellectual property laws more effectively to monetize their proprietary battery technology and stimulate innovation.

The workshop covered several topics. Representatives of the US and European patent offices outlined special factors that companies need to consider in seeking patent protection for energy storage technologies.

James Jessop of Hydro-Quebec discussed its experience in protecting and licensing its extensive portfolio of battery technology, including the original LFP technology developed by John Goodenough.

A panel also discussed the possibility of evaluating battery patent portfolios using Big Data analysis, which may open the door to more accurate valuation of battery companies in the

marketplace and greater access to capital.

The highlight of the IP workshop, in the view of some, was a brief but heated exchange between one presenter, who was offering services to protect battery companies from patent ‘trolls’, and several in the audience who felt that they were being unfairly being characterized as trolls by the presenter.

The upshots of the debate that followed were that who is a troll is largely in the eye of the beholder and that, whether you are a troll or not, it takes a lot of money to defend the validity of a battery-related patent against a determined challenger.

The second new aspect of the NAATBatt 2017 programme was a session called the Federal Battery Technology Licensing Forum. During the forum, NAATBatt asked seven national laboratories and the Army Research Laboratory to make presentations about the best battery-related technology in their current portfolio that are available for license to private companies.

Over the past several years, US taxpayers have contributed billions of dollars to the country’s national labs and other research institutions to develop technologies that will power electric vehicles and the energy needs of the defence establishment. Although advanced battery manufacturing projects in the United States have proved challenging, US research institutions continue to produce worldclass developments in advanced battery technology.

The Federal Battery Technology Licensing Forum was intended to help those institutions, and the taxpayers that fund them, monetize that research, by having its government owners display and license the technology to companies in the private sector. NAATBatt says it was aware of several discussions between laboratories and private sector companies that followed these presentations.

NAATBatt 2017 also included a half day of presentations about the state of several different sectors of the battery

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EVENT REVIEW: NAATBATT 2017 market. Analysts from Avicenne Energy, GTM Research, BYD, and DNVGL, among others, discussed the opportunities for battery manufacturers and integrators in maritime, light electric vehicles, electric buses, ESS, IoT, industrial batteries, and vehicleto-grid services.

The fourth annual Energy Storage Innovation Summit was also part of NAATBatt 2017.

This year’s summit included presentations by 10 companies, chosen by a jury selected by a committee of NAATBatt member firms, presenting battery technology that is marketready and available for licence or purchase by third parties.

While past summits have highlighted technology owned by startup companies, this year’s summit included, among others, a presentation

by General Motors, which is offering a number of its own battery-related technologies for licence or sale.

Another regular feature of NAATBatt annual meetings is Member Update Presentation sessions.

Each year each NAATBatt member firm has the right to speak for about six minutes at the annual meeting about anything it wants to talk about.

Generally, companies use this opportunity to make an ad for their goods and services. While listening to a series of six minutes ads may not sound particularly appealing, NAATBatt

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believes that these presentations are generally the most productive part of its annual meetings.

The fact is that most companies do not know what most other companies do in the industry do or what they are working on.

The Members Update Presentations provide unparalleled market intelligence and generate a surprising number of unexpected discussions and business deals. They remain the most popular part of the NAATBatt annual meeting programme.

Two other parts of the NAATBatt 2017 meetings deserve mention.

The first was a panel discussion among senior battery industry executives about the impact of new battery technologies on the market. The senior executive panellists came from companies representing a diverse set of technologies: CATL (lithium-ion), EnerSys (lead acid), UniEnergy Technologies (vanadium flow batteries), and ZAF Energy Systems (zinc-based batteries).

Each panellist expressed optimism about the opportunities for the technology his company represented. But it quickly became apparent that several of the purported opportunities were mutually exclusive. Several sectors of the battery industry will likely see two or more of these technologies battling head to head for dominance over the next few years.

The second notable panel discussion focused on extreme fast and inductive charging of electric vehicles. Many believe that widespread acceptance of electric vehicles will require that consumers be able to charge them at least as quickly and seamlessly as vehicles powered by internal combustion engines.

As one speaker pointed out, concern about vehicle range, which is what drives tremendous investment in improving battery energy density, is of less importance if that vehicle can be quickly and conveniently recharged.

The panel examined that state of extreme fast and inductive charging technology, including significant technical challenges to both. But it was evident from the discussion that many look to these technologies as ways to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and that investment is likely to continue flowing into them.

Finally, NAATBatt annual meetings include presentation of Lifetime Achievement Awards to individuals who have made outsized contributions to the business, policy or science

of electrochemical energy storage technologies over the course of a lifetime. NAATBatt 2017 presented three such awards.

The winners were Michael Thackeray, Khalil Amine and Rick Winter.

Thackeray and Amine were honoured for their contributions to the science of lithium-ion technology, with respect to which their work, including the development of NMC technology, has been prolific. Rick Winter, the COO of UniEnergy Technology, was honoured for his contributions to the business and the science of vanadium flow battery technology, of which he is generally recognized as being one of the fathers.

NAATBatt 2018 will be held on March 19-22, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country resort in San Antonio, Texas. Out of respect to the Texas venue, NAATBatt expects in 2018 to supplement its usual golf tournament on the day before the meeting with a shooting tournament.

Lock and load — reserve the dates!

Second life EV battery workshop this May NAATBatt International will host the first ever workshop on purposing and reusing electric vehicle (xEV) batteries at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on May 11.

Repurposing and reusing xEV batteries in non-vehicle, energy storage applications is gaining growing interest from automotive OEMs and electric drive supporters. Several factors are driving this interest and creating a market for second life xEV batteries.

The NAATBatt workshop on Repurposing and Reusing xEV Batteries will examine both the theory and practice of using batteries originally designed for vehicle use in non-vehicle applications.

The workshop will examine the economic, engineering, legal and regulatory issues involved in repurposing and reuse.

Major automakers, researchers and second use service providers will discuss their experience to date on a topic that is likely to have a major impact on the economics of vehicle electrification.

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 59

FORTHCOMING EVENTS Beijing hosts Battery China 2017, June 21-23

Battery China 2017 Beijing, China June 21-23, 2017 Battery China is one of the largest and most recognized state-level industry events, and is held once every two years. Since 1997, Battery China has been accompanied by the growth of China’s battery industry for 20 years.

Covering more than 20 countries and regions from China, the US, Ja-

pan, Korea, Germany, UK, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, and Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc., the last exhibition covered 30,000 square metres, and attracted more than 300 exhibitors worldwide.

Contact Ms Yan Tel: +86 10 87765620 Email: batteryfair@163.com www.bhoec.com/batterychina

EES North America

Power and Energy Conference and Exhibition Charlotte, USA June 26-30, 2017 ASME Power and Energy brings together ASME Power Conference, ASME Energy Sustainability Conference, ASME Energy Storage Forum, ASME Fuel Cell Conference, ASME Nuclear Forum and the colocated International Conference on Power Engineering (ICOPE). ASME Power and Energy focuses on power generation and energy sustainability and showcases industry best practices, technical advances, development trends, research, and business strategies, presented by a broad range of qualified professionals.

You’ll also gain access to our 2017 colocated events, TurboExpo, the mustattend event for turbo-machinery professionals and ICOPE, the International Conference on Power Engineering (cosponsored by ASME, JSME, and CSPE).

ICOPE is focused on both fundamental and applied topics in power engineering.

Contact www.asme.org/events/power-energy/register

The International Flow Battery Forum

San Francisco, USA • July 11-13, 2017 Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies, ees North America is the ideal platform for all stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market. It takes place in the epicenter of the US storage market: California.

Co-located with Intersolar North America, North America’s most-attended solar event, ees North America provides the best opportunity to explore energy storage systems in combination with PV and beyond. In

60 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

2016, more than 100 energy storage exhibitors and 18,244 visitors participated in the co-located events. ees North America is part of the ees global exhibition series. Together with ees Europe in Munich, and ees India in Mumbai, ees events are represented on three continents.

Contact Dorothea Eisenhardt Tel: +49 7231 58598-174 www.ees-northamerica.com

Manchester, UK June 27 - June 29

The 2017 IFBF meeting brings together all those interested in research, development, manufacturing, commercialization and deployment of flow batteries in a three-day conference which includes keynote presentations, oral presentations, panel discussions and poster sessions. We place an emphasis on creating networking opportunities including an evening reception and industry visit.

There will be an exhibition area inside the conference area for suppliers, manufacturers and developers to display their products and services.

Contact www.flowbatteryforum.com

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS Africa Solar + Energy Storage Congress and expo

The Battery Show

Nairobi, Kenya June 27 - June 28 Africa is among the strongest solar resources in the world. It also brings tremendous opportunities to the solar and energy storage industry.

The great market potential has encouraged Leader Group to launch the Africa Solar + Energy Storage Congress & Expo 2017 to be held in Nairobi, Kenya on June 27-28, 2017.

Participants such as governments, utilities, project developers, investors, energy storage products manufacturers, consulting firms and other related sectors are invited to get together to discuss opportunities, challenges and solutions for solar and energy storage development in the African market, especially Kenya, South Africa, Morocco,Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.

Contact www.africaenergystorage.com

6th European PEFC & Electrolyser Forum Lucerne, Switzerland July 4 - July 7 The 6th European PEFC & Electrolyser Forum will be a highlight of the year for those involved with HYDROGEN-, DIRECT ALCOHOL- and MICROBIAL FUEL CELLS as well as ELECTROLYSERS and linked HYDROGEN PROCESSING & PURIFICATION & STORAGE. The focus lies on science & engineering, materials & manufacturing, components & systems, design, testing & integration, applications, operation & combinations, and markets issues. The forum is exchange platform and bridge from materials & components to applications. It provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art access to practical Inventions and new competitive solutions. Therefore it brings together academia, industry (component manufacturers, OEMs, suppliers,…), decision makers and investors. In this major field of hydrogen fuel cells the forum has evolved into the leading European meeting place.

Novi Michigan USA • September 12-14 The Battery Show Exhibition & Conference is a showcase of advanced battery technology for electric & hybrid vehicles, utility & renewable energy support, portable electronics, medical technology, military and telecommunications.

Facts & Figures With more than seven years of exponential growth, The Battery Show is North America’s leading event for cutting-edge battery technology.

it takes a delight in opening a gate to meet the ability in the field, young researchers and potential speakers.

The conference also includes essential topics on technologies related to batteries and fuel cells, especially on what we accomplished so far and how we will succeed in the future. Our conference is going to deliver numerous keynote sessions, plenary speeches and poster

Here are some facts and figures from 2016: there were 6,936 attendees, 171 speakers, 28 countries and 535 exhibitors.

Contact Caroline Kirkman Email: caroline.kirkman@smartershows. com Tel: Europe: +44 1273 916300 Tel: US toll free: +1 855 436 8683 www.thebatteryshow.com

presentations by the eminent scientists and students in the field of batteries and fuel cells.

Through this we can achieve great knowledge in modern advancements of batteries and emphasize current challenges in battery and fuel cell technology.

Contact Email: batterytech@enggconferences.org www.batterytech.conferenceseries.com

Rome hosts the 2nd International Conference on Battery & Fuel Cell Technology in July

Contact www.EFCF.com

2nd International Conference on Battery & Fuel Cell Technology Rome, Italy July 27-28 Battery Tech 2017 will be an attractive moment to meet the people in the research field and development; therefore

www.energystoragejournal.com

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 61

FORTHCOMING EVENTS Battery Congress

Energy storage seminars from Shmuel De-Leon

Frankfurt, Germany September 12-13

2017/2018 Schedule

Location

Local Partner

Aug10-11

Indianapolis, USA

Enerdel

Aug 28-29

Ballerup, Denmark

UL

Nov 13-14

Madrid, Spain

Albufera

Jan 23-24, 2018

Oulu, Finland

Picodeon

Jan 29

Tutorial AABC, Mainz, Germany

Cambridge EnerTech

Feb 8-9

Appenzell, Switzerland

Wyon

Mar 12-13

Vimercate, Italy

Genport

Apr 23-25

Greenville, SC, USA

DreamWeaver

May

Wezep, Netherlands

Dr Ten

To provide a forum for, engineers, managers, scientists , academic researchers, and industry executives to exchange advances in battery technology and applications and management systems. This forum will address key topics and issues related to OEMs, suppliers (all tiers), component manufacturers, governmental and non-governmental agencies.

It also will provide a network to support educational research and publish technical findings in conference proceedings and technical magazines. This forum would provide a conference, exposition, and publication dedicated to the research integration of new battery technologies in vehicular and other energy system applications.

Contact Email: jacobd@gamcinc.org Tel: +1 734 997 9249 Web: https://gamcinc.com/conferences/ battery-congress

Solar Power International Energy Storage North America

Intersolar South America 2017

Las Vegas – USA September 12-15

San Diego, California August 8-10

São Paulo, Brazil August 22-24

Energy Storage North America (ESNA), the largest gathering of policy, technology and market leaders in energy storage, will hold its annual event in San Diego this August. Mirroring the growth and maturation of the storage industry at large, ESNA last year grew in its attendee numbers, expo floor space, and the number of organizations represented at its conference and expo.

More than 1,900 industry professionals attended ESNA 2016, hailing from more than 1,000 different organizations and 25 countries. The nearly 15,000-square-foot expo floor, the largest ever for Energy Storage North America, provided more than 100 exhibitors with an opportunity to showcase the latest software and hardware storage technologies, systems and services.

Senior executives from utilities, grid operators, investors and storage developers took part in panel sessions alongside elected officials and regulators to discuss the changing regulatory landscape, the process of valuing benefits of storage and the latest system deployments and assets, among other trending industry topics.

In total, last year’s ESNA conference featured nearly 150 speakers on 21 different panel sessions, six keynote addresses and eight in-depth workshops.

Intersolar South America takes place at the Expo Center Norte in São Paulo, Brazil on August 22-24, 2017 and has a focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production technologies, energy storage and solar thermal technologies.

With 11,500+ visitors, 1,500+ conference attendees and 180 exhibitors, Intersolar has become the most important platform for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service providers, investors and partners of the solar industry.

Solar Power International is powered by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA). SPI held its inaugural show in 2003 and was designed to serve and advance the solar energy industry by bringing together the people, products, and professional development opportunities that drive the solar industry and are forging its bright future.

This event focuses solely on creating an environment that fosters the exchange of ideas, knowledge and expertise for furthering solar energy development in the US. Unlike other solar conferences, all proceeds from SPI support the expansion of the solar energy industry through SEIA and SEPA’s year-round research and education activities, and

Contact Inga Otgon Email: iotgon@mdna.com Tel: +1 312 621-5820 www.esnaexpo.com

62 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

Contact Banu Bektas Email: bektas@solarpromotion.com Tel: +49 7231 58598-211 www.intersolar.net.br

São Paulo hosts Intersolar South America 2017 in August

Las Vegas hosts Solar Power International in September

www.energystoragejournal.com

FORTHCOMING EVENTS SEIA’s extensive advocacy efforts.

SPI’s primary mission is to deliver on the missions of both SEIA and SEPA in a way that strengthens the solar energy industry domestically and globally, through networking and education, and by creating an energetic and engaging marketplace to connect buyers and suppliers.

Contact Tel: +1 703 738 9460 www.solarpowerinternational.com

EVS30: 30th International Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition Stuttgart, Germany October 9 - October 11 EVS30 — Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exhibition, is the industry meeting point for the entire electric mobility industry. Manufacturers, users and decision-makers can get the latest picture of all forms of electric mobility in Stuttgart and discuss new trends and possible uses of electric power transmission.

Every 12 to 18 months, researchers, government representatives and industry experts from around the world gather for the latest update on all aspects of electric mobility. They discuss its technologies and components, such as battery and fuel cell drives as well as new trends. The event rotates between North America, Europe and Asia.

Contact www.messe-stuttgart.de/en/evs30/

Energy 2017

Birmingham, UK October 10 - October 12 Energy 2017 is the industry trade event dedicated to renewables, innovation and power solutions.

Uniting all the key business players in the industry such as architects, project/ energy managers, engineers and developers, this event provides the perfect platform to unite the energy sector and the wider interconnected industries.

Birmingham hosts Energy 2017 in October

www.energystoragejournal.com

Brazil International Renewable Energy Congress — BIREC Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 23 - October 25 Brazil International Renewable Energy Congress (BIREC) returns for its second year as Brazil’s leading strategy and investment renewable energy event. The content rich agenda provides the latest updates and in-depth insights into Brazil’s energy sector.

The only gathering of its kind, BIREC is the place Brazil’s renewable energy leaders come to do business and secure investment. The annual congress unites international and local stakeholders from government and policy to finance and solutions providers, bringing together all stages of the value chain to drive the country’s renewable energy industry.

Contact www.bireccongress.com

2nd Industrial On-Site Lithium-Ion Cell Production Technology Seminar Itzehoe, Germany October 23 - October 24 This seminar focuses on the industrial preparation of lithium ion pouch cells.

In practical modules, the cell assembly will be performed hands on by starting with the raw material and going up to the final cell and characterization.

The corresponding lecture program gives insights in the latest pouch cells technology trends on the material and on machinery as well as on processing side.

The battery training takes place on site at Custom Cells production facility and the Fraunhofer ISIT as Custom Cells R&D partner in north Germany.

Contact www.sdle.co.il

Lithium Battery Materials & Chemistries 2017 Arlington, USA October 31 - November 1 This conference will provide in-depth coverage on the chemistries, both current and next-generation, that are shaping the future of energy storage.

From novel electrode/electrolyte materials to higher-capacity cathode/anode structures, this conference will explore how to economically increase battery energy density.

Topics will include, but are not limited to: • Current & future lithium battery market overview • Most recent advancements in lithium-ion technology • Breakthroughs in next-generation lithium technologies • Improved battery materials • Nickel manganese cobalt cathodes • Silicon anodes • Novel electrolytes • Solid-state batteries • Commercialization Contact www.cambridgeenertech.com/lithiumbattery-materials-chemistries

Arlimgton hosts Lithium Battery Materials & Chemistries 2017 in October

Itzehoe, Germany hosts the 2nd Industrial On-Site Lithium-Ion Cell Production Technology Seminar inj October

Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017 • 63

FORTHCOMING EVENTS 2nd Annual ASEAN Solar+ Energy Storage Congress & Expo 2017

ees India

Manila, Philippines November 14 - November 15 2nd Annual ASEAN Solar+ Energy Storage Congress & Expo 2017 is the largest congress focusing on solar and energy storage market in ASEAN. Investors over the world are gradually realizing the potentials of energy storage market in ASEAN, especially Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.

Participants from governments, utilities, independent energy producers, energy storage products manufacturers, consulting companies, associate as well as other related sectors are invited to together discuss applications, opportunities and challenges for solar and energy storage development in ASEAN market.

Contact www.aseanenergystorage.com

Battery and Energy Storage 2017 Birmingham, UK November 28 - November 29

— from components and production to specific user application — is the ideal platform for all stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market. The focus at ees is on energy storage solutions suited to energy systems with increasing amounts of renewable energy sources attracting investors, utilities, installers, manufacturers and project developers from all over the world.

The huge economic growth in India and the strong engagement of the Indian government for energy security and renewable energy, the potential market for electrical energy storage in India is expected to be tremendous in the future.

With the exclusive location of the exhibition and conference in Mumbai, the financial and commercial capital of India, ees India will globally attract powerful buying power for electrical energy storage innovations.

Decarbonization, decentralization and vehicle electrification are the pillars of a low carbon future. But in a society powered by storage, how do you differentiate between a multitude of storage technologies whilst building the business case for investment? How do you traverse new and existing regulations, differentiate your offering in an increasingly homogenous market, and forge profitable partnerships?

Join us at Battery and Energy Storage 2017 — the UK’s leading event exploring the business case for battery and energy storage technologies for Electric Vehicles (EV), hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) and stationary storage applications.

The Battery and Energy Storage event will address the challenges of creating profitable and tangible business models, deciphering the regulatory landscape and understanding how to unlock new revenue streams.

Featuring a combination of industry best practice, interactive discussions, tailored content and networking opportunities, this two-day event will unite stakeholders from the automotive and energy industries in promoting both a more sustainable future, with clear roadmaps to successful outcomes.

Contact www.intersolar.in/en/home.html

Contact www.internetofbusiness.com/events/bess/

Mumbai, India • December 5 - December 7 ees India (electrical energy storage) is the major platform for storage technologies reshaping India’s energy sector and enhancing grid reliability ees is the industry hotspot for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and users of stationary and mobile electrical energy storage solutions.

Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies — from components and production to specific user application — ees™, a special exhibition at Intersolar India, is the ideal platform for all stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market.

Intersolar India will be hosting and highlighting the special exhibition „ees India“ to extend and round up electrical energy storage innovations and programs. ees India is the industry hotspot for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and users of stationary and mobile electrical energy storage solutions. Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies

64 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2017

www.energystoragejournal.com

The Battery and Energy Storage

CONFERENCE WATCH MONTHLY The definitive guide to battery energy storage conferences and meetings for the year ahead

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