Electric dreams become reality

Mark Patterson, Chairman and Interim CEO of Carbon Neutral Energy (CNE),

Scotland, addresses a series of questions regarding mobile battery storage solutions, and how these can supply and store green power behind the grid to prevent electricity blackouts.

Q. A recent study commissioned by the EU stated that innovative energy storage solutions will play an important role in ensuring the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid. What size is the market now?

With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) setting a mandate for a 40% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 and global governments committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement, clean, renewable energy sources are needed to help create a sustainable society. They must displace our current dependence on more problematic sources of power such as oil and natural gas, where there is increasingly negative sentiment and investment intentions moving more towards clean energy technologies. The trouble with such renewable power sources, such as onshore and offshore wind and solar, is that they might not be produced at the time when most needed – during periods of peak energy demand – and equally be wasted when not fully utilised. Such challenges require a new storage application such as lithium-ion batteries to enable renewable energy generation when required. There is significant demand worldwide for clean portable power and large scale storage solutions. Technology now exists and is proven which has allowed CNE to develop a range of energy storage solutions, giving users a different commercial model to switch to electrification. This also boasts an option to upgrade to use the latest and most cost-effective technology as it emerges, such as hydrogen.

Q. What systems are currently up and running across the UK to address the current inadequacy in the country’s power infrastructure?

It is encouraging to know that many of the early challenges faced by the energy storage industry are being overcome and a balance for commerciality vs technology demand is being met. There are several

projects planned for the UK for energy storage focusing on grid balancing and support of the inefficient grid infrastructure. With the drive in the UK to use only renewable power generation, there is no question that battery storage is hugely important to reaching that goal.

Co-location projects will likely be the future and provide the opportunity to build storage infrastructure alongside new renewable generation sites, such as wind and solar farms.

While CNE’s biggest competitors are in the more saturated space of grid-based static units, what the company is doing with high energy, robust, mobile solutions is new. It supports industry and society in adapting to the new era of global electrification. Rather than focus attention on large scale storage on-site, instead CNE has the ability and agility to not only store renewable power but to deliver that direct to the end user. This both reduces the strain on the national grid but also optimises power during peak times.

Q. Using a range of mobile, modular energy storage systems with large capacity battery storage, CNE is aiming to raise £300 million to exploit this opportunity. How is the energy transported from renewable sources to the portable storage systems?

CNE’s bespoke eGen-4 and eGen-5 mobile units can store power up to 5 MW and the unique design of the smaller static modules allows for robust road or sea transport from renewable power sources, which can also be combined to create mega storage banks.

Driven by electric vehicles which are not dissimilar looking to petrol tankers, the large container units can be easily moved and offloaded at site. Providing the time of green power transportation, this will help reduce the grid’s capacity, provide a crucial back-up supply, and support remote location when connecting to the grid can be costly and difficult. The module can be used as the power source on-site or as a delivery unit to support the supply of green power to the eGen range. Due to the unique modular pack arrangement, these can be customised to meet any size of customer power requirements at any location, potentially creating gigawatt storage systems.

The full range is fitted with the latest tracking technology utilising 4G/5G connectivity and smart analytical software, allowing CNE control rooms to logistically track and monitor the hardware and share daily reports on energy performance and consumption with customers. The company is also developing an innovative commercial software for simpler billing.

With a long-term agreement in place for the supply of green wind power for the north east of Scotland and working with several other green power suppliers throughout the UK, CNE can supply power at 30% less than current grid costs, thus allowing customers to re-sell the power to the end user at a reasonable rate.

Figure 1. CNE has developed a unique solution offering the supply and storage of green electric power, in a mobile and modular format, from 500 kW to gigawatts of storage.

Q. As the range of battery power capacity is currently from 1 MW to 5 MW, how is battery design keeping pace with different requirements?

While there are many developing technologies, CNE’s research points to lithium-iron phosphate (LiFePO4) as the preferred and best proven technology for energy storage. It is also the best option today in terms of cost, performance, long-term stability, safety, cycle life, and technology maturity. CNE’s range of portable storage solutions allows for future proofing of technology advances and the company will continue to evaluate up-and-coming technologies that could offer improved performance and cost-effectiveness.

There are several alternatives, hydrogen being an example, however, CNEs believe these technologies are still years away from commercialisation. Key to the company’s commercial model is offering the units on long-term lease with a management contract for five - 10 years. This helps its customers transition at a lower upfront cost. CNE can then scale up as its customers see the value of battery storage and demand grows.

Q. CNE is expanding in the US and looking to manufacture its portable power systems in Houston, Texas. Will there be any differences between the technologies required in the UK to those in the US?

In February this year, Texas experienced a major power crisis as a result of three severe storms sweeping across the US. It left 0.5 million Texans without power and drew much attention to the state’s lack of preparedness for such extreme weather conditions. Damages from the blackouts were estimated at US$195 billion, making this the costliest disaster in the state’s history.

CNE’s battery storage solution can prevent this happening in the future and it is a vital means of balancing the grid. Without storage, power emergencies such as those in Texas could occur again across the globe. With ongoing climate change, these events could become more frequent, so the company believes the time to act is now and is getting into the US market early. CNE’s vision is that its product range will help achieve greater efficiencies and build resilience into the grid.

The company is already seeing that the energy transition is accelerating rapidly in the US. The CNE USA products are

developed and manufactured by CNE UK in line with specific Underwriter Laboratories (UL) certifications, with current lead times of between nine and 12 months.

The plan is to leverage the business model and easy to install, robust technology to start manufacturing in Houston to better serve the US market. This will undoubtedly provide customer benefits and bring more green sector jobs to the area. The growth opportunities for both its UK and US businesses are endless, as more customers transition to clean, portable, large scale, renewable power storage.

Q. To avoid energy waste and meet stringent climate change targets there is clearly a massive global demand for this type of technology. How far, and in what timeframe, will this need to scale-up to ensure it is a viable and sustainable solution?

The time is now as mobile energy storage will play a huge part in the success and efficiency of global electrification. Plans are already well underway to rapidly scale-up the company’s UK and US services within the next two years.

For example, UK tax money is being wasted on constraint payments. This is part of a regulatory framework called ‘Connect & Manage’, which was introduced in the UK in 2010 to allow the development of electricity generation projects and their connection to the transmission system. However, as the National Grid is responsible to identify surges and shortages, and to therefore balance supply and demand accordingly, UK wind energy operators have asked to reduce output from generators to avoid damage caused by electricity grid congestion to the system. 2019 was the 10th year in which British wind farm companies have received constraint payments. In the last calendar year alone, more than £135 million has been spent to turn wind turbines off due to grid capacity. This is a very inefficient way of spending UK tax money.

With the design of the CNE range and its more astute commercial model, these constraint payments could be re-allocated to storage of renewable energy to bolster efficiency, add capacity, and reduce wastage.

Q. Investment in this technology is obviously vital with CNE aiming to raise £300 million to exploit this opportunity. Looking into the next decade, how far can this capital be used to transform and increase green electrification, reduce carbon emissions, and create jobs?

Over the next 10 years, CNE’s plan is to have more than 100 eGen assets within its rental fleet and thereby create more than 200 jobs. In doing so, this will help support the national grid infrastructure and allow for more renewable electricity generation to be installed.

For high polluting industries such as the marine sector, where very few ports offer electric power, many vessels run diesel generators while quay side. So, having access to renewable energy and portable power will allow ships to essentially plug in and turn off engines while at port, cutting carbon emissions, reducing fuel and running costs, and saving significant sums of CAPEX due to engine wear and tear.

Likewise, the same scenario is being welcomed by the construction industry where electric, rather than diesel machinery is now more readily available.

CNE’s eGen systems offer potential investors with sectorleading return on investment. The strong cash generation can be utilised to continue to build out the company’s fleet of assets and support the energy transition. Green power has made significant strides across the globe. However, it has been the lack of available and flexible storage and power generation solutions at site that is holding back its advance.

Figure 2. Bespoke mobile units can be used as the power source on-site or as a delivery unit to support the supply of green power to the eGen range.

Figure 3. The hybrid on and off-grid system is suitable for a variety of different applications with multiple industries such as marine and shipping, oil and gas, renewables, construction, technology, manufacturing, and agriculture.

Q. As the energy transition takes shape over the next three decades, what further R&D do you see is required to ensure green electricity storage and supply can be future-proofed but adaptable to ensure safety, cost efficiency, and sustainability?

There is no doubt, ongoing R&D will be required as technology and applications continue to change, whether this be battery capacity, hydrogen use, and even the design of CNE’s mobile units. Staying ahead of the curve is part of the reason the company has developed this very much in-demand technology, and its innovation will continue to be driven by the customers, and societal and environmental needs for safer and cleaner operations.