POWERING THE SMART GRID
Issue 29: Summer 2020
Keeping the lights on Energy storage’s vital role in the world recovery Future perspectives Positive industry news as conferences work to busy new timetable
V2G: the road ahead
UK carries out largest domestic trial in study to assess future viability
Inside Leclanché
Europe’s oldest battery firm makes moves to tap nascent EV fleet market www.energystoragejournal.com
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EDITORIAL Debbie Mason: debbie@energystoragejournal.com
Globalization is the panacea to solve the problems it created Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, fragilities in globalization and supply chains have been exposed.
more and more local products,” he says. “We can assume that a similar trend with business-to-business will follow.
European Union nations slammed borders shut and blocked exports of vital medical equipment to their own EU counterparts, even though it meant the countries they have been in a decades-long union with, had to go without.
“However,” he warns, “as far as our supply chain is concerned, we remain heavily dependent on Asian chemical suppliers. Although we had taken diversification initiatives prior to the crisis, there is still a long way to go before we can qualify European/local suppliers for some strategic raw materials.”
Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for an incentive scheme to promote ‘champion sectors’ to focus on advanced cell battery storage and solar PV manufacturing as part of the government’s ‘Self-Reliant India’ policy. This will, she says, reduce India’s reliance on imports of battery cells. The Japanese government in April offered $2.2 billion to Japanese companies in China so they could relocate to Japan, hardly improving relations between it and a neighbour with whom ties have been at best frosty over the decades. And in the US, 54% of Energy Storage Alliance members responding to a survey by the ESA said supply chain disruption was the reason for loss of income and jobs. “The pandemic has exposed the risks in some critical extended supply chains, most urgently for medical equipment,” says market analyst firm Wood Mackenzie in its report A Retreat from Globalization. “The longer the crisis lasts, the more governments and businesses will seek to source commodities, components and goods that are less distant and more secure.” OEMs have scrambled to find alternatives, the World Economic Forum says, such as shifting orders to secondary or tertiary suppliers or moving core business priorities back to their factories. But when it comes to raw materials, that isn’t always possible. Anil Srivastasa, CEO of Europe’s oldest battery maker, Leclanché, says it would be a good idea to change the way materials and other supplies are sourced. “On a business-to-consumer level, people are buying www.energystoragejournal.com
And this, really, is the point. We have gone too far down the globalist road to do a U-turn now. Nor should we. The World Bank says globalization has lifted a billion people out of poverty, and as countries trade more, the benefits trickle down to improve life for the poorest. The global demand for materials may have caused abuses — think cobalt being mined by children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But this vital element will boost the DRC’s economy — and when companies like LG Chem pledge to only buy cobalt from mines that are certified responsible, the situation is a win-win for everyone. Globalization created the need for the element and thus the abuse — but it has also solved it by bringing in standards that will keep the industry alive. Back to Covid-19, and there are signs that governments are on board with a global effort to find a vaccine. The most effective way to produce one would be for the world’s scientists to collaborate and allow worldwide distribution, and this seems to be the direction of travel. As soon as the first infected person stepped on a plane it was going to be tough to contain the virus because in today’s world of movement, the spread was inevitable. But despite the flaws, we need each other. And in the end, this virus will be defeated by the very thing that spread it in the first place. Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 1
Contents FEATURES
Energy Storage Journal | Issue 29 | Summer 2020
V2G TESTING IN THE UK
COVER STORY: COVID-19
LEAD AND THE GRID
16
26
34
THE V2G REVOLUTION: THE NEXUS OF POWER, CONSUMER AND GRID
POST-PANDEMIC CASE FOR STORAGE MORE COMPELLING THAN EVER
NEW USE FOR LEAD BATTERIES — TO SAVE EVS CHARGING FROM THE GRID
It all makes sense in theory, but it hasn’t happened yet. Its time to look at the first steps being taken in the UK to try to assess if vehicle-togrid’s potential could be a reality.
The global economy could in part be rescued after the coronavirus crisis if governments act on agency advice and inject vital stimuli into their sector.
A project in Missouri demonstrates how using lead batteries at petrol stations rather than the grid to recharge electric vehicles is an economical option.
ABOUT US
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
8
New agreement sets out to connect millions living in rural America
15
23
Avalon and RedT get closer to merging to form new flow battery firm Invinity
Leclanché’s CEO Anil Srivastava talks about the firm’s business plans and dealing with Covid-19
40
Diversified Communications snaps up world’s largest energy storage event
IN THIS ISSUE: 1 EDITORIAL: Despite its flaws, we need globalization more than ever | 3 PEOPLE: Latest people news from around the globe 5 NEWS: The inside track on the news that matters to the industry | 11 PROJECTS & INSTALLATIONS 14 RENEWABLES & STORAGE | 15 DEALS | 16 VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY: The first steps to making the potential a reality 23 LECLANCHÉ CEO ANIL SRIVASTAVA: Europe’s oldest battery maker powers up both arms of its business 26 COVER STORY: ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19: If governments get it right the International Energy Agency says energy storage could play a vital part in the world’s recovery. | 34 LEAD AND THE GRID: Rolling out lead batteries — to save EVs charging from the grid. | 40 DIVERSIFIED COMMUNICATIONS: The world’s largest energy storage event is rescheduled for January 42 FORTHCOMING EVENTS: ESJ sorts through the re-scheduled programme following major disruption caused by lockdown.
Energy Storage Journal — Business and market strategies for energy storage and smart grid technologies Publisher: Karen Hampton karen@energystoragejournal.com +44 7792 852 337 Editor-in-chief: Michael Halls, mike@energystoragejournal.com +44 7977 016 918
Let cool heads prevail
Editor: Debbie Mason | email: debbie@energystoragejournal.com | tel: +44 1 243 782 275 Advertising manager: Jade Beevor | email: jade@energystoragejournal.com | tel: +44 1 243 792 467 Reporter: Hillary Christie: hillary@batteriesinternational.com Finance: Juanita Anderson | email: juanita@batteriesinternational.com | tel: +44 7775 710 290 Subscriptions and admin manager: Claire Ronnie | Email: admin@energystoragejournal.com | tel: +44 1 243 782 275 Design: Antony Parselle | email: aparselledesign@me.com Reception: tel: +44 1 243 782 275 The contents of this publication are protected by copyright. No unauthorized translation or reproduction is permitted. Every effort has been made to ensure that all the information in this publication is correct, the publisher will accept no responsibility for any errors, or opinion expressed, or omissions, for any loss or damage, cosequential or otherwise, suffered as a result of any material published. Any warranty to the correctness and actuality of this publication cannot be assumed. © 2020 HHA Limited. UK company no: 09123491
The lead-lithium storage debate steps up a notch The new titan of lead The CEO interview
Next gen integrators
on, head-to-head
the ideal middle man
soon to a 2020 Ecoult’s UltraBattery, Anil Srivastava and • Coming 2 • Energy Storage Journal Summer smart grid near you, ready to take lithium Leclanché’s bid for market dominance
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PEOPLE NEWS
Craig Brunk leaves testing firm Bitrode Craig Brunk, the well known and popular vice president of sales and marketing at Bitrode, left the firm in February. He has relocated from St Louis in Missouri to be near his growing family based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Brunk told Energy Storage Journal that although he had enjoyed working for Bitrode, the growing needs of his children’s children made the relocation inevitable. “My family are very important to me and my wife and we want to play a useful role helping our children and grandchildren,” he said. “I enjoyed working for Bitrode, they are a world class company.” CEO Cyril Narishkin said: “he will be missed. He has been a pillar of our Bitrode community, setting an exam-
ple of ethics and hard work. Under his four years of leadership, Bitrode saw steady revenue growth and the establishment of a new and robust sales processes. “He also oversaw the hire and development of several new members of the sales and customer service teams.” He received an enormous tribute from his sales team and Eli Valencia, a regional sales manager, who said: “What Craig brought to this company was an ethos of leadership and ownership. Way before I thought I’d have the opportunity to work in sales, I’d see Craig occasionally out on the floor with his sleeves rolled up doing work in production when others wouldn’t. “Craig was someone who would
Six directors elected remotely for first time to US ESA board Six directors were elected to the US Energy Storage Association in the trade association’s 2020-2021 ballot, which for the first time had to be conducted remotely instead of at the conference that had been scheduled for Pittsburgh on April 8-10. It has been postponed until August 26-28, to be held in the same venue, the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The six new directors are: • Javier Cavada, CEO and president Highview Power, London • Kelli Joseph, director, Markets and Regulatory Policy, Clearway Energy Group, Washington DC • Jonathan Landy, director Renewable Business Development, Duke Energy (North Carolina) • Roger Lin, vice president, marketing, NEC Energy Solutions, Boston • Joel Newton, senior FERC counsel, NextEra Energy • Christopher Tilley, CEO and president, ENGIE Storage, San Francisco Four directors are stepping down. These are: Craig Horne,
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of Swinerton Renewable Energy; Zachary Kuznar, of Duke Energy; Juliana Mandell, of ENGIE Storage; and Charlie Pot, from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. The other nine directors remain the same. “We are grateful to our outgoing board members, who have served ESA through the extraordinary period of growth and change the
Craig Brunk
never ask you to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself. Leaders lead from the front, and that is what Craig did. By doing this, he fostered a level of respect and loyalty from his subordinates that I have never seen before in my career.” Although Brunk leaves the battery industry he remains linked to the power industry and has started work as a sales director for the Gund Company, based in Milwaukee. storage industry has experienced in the past few years,” said ESA CEO Kelly Speakes-Bakman. “We are equally excited to welcome the new leaders from across the storage value chain to our board. Each member represents a unique and valuable perspective to our leadership. “In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, their leadership will be more important than ever as we work to expand ESA’s influence, protect our industry and its employees and ultimately continue the rapid growth of the energy storage market.”
Javier Cavada
Kelli Joseph
Jonathan Landy
Roger Lin
Joel Newton
Christopher Tilley
Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 3
PEOPLE NEWS
Main becomes COO with Networked Energy Services Jonathan Main became the new chief operations officer at Networked Energy Services, the global international smart grid provider, on February 4. He has more than 25 years’ experience in industries including energy and automotive, and joined Networked Energy Services from TMD Friction, where he was an executive director.
Jonathan Main
American Manganese appoints Meseldzija to board of directors Chief technical officer Zarko Meseldzija has joined the Canadian firm’s board on March 25, as an expert in lithium battery recycling processes. He also owns an independent consulting firm focused on the life cycle of the lithium battery supply chain, including recycling critical battery metals.
Zarko Meseldzija
Anesco hires CEO and optimization director, both from Centrica Mark Futyan joined Anesco as CEO on February 27, replacing Kevin Mouatt, who stepped down at the end of March after working together to ensure a smooth change of leadership. Futyan came from Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, where he was director of Distributed Power Systems. Two months later, on April 22, Alan Smallwood, a former colleague of
Mark Futyan
Futyan’s at Centrica, joined Anseco to become optimization director. He will be responsible for developing Anesco’s thirdparty market optimization service following his position at Centrica as director of UK power markets. He also looked after Centrica’s battery storage portfolio. Anesco says it has a portfolio of 1GW of energy storage assets that it currently manages in the UK.
Alan Smallwood
4 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
RWE Power names next CEO more than a year ahead of start date German power utility RWE named Markus Krebber CEO on April 28 – but he will not replace current head Rolf Martin Schmitz until July 1, 2021. Krebber joined RWE in 2012 and has been CTO since 2016. “It was important to the supervisory board to have a robust succession plan in place early on,” said chairman of the board Werner Brandt.
Markus Krebber
Leeward appoints Doswell as independent director US firm Leeward Renewable Energy said on February 4 it had brought Mary Doswell on to its board of directors. Doswell has worked in the energy industry for several decades, latterly with Dominion Resources, where she was senior vice-president. She also founded and is CEO of her own energy technology start-up consultancy business.
Mary Doswell
Gilman sworn in as public utilities commissioner in Colorado Megan Gilman resigned from the Holy Cross Energy board of directors to take up her position as public utilities commissioner in the US state of Colorado on March 6. At Holy Cross, Gilman was involved in rate analysis and strategy, large power supply chances and approving customer-facing programmes and offerings.
Megan Gilman
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NEWS
Schmid finalizes joint venture to build giant VRFB in Saudi Arabia German technology group Schmid on May 6 finalized a joint venture with Nusaned Investment, owned by Saudi Arabian chemical manufacturing firm SABIC, to manufacture 3GWh of vanadium redox flow batteries in the kingdom. Over the next two months, the Riwaq Industrial Development Company will also join the JV, which has been named Everflow. According to SABIC, the joint venture aims to set up a Gigawatt-scale manufacturing facility in Dammam 3rd Industrial City to produce energy storage systems to pair with utility-scale re-
newables installations. The VRFB systems will also provide back-up for telecoms towers, mines, remote cities and of-grid locations, along with grid integration and the establishment of mini grids. “As per the new energy mix announces this year, Saudi Arabia will aim to install 57.5GW of renewable capacity in the kingdom by 2030,” says SABIC. “Utility-scale energy storage systems will be critical to ensure that the new renewable capacity is stabilized and connected reliably to the grid. The kingdom could also leverage this
technology in upcoming mega projects.” Schmid, which has 1,000 employees around the world, has a foothold in a range of different technologies and chemicals, from PV to automation to laser and plasma technologies, printing and energy storage, in which its main focus is va-
Form Energy to start longest duration energy storage project Form Energy announced on May 11 it had signed a contract to deploy a 1MW/150MWh pilot project — the longest duration energy storage of its kind and with the potential to be a game-changer for the electrical industry — to be located in Cambridge, Minnesota in the US. Form Energy says it will use an unspecified “aqueous air battery system” to provide the duration. Typical lithium ion battery storage systems provide two to
four hours of storage compared to Form’s 150 hours of storage. “Long-duration energy storage solutions will play an entirely different role in a clean electricity system than the conventional battery storage systems being deployed at scale today,” says Jesse Jenkins, an assistant professor at Princeton University in the US. “A true low-cost, longduration energy storage solution that can sustain output for days, would fill
gaps in wind and solar energy production that would otherwise require firing up a fossil-fuelled power plant. A technology like that could make a reliable, affordable 100% renewable electricity system a real possibility.” “This duration allows for a fundamentally new reliability function to be provided to the grid from storage, one historically only available from thermal generation resources,” says a Form Energy spokesperson. “Our aqueous air bat-
Saft launches digital remote monitoring system for nickel batteries French battery maker Saft in March launched a digital remote monitoring system to allow battery fleet operators to monitor scattered and isolated nickel batteries from a distance. Its product, IntelliConnect, uses proprietary algorithms that display real-time status of the battery condition based on temperature, current,
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voltage and electrolyte level, Saft says. It means operators can save on site visits and only replace batteries when needed, rather than as part of a routine. Data is collected, stored and analyzed in a secure Microsoft Azure cloud, with the monitoring device accessible using three modes of connection. Saft marketing director
Olivier Amiel said: “The solution helps customers plan their maintenance activities more efficiently and maximize the lifetime of their batteries.” The company can also offer advice on the basis of the data collected. Saft has also launched an Uptimax system, which can be used by people who want switch from lead batteries to nickel.
nadium redox flow batteries. It has taken a year since the JV was signed and announced in May 2019 to be awarded all the necessary approvals and satisfy closing conditions. Now the JV has been given the go-ahead, production should begin next year, says SABIC. tery system leverages some of the safest, cheapest, most abundant materials on the planet and offers a clear path to transformationally low-cost, long-duration energy storage.” This system will be the first commercial deployment of Form Energy’s proprietary long-duration energy storage system. “Commercially viable long-duration storage could increase reliability by ensuring that the power generated by renewable energy is available at all hours,” says Great River Energy chief power supply officer Jon Brekke. “Such storage could be particularly important during extreme weather conditions that last several days. Long-duration storage also provides an excellent hedge against volatile energy prices.” Form Energy is a Massachusetts-based company, founded in 2017, developing low-cost, long-duration energy storage for the grid. Great River Energy is Minnesota’s second largest electric utility and the fifth largest generation and transmission cooperative in the US.
Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 5
NEWS
Hawaiian Electric to host ‘virtual meetings’ to approve five 258MW/1,378MWh battery projects In what is becoming the new normal way of carrying out discussions, Hawaiian Electric said on March 27 it would host virtual community meetings to seek public approval for five proposed battery energy storage systems on three
of the islands belonging to the archipelago. Five projects have been proposed on the islands of O’ahu, Maui and Hawaii, including two on O’ahu and two on Hawaii. On O’ahu, the two projects — a 135MW/810MWh
system at Kahe Power Plant and a 65MW/390MWh system on industrial land near Kalaeloa — would support the planned retirement of a 180MW coalfired power plant, which is due to close in 2022. The Hawaii island projects include a 6MW/6MWh BESS in Puna and a 12MW/12MWh BESS at Keahole Power Plant. On Maui, a 40MW/160MWh BESS project, near the central Maui landfill, would enable the Kahului Power Plant to be disabled in 2024. All of the projects would be built by the utility itself, subject to approval under the RFP (request for proposal) guidelines in
Five key grid trends for energy in 2020, says Wood Mackenzie Over the next decade, traditional fuel-based generation will shrink as a proportion of the power mix. This will increase the flexibility needs of utility and power markets, according to market analysts at Wood Mackenzie. Additional capabilities will be needed to solve the increasing number of grid-balancing challenges associated with a more intermittent and renewable generation fleet. The imperative to identify and implement these solutions will lead the industry to continue to experiment with innovative market reforms to unlock the growing and as-yet-unrealised flexibility potential of distributed energy resources (DERs). Efforts to integrate these
resources will lead to the creation of new revenue opportunities via wholesale and distribution value streams during the decade. According to Ben Kellison, Wood Mackenzie research director, and Elta Kolo, research manager says the biggest trends to watch in the global grid edge in 2020 and beyond are these: • Regulatory reform • Evolution of market models • Grid edge investment to complement electrification • Grid-balancing will increasingly rely on flexible resources • De-risking investments so the DER market can scale Kolo said: “Today, the
6 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
US power system alone has more than 50 gigawatts of behind-the-meter flexible resources at its disposal from DERs enrolled in demand response programs. “Initially, flexible volume will be attained by dynamically leveraging what is already integrated into the grid. Resources already enrolled in existing demand response programs will be the lowest-hanging fruit. Flexibility portfolios will scale with resources situated on either side of the meter.” Regulations governing how DERs are compensated for capacity and energy services are trending away from simple, fixed, timeagnostic rates, such as net energy metering and volumetric charges. According to Wood
the state issued in August 2019. “We know the community is dealing with a lot right now because of the pandemic, and there is uncertainty over how long this will last,” said Hawaiian Electric director of generation project development Jack Shriver. “But these potential projects are under a compressed schedule for permitting and construction. We want to give our communities an early opportunity to provide their feedback on our self-build proposals.” The virtual meetings will be held on April 14 and 15 and participants can register on the day to join them online. Mackenzie, this shift will increase the exposure of DERs to local power market and emerging distribution grid market constructs that dynamically determine the value of energy, capacity and ancillary services. “In the US, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is pushing regional market operators to formalise market designs that are inclusive of DERs. FERC has mandated operators under its jurisdiction to survey interconnection practices within their footprints and assess the economic benefits of ensuring individual resources and aggregations are on an equal footing with traditional system-balancing resources. “This FERC order will shape DER participation in markets in the 2020s and will join Orders 745 and 841 as the most significant DER regulations of the last decade,” said Kolo.
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NEWS
New agreement sets out to connect millions living in rural America
More than 50 million residents in rural America could eventually be connected to a virtual power plant under an agreement with the National Rural Telecommunications Council and flexibility management software designer AutoGrid, signed on April 15. NRTC is a cooperative that has more than 1,500 rural utility and affiliate members in 48 states in the US. By signing up to the Au-
toGrid Flex DERMS (distributed energy resource management systems) platform, its members’ customers will be able to connect battery storage systems, plug-in electric vehicles, smart home devices like solar panels and water heaters, and communications systems to one centrally controlled AutoGrid management system. AutoGrid can then balance supply and demand and manage peak load reduction
Encell’s nickel-iron battery production starts operating Encell, a nickel iron battery start-up firm, said in early March the relocation of its factory had been completed, structural changes made and the first automated coating line was in operation with deliveries anticipated for the first week of April. The coating line is a pilot line that will increase the volumes of batteries manufactured. The company aims to make the complete manufacturing process fully automated at some point. The firm, located in Alachua, Florida, says its fused iron battery is capable of 15,000 full 80% depth of discharge cycles and requires minimal maintenance to reach an estimated 20-
year life span. The battery can withstand abuse (overcharge, over-discharge, and short-circuiting) and has an operating temperature range between -30°C to 80°C. Encell says its product is notably cheaper in levelized cost of storage (LCOS) than lithium ion and lead acid batteries. Plans to take the nickel iron chemistry — which Thomas Edison famously called ‘far superior to lead’ — to greater production levels has taken a while. Encell was founded in 2006 but took time to modify and patent a nickel iron battery, which it calls ‘fused iron’. Encell’s first commercial batteries were made in 2014.
8 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
automatically. “AutoGrid’s Bring Your Own Things programme communicates with devices by the Internet of Things vendors, including Google/ Nest, Honeywell, Ecobee, Schneider Electric, Emerson, ChargePoint, Sonnen and several other popular brands,” says NRTC. “The partnership with AutoGrid will enable load shifting, co-incidental peak management, integration of renewable energy technologies and other forms of AI-based analytics and optimization. The end result for utilities and their customers will be lower costs, higher reliability and increased use of clean energy.” “The transformation to a more decentralized, flexible grid must take into account every part of the country, and this agreement with NRTC represents a huge swath of
this needed transformation,” said AutoGrid founder and CEO, Amit Narayan. “AutoGrid’s AI-powered real-time optimization and controls platform will empower NRTC member utilities with the choice and flexibility to connect and manage a wide range of grid-edge devices while participating in grid services programmes to save money.” The first utility to sign up for the AutoGrid platform was Poudre Valley REA (Rural Electric Association) in Colorado. “While we have already provided renewable energy options and energy-saving programmes, we were in need of a programme that encompassed more than one technology for our members,” said David White, vice-president of member and government relations with Poudre Valley REA.
Koolen Industries’ new smart grid to specialize in large-scale energy storage Dutch energy conglomerate Koolen Industries announced on February 6 the launch of Smart Grid, a company spun off from its lithium battery designer and producer subsidiary Super B, in response to demand for large-scale energy storage. Super B and Koolen Industries have invested more than €5 million ($5.4 million) in the smart grid concept to date, and will share resources and expertise in energy management, energy conversion and systems engineering and integration. The Smart Grid company will create complex software systems to link up and manage multiple batteries.
“Smart Grid will create systems to help store energy from renewable sources on a large scale, providing power in periods of intermittence,” said CEO Kees Koolen. The storage systems link multiple batteries and are managed by smart software. The company says low-cost scalable systems will be offered throughout the product range. “We will specialize in large-scale stationary and mobile applications that offer storage capacity, with relatively short delivery times,” said Koolen. “Storage systems are a vital part of the energy transition, as they link energy generation with energy consumption.”
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NEWS
Powin Energy selects CATL lithium batteries for new BESSs Oregon, US-based Powin Energy, which builds scalable battery energy storage systems, has launched three storage systems using Chinese lithium battery giant CATL’s battery cells, the company announced on April 14. The three systems — Powin’s Stack 225, The Stack 230 and The Stack 230P — have all been built around CATL’s large form factor cells, and can be used for any application, from behind the meter to microgrid to utility-scale front of meter. The Stack 225 product is specifically for two-hour duration systems, the 230P for shorter duration, such as frequency regulation and ancillary services, and the 230
provides a guaranteed 20year once daily full cycle. “With its 20-year performance guarantee the Stack 230 in particular presents an exciting new and affordable option for utilities and IPPs looking to pair storage
with new or existing solar projects,” said Powin Energy president Geoff Brown. “We aim to accelerate the modernization of the electric grid by increasing the value of renewable generation assets with long-duration, af-
fordable and high-quality energy storage systems.” Powin says it has 600MWh of orders for the three products on its books, having already installed or delivered more than 250MWh of battery projects, it says.
Virginia sets largest energy storage target for a US state so far Virginia has become the latest US state to set energy storage targets — in its case, 3,100MW by 2035, US Energy Storage Association CEO Kelly SpeakesBackman said on April 13. “Today marks a new record for the US energy storage and clean energy industries,” she said. “Governor Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act into law, to support the state’s transition to 100% clean energy. This is a significant milestone — it’s the largest of any state in the nation. “Grid batteries, new pumped hydro and other storage technologies are critical to a self-resilient, efficient, sustainable and affordable electric grid.” The other six states with energy storage targets are New York, New Jersey, California, Nevada, Massa-
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chusetts and Oregon. In Virginia, at least 35% of the storage capacity must be operated by, or acquired from, third parties, which means the Virginia Clean Economy Act has created ‘a healthy competitive landscape to make the in-state storage industry more robust’, said SpeakesBackman.
“Today marks a new record for the US energy storage and clean energy industries” In the first quarter of 2019, the US recorded its strongest growth ever for energy storage installations, with 46% of it in behindthe-meter systems.
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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 9
NEWS Jena Batteries and BASF develop new power storage technology for flow batteries JenaBatteries and BASF are working together to produce a redox flow battery technology with organic materials in what would be the world’s first commercially available technology of the kind, they announced on February 6. German chemical giant BASF will supply one of two electrolytes based on an amine — an organic compound derived from ammonia — that the company can produce on an industrial scale. JenaBatteries, a German start-up specializing in metal-free stationary energy storage, will market the first redox flow battery in 2020. “Our partnership with BASF provides us with the knowledge and resources needed to produce electricity storage technology that is cost effective compared with our competitors,” said JenaBatteries managing director Olaf Conrad. Applications of this new technology are particularly suited to stationary storage from renewable sources and for stabilizing conventional transmission grids. “This is good news for flow batteries — it shows that long duration energy storage has market value and is certainly an area of great business opportunity,” said Anthony Price, principal at battery consultancy Swanbarton. Market analyst ReportsnReports.com forecasts redox flow batteries will account for $370 million in installations by 2025, more than doubling its 2018 value of $130 million, with North America and Asia-Pacific consuming more than 80% of capacity.
Long Island issues RFI explicitly open to all battery chemistries The Long Island Power Authority — better known as PSEG Long Island — in New York City is seeking energy storage of up to 200MW as its contribution towards the New York State’s goal of installing 1,500MW by 2025 and 3,000MW by 2030, the authority announced in a Request for Information published on March 3. Final responses for the RFI, which is a tool for gathering input from energy storage companies, must be submitted by April 15. A Request for Proposal will then be issued later in the year, after the power authority has gained a better understanding of the storage technologies that could bid. It is explicit that all battery technologies will be considered. “The RFI notes that PSEG Long Is-
land is interested in learning if any new energy storage technologies are available in the market that can provide value to its customers,” says the American Public Power Association, a US trade body. “By allowing proposals to include any energy storage technology, PSEG Long Island recognizes that this has impacts on its evaluation criteria, as for example round-trip efficiencies can vary greatly between different technologies. Therefore, PSEG Long Island contemplates not imposing a minimum round-trip efficiency requirement in the RFP. “There are likely to be other impacts on evaluation criteria as a result of allowing submittals using all types Long Island: More than just iced teas
of energy storage technologies.” Energy storage targets are gradually being set all over the US, with Nevada proposing to set a 1,000MW target by the end of 2030, to be reached with gradual increments over the years. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute lists the targets by US state as follows: • Massachusetts: 1,000MWh by the end of 2025 • New York: 1,500MW by 2025 • California: 1.825MW by 2025 • Oregon: 5MWh by 2020 • New Jersey: 2,000MW by 2030 • Arizona: 3,000MW by 2030. Market analysis firm Wood Mackenzie predicts total deployed MWh will be 14 times the size it is now within five years.
Australian Energy reforms to enable more grid-scale storage projects Legislation to fast track priority renewable energy projects such as grid-scale batteries will introduced in the state of Victoria ‘to improve the reliability of Victoria’s energy supply’, the Labour government announced on February 18. Amendments to the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 will give the state power to override outdated national regulations and focus on projects ‘that deliver clear benefits to consumers, while increasing our capacity to import electricity during periods of peak demand’. In consultation with the
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Australian energy market operator (AEMO), the government plans to increase capacity to import electricity during peak demand and improve the reliability of Victoria’s energy supply. Australia’s national energy network has been severely tested in recent months, with bush fires and severe weather bringing down transmission systems and prompting unprecedented demand for electricity. Since 2014, more than 1,200MW of renewable energy has been brought online, with more than 2,600MW under construction, the government says.
“The government is also putting a power station on the roofs of Victorians through the Solar Homes program, which will see solar panels, solar hot water or solar batteries rolled out to 770,000 Victorian households over the next 10 years,” the government said. Lily Ambrosio, minister for energy, environment and climate change, said: “These reforms will help keep our energy system resilient as we face hotter summers, longer bushfire seasons, and increasingly unreliable coal powered generators.”
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NEWS — PROJECTS & INSTALLATIONS
Tesla applies to Ofgem to generate electricity in the UK Tesla Motors on April 29 applied to the UK Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (Ofgem) for a licence in the UK to generate electricity. The application, which simply requests a licence ‘authorizing it to generate electricity in the area specified in Schedule 1 (Great Britain, the territorial sea adjacent to Great Britain or in a Renewable Energy Zone) for the purpose of giving a supply to any premises or enabling a supply to be so given’, was signed by Evan Rice, sales director, Energy Products, EMEA.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment about the application, but media reports have suggested the company’s Autobidder software could be instrumental in the company’s proposal. “Autobidder provides independent power producers, utilities and capital
partners the ability to autonomously monetize battery assets,” the Tesla website says. “Autobidder is a real-time trading and control platform that provides value-based asset management and portfolio optimization, enabling owners and operators to configure
operational strategies that maximize revenue according to their business objectives and risk preferences.” Best known for its electric vehicles, Tesla already has a number of utility-scale projects under its belt, as well as residential storage systems and microgrids.
Microgrid controllers integrate generating sources and storage in ‘cyclone city’ Horizon Power, the Western Australia power utility, announced on February 18 that it had commissioned a demonstration project that could form a template for integrating various generating sources and energy storage for future deployment in the remote regions of the
country. The project, at the coastal town of Onslow — population 848 and also known as Cyclone City — aims to integrate a solar farm and a utility scale battery system with a gas-fired power station. This is coordinated by a microgrid controller from
PXiSE Energy Solutions. Horizon Power plans to connect traditional and renewable power resources by installing a 1MW solar farm and 1MW of battery storage to the existing 8MW natural gas and 1MW diesel generators. With a service territory
Harmony Energy gets green light for 49.5MW storage project for National Grid in Salisbury Harmony Energy, the UK battery storage supplier, said on March 24 it had been given planning permission to install a 49.5MW energy storage system using lithium ion batteries to provide balancing services to the National Grid in Salisbury. The installation is the latest in a series of utility-scale projects given the go-ahead by UK planners, with Harmony listing up to 700MW of battery storage projects
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in operation or agreed. “This scheme will connect to the distribution network at 132kV, allowing more intermittent renewable energy from wind and solar projects to be installed on the grid,” said director Pete Grogan. “We are entering a critical period for the future of the UK’s energy supply. Coal-fired power will be phased out by 2025 and with strict targets to decarbonize our system, utility-scale energy storage systems
are key to maintaining security, stability and flexibility.” “We hope the government classes it as an essential service, but we don’t have any confirmation and as we won’t start the build for another six months we simply do not know what will happen,” said CEO Peter Kavanagh. “The issue we many well face is supply chain issues, where global factories aren’t able to operate.”
of more than 2.3 million square kilometres, and a customer base of only 47,000, Horizon has the largest service territory with the fewest number of customers in the world. The microgrid controller uses data from connected energy assets to optimize renewable energy output and power quality. Lower operating costs are expected, as solar power displaces diesel generation. “The work under way in Onslow was a significant part of the state’s renewable energy transformation, building both Western Australian capability and more renewable-friendly systems for their regional communities,” said Stephanie Unwin, the chief executive at Horizon Power. “The microgrid management technology is an amazing piece of technology that is new to this state and allows for the careful management of the various energy sources in the town.”
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NEWS — PROJECTS & INSTALLATIONS NYSERDA agrees 20MW storage project for US town of Ulster For the record, Lincoln Park, a subsidiary of GlidePath Power Solutions, announced in December it had signed a contract with NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) to install a 20MW storage project in the town of Ulster. The project will replace previously planned projects that would have used fossil fuels to generate power for the local community, the announcement said. “Advancing energy storage installations across the state enables more renewables to be integrated into our electric grid,” said president and CEO Alicia Barton. “We will continue to forge partnerships with stakeholders such as GlidePath to further grow the rapidly expanding energy storage sector and our green economy.” Originally proposed in 2018, the design of the facility included a natural gas-powered peaking plant, but after concerns were raised in the community GlidePath announced plans to install a battery instead. NYSERDA handed over $8.8 million under its market Acceleration Bridge Incentive Program, which provides incentives for bulk and retail storage projects. This is part of a $405 million energy storage investment in the state to help accelerate industry growth and cut energy storage costs. The New York Power Authority in December also committed $250 million for grid-scale energy storage projects.
300MW/1,200MWh of utility-scale battery storage planned for New York State US asset management firm Ares Management Corporation and Dimension Renewable Energy will work on a portfolio of more than 300MW/1,200MWh of utility-scale battery storage in New York State, the firms announced on February 4. Dimension Renewable Energy has been developing projects around the world for more than 10 years, and says it has financed more than 1,000MW of solar
projects in the US alone. “This transaction will provide our investors with access to an attractive growth opportunity in the utility-scale battery storage sector,” said Keith Derman, partner and co-head of Ares Infrastructure and Power, without saying what particular battery technologies would be employed. “We are witnessing a historic transformation of the US energy industry. Projects like these demonstrate that
battery storage is not only an enabling technology for the continued growth of renewables, but also an investable sector in their own right.” The portfolio is the third such investment for Ares Infrastructure and Power, adding to more than 60 investments in the climate infrastructure market, which the firm says stands at more than $2 billion of invested capital. Dimension Renewable Energy was founded in 2018, and since then it has developed more than 200MW and 1GWh of solar + storage projects throughout the US. Construction of Dimension’s first series of solar and solar + storage projects in New York and battery energy storage systems in California will begin this year.
Wärtsilä to supply Pivot Power with grid scale battery storage for EV charging Pivot Power, the EV battery and charging infrastructure start-up bought by EDF Renewables in November 2019, has placed orders with Finnish technology company Wärtsilä to install two 50MW batteries for EV charging in the UK. The move will alleviate some of the pressure on the grid with the demand expected for EV charging by providing balancing services for a transmissionconnected battery storage network. The two projects, at Cowley in Oxford and Kemsley in Kent, are expected to be fully operational before the end of this year and will be supported by Wärtsilä under 10-year service agree-
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ments with flexible performance guarantees. The two 50MW lithiumion batteries will be the first projects completed as part of Pivot Power’s programme to develop, own and operate up to 2GW of grid-scale energy storage and high-volume power connections directly connected to the UK high-voltage transmission system. The firm says it will provide flexible capacity and reliability to support increased renewable energy generation and EV charging infrastructure. “These Wärtsilä energy storage systems allow us to harness cutting-edge technology to future-proof our investments in a changing
energy market, supporting our long-term goal to reduce the UK’s carbon footprint and bring us closer to net zero,” said Adrien Lebrun, Pivot Power’s engineering director. The systems are based on Wärtsilä’s energy management software platform GEMS and its GridSolv modular storage product, which supports stand-alone energy storage deployments and integrated hybrids with thermal or renewable generation assets. The contract is the first since EDF Renewables bought Pivot Power. EDF says its goal is to provide power for 600,000 electric vehicles and 75,000 charging points
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NEWS — PROJECTS & INSTALLATIONS
Total wins bid to install largest lithium battery project in France French energy firm Total will install a €15 million ($16.5 million) lithium battery in the Flandres Center in Dunkirk’s port district, the firm announced in March. It will be used to stabilize the power grid as part of government policy “to develop electrical capacity through capacity mechanisms”, according to Total. “The system will be based on Saft’s Intensium Max 20 high-energy product and will comprise 11 integrated 2.3MWh containers, designed and manufactured at Saft’s production site in Bordeaux,” said the company. It is scheduled to be com-
missioned in late 2020. Total says the project is part of the company’s strategy to develop its energy storage business, which it says “is critical to the expansion of renewable energy, which is intermittent by nature. “It will contribute to the goal of increasing the share of renewables in France’s energy mix, while helping to stabilize the domestic power grid.” The project was awarded to Total by RTE — France’s Electricity Transmission Network — which selected Total’s bid as the winner after a call for tenders issued by the utility. According to its Decem-
ber 2019 report, France Power Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2019 — Market Trends, Regulations and Competitive Landscape, market intelligence firm GlobalData said the power mix in France was split roughly evenly among renewables, hydro and ther-
mal energy, with between 20GW-30GW each and nuclear energy more than double with 65GW. The report predicts renewables will surpass nuclear energy by 2030 and reach up to 75GW, which could be a huge opportunity for storage technology companies.
Tennessee awards 200MWh battery storage contract to Origis Energy The federal power agency Tennessee Valley Authority announced on February 11 it would install 200MW of solar generation and 200MWh of battery storage by the end of 2022. The contract to build, own and operate the system, in Lowndes County, has been awarded to solar firm Origis Energy. Four other projects were also announced, bringing the total of solar generation to 484MW, but they do not include storage capacity. Under its 2019 Integrated Resource Plan, the TVA says it plans to install up to 5GW of storage in the next 20 years, along with 14GW of solar power ‘if a high level of load growth materializes’. By 2028 it will add up to 2,400MW of storage, it says, and 5,300MW by 2038. Up to 4,200MW of wind power will be added by 2038 ‘if cost-effective’, the
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plan says. “Early experience with battery storage on the system would provide additional insight to how the various storage-use cases might be employed to provide economic benefit and system flexibility, especially with increasing penetration of renewables,” the plan says. Since the Tennessee Valley
Authority Act of 1933, the TVA has operated across seven states — Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia — in providing flood control, reforestation, agriculture, commerce and industry, as well as the hydroelectric Wilson Dam. It was given the authority to acquire lands along
the Tennessee River to build reservoirs, transmission lines, power plants and hydroelectric dams, 16 of which it built up to 1944. The plan shows a determined shift by the TVA into renewables and storage, compared with today’s generation portfolio, which shows that just 3% comes from wind and solar sources.
Alfen selected to install third BMW battery storage system for Sweden’s power utility Vattenfall Swedish power company Vattenfall has chosen Dutch energy systems integrator Alfen to install a third large-scale battery storage system based on new BMW car batteries, Alfen said on April 7. The 5MW/20MWh system will be installed in the university town of Uppsala, which is Sweden’s fourth largest city
in the country, Alfen said. It will be connected to the power grid and used to alleviate grid congestion as well as provide ancillary services. This is Alfen’s third project for Vattenfall, which hired the Dutch firm to install a 3MWh system at the Prinses Alexia Windpark in the Netherlands, and a
12MWh storage system in a solar and wind farm at Haringvliet, also in the Netherlands. BMW batteries were used in both of the installations, which were due to be fully operational by September 2020, although the virus pandemic is likely to have some impact on timing.
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NEWS — RENEWABLES + STORAGE
Tesla wins approval for 730MWh energy storage facility in California Electric automobile maker Tesla won approval from the Monterey Planning Commission in California to install a 730MWh battery installation at the Moss Landing power facility on February 26. The Elkhorn Battery Storage Facility, to be built in partnership with utility PC&E, will store energy from solar and wind generation. It will replace the existing gas power plant (pictured), which is being shut down. Initial construction should begin after a standard 10day appeal period. “The Elkhorn BESS project will include continued use of the existing public
utility operation for PG&E at Moss Landing Substation,” the project says. “Operation of the project is intended to reduce existing demand on natural gas power plants by allowing integration of renewable energy into the electrical grid through storage and use during peak need times.” Megapack units will be installed on approximately 37 concrete slabs, and will be able to dispatch 730MWh of energy to the grid at 182.5MW for up to four hours during periods of high demand. The project is one of Tesla’s largest energy storage
Moss Landing power plant, which the Tesla installation will replace
projects to date, and one of the biggest in the world, storing nearly eight and a half times as much energy as the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, which, for the moment, stores 129MWh and has a discharge rate of 100MW.
Arkansas to get first utility-owned solar-plus-storage system The US state of Arkansas will have its first utilityowned solar-plus-storage project, to be installed by Entergy Arkansas, the firm said on April 29. The 100MW solar installation will be backed up by a 10MW/30MWh battery to provide back-up power when the sun does not shine. Entergy says the Searcy Solar project, in White
County, will be the largest solar project in Arkansas with batteries, which will be lithium-ion and are to be charged and discharged daily. It brings the total of solar energy capacity provided by Entergy in the state to 281MW. “Large-scale solar facilities provide the most costeffective solar power for
Solar+storage approved for Alberta The Alberta Utilities Commission has approved one of the first grid-scale solar-plusstorage systems in the Canadian province, rubberstamping and publishing its decision on April 20. An 8MW/8MWh lithium battery will be charged solely from a 13.5MW solar array, which will also deliver energy to the grid, the commission says. The system, to be developed by Longspur Devel-
opments and Drumheller Solar Corporation, will supply almost the entire town of Drumheller, which has around 3,000 households. This kind of battery storage in the province is still so new there are still “no existing market rules or regulations governing the operation of BESSs in Alberta”, says the Alberta Utilities Commission. The installation should begin operating in May 2021.
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all customers, keeping rates low while delivering the best value for renewables in Arkansas,” said Entergy president and CEO Laura Landreaux. Entergy Energy owns and operates power plants with up to 30,000MW of electric generating capacity, which includes 9,000MW of nuclear power. It delivers electricity to 2.9 million households and businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. The Searcy installation marks the company’s first steps towards combining generation with battery storage. In September 2019, Arkansas switched on the first solar-plus storage system in the state, with 10MW of solar generation backed up by 24MWh of battery storage. The system, designed by Arkansas-based energy company Today’s Power, was installed at the City of Fayetteville, the state’s third largest city.
Nidec selected for energy storage experiment ‘Ringo’ Nidec Group’s energy storage subsidiary Nidec Industrial Solutions will install a full-scale experimental battery to manage energy flows on the electric grid in Vingeanne, in the Côte-d’Or department of eastern France, the firm said on March 3. The system has been selected by the French public electricity transmission system operator RTE. Dubbed ‘Ringo’, the experiment aims to prevent grid congestion at times of peak demand by storing surplus wind or solar energy in an NMC lithium battery, then returning it to the grid when required. The battery has a storage capacity of 12MW/24MWh, which Nidec says equals the energy produced by five wind turbines or the consumption of 10,000 households. Work began in January, with testing and commissioning to begin in March 2021. In September France increased its target for renewable energy to provide 32% of power to 33% by 2030, which could mean many opportunities for storage companies.
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NEWS — DEALS
Avalon and RedT near merging to form Invinity Flow battery firms Avalon and RedT have moved a step closer to merging into one £58 million ($69 million) company named Invinity Energy Systems, RedT said on March 16. Avalon is based in San Francisco, US and RedT in the UK, and the new company, Invinity, will be headquartered in the UK and Canada, with a regional presence in the US, South Africa and China. Speaking to ESJ from his
London office — which is still open — RedT head of communications Joe Worthington said the move would mean the new company would have a reach in far more regions of the world. “We don’t have a foothold in the US but Avalon is in Asia and northeast America, whereas they don’t have a presence in sub-Saharan Africa or Australia, which we do,” said Worthington. The terms of the merger
Sumitomo makes $46 million investment in partnership with Highview Power Japanese technology giant Sumitomo Heavy Industries has gone into partnership with cryogenic energy storage provider Highview Power with an investment of $46 million to grow the technology globally, the firms announced on February 25. The investment will be used to expand the CRYOBattery developed by Highview Power, which in October announced plans to build the first commercial liquid air energy storage facility in the UK. It has already connected two of its systems to the UK grid, and in December it teamed up with Encore Renewable Energy to begin building the first longduration, liquid air energy storage system in the US. Highview says its CRYOBattery technology can be
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easily scaled by simply adding more tanks, which means there are no size limitations or geographic restraints. The deal with Sumitomo — which says it intends to use its subsidiary Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) as a ‘technology center and hub for the CRYOBattery business’ — signifies its move into the clean technology market and intention to expand the technology’s footprint in Europe, Asia and the Americas. “One of the biggest barriers to a carbon-free future has been the ability of renewables to perform as reliably and as cost-effectively as traditional fossil fuel sources,” said SFW chief executive officer Tomas Harju-Jeanty, who has joined the Highview Power board.
with Avalon were agreed by the two firms in a memorandum of understanding in July last year and the deal is set to be signed off by shareholders at the beginning of April.
The firms have raised the £24 million ($30 mission) needed to complete the merger, which Avalon chief executive Larry Zulch called ‘unprecedented in our segment’.
Investment firm Blackstone buys storage supplier NRStor Canadian storage company NRStor, which last November claimed it had completed the ‘first commercial compressed air energy storage facility in the world’ in partnership with Hydrostor, has been bought by Blackstone Energy Partners, the investment firm said on March 4. NRStor, which began life in 2012, supplies energy storage technology including flywheels and batteries, as well as CAES technology. In total it has more
than 200MWh of projects throughout North America contracted, in construction or operating, Blackstone says. “Battery storage will play an important role in the North American power grid and will be critical to achieving ambitious renewable targets,” said Bilal Khan, senior managing director at Blackstone Energy Partners. Blackstone has invested $16 billion of equity globally in the energy industry, the firm says.
esVolta expands battery storage presence in California CIT Group has arranged $140 million financing for utility-scale energy storage systems developer esVolta to install more than 136MW/480MWh of energy storage units in California, the investment firm announced on February 24. The eight projects, which are all batterybacked renewable energy installations, have been agreed by Power and Energy, part of CIT’s Commercial Finance division. On April 9, esVolta said it had also been selected to install another 15MW/60MWh facility in the state, the Black Walnut Energy Storage Project, which will supply local communities with power and services to the
electric grid. The project should be operational by mid-2022. EsVolta has also developed an 8MW/41MWh energy storage system in Ontario, Canada. “Battery storage is helping revolutionize energy distribution, particularly for utility-scale renewable energy generation projects,” said esVolta vice president and chief financial officer Krish Koomar. “EsVolta is recognized as an industry leader in utility-scale battery projects and we were pleased to work closely with them to meet their financing objectives,” said Mike Lorusso, managing director and group head for CIT’s Power and Energy unit.
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY
The V2G revolution: the nexus of power, consumer and grid Vehicle-to-grid technology is not new. And on paper, it’s a no-brainer: you discharge your car battery — and are paid to do so — when you’re not driving to boost the grid at peak times; then you use that grid resource to charge up your car when power is cheap, in time for the morning commute. It all makes sense in theory, but it hasn’t happened yet. Sara Verbruggen looks at the first steps being taken in the UK to try to make the potential a reality. If you’re pencilling out a business case for a 50MW grid battery, you might find your sketch changes rather radically before the diagram is finished. Now imagine you have not one big battery but many small ones to think about — except you can’t guarantee they will always be available to the grid at the same time, or for how long, or even where they will be. On top of that, some of the revenue streams you need to access to earn income may not be reliable. You might find you’re soon screwing up that business case sketch and throwing it in the bin. Even though the V2G market is embryonic, things could change very rapidly — the work being done now could mean that in a couple of years’ time V2G will be able to shift out of neutral, with the UK for one taking it up a gear and into the fast lane.
Electric cars have historically been regarded as a threat to the grid’s stability. A large load, coinciding with peak electricity demand, would need huge investment in works to expand and upgrade the distribution network. But if the EV batteries could be turned into little energy storage devices at the very times the grid needs a boost — to then recharge cheaply when parked overnight, that threat is no longer real.
Bidirectional charging
Using bidirectional charging technology, plus cloud-based software and communications infrastructure to enable smart charging, V2G technology allows the grid to tap into the EV battery’s available reserves to help balance supply and demand, and give back to the vehicle when it’s needed.
There are 32 million passenger cars in the UK. As volumes of EVs start being driven, each with a battery that’s anywhere between 7kW to 11kW you have a problem from the grid’s perspective if these loads cannot be managed.
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Nissan drives the V2G concept
Nissan, which has sold more EVs than any other automaker, was an early proponent of V2G. Ten years ago, when it began selling the Nissan Leaf in Europe, the company quickly realized that energy suppliers were not the biggest fans of EVs. “There are 32 million passenger cars in the UK. As significant volumes of EVs start being driven, each with a battery that’s anywhere between 7kW to 11kW, you have a problem from the grid’s perspective if these loads cannot be managed,” says Nissan Energy’s European managing director Francisco Carranza. “We started looking at how electric cars could be ‘grid friendly’. “Going forward the business model has to be self-sustaining. We need to have a system where V2G can respond to various intraday trading and grid services signals.” With millions of pounds in funding made available from the UK government, studies and pilots have been undertaken to identify and address the barriers to a V2G market. After initial discussions with various energy suppliers, about three years ago Nissan identified a core group of collaborators to work with, including Octopus EDF, and Eon. These came together with other key stakeholders (primarily DNO UK Power Networks) and National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO), to start exploring the V2G market and identify the issues and challenges. “One thing we discovered is the payback for V2G is too long. It can be between five and 10 years, depending on several factors, like whether it is a commercial fleet vehicle or if the vehicle is privately owned. Payback has to occur within the same length of time as a vehicle leasing agreement,” Carranza says.
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY A V2G market and mass adoption relies on establishing bidirectional charging infrastructure, much as the availability of conventional charging infrastructure has underpinned the adoption of EVs. It also needs changes in energy market regulations to make it easier for behind-the-meter EV batteries to access various revenue streams. Carranza says: “The regulatory framework is changing but it is still a long way from being one that supports a fully decentralized energy system encompassing lots of small, distributed assets at the end of the grid. “However, we see within two years a market will exist for V2G services and the business case will be better defined. You need as many revenue streams as possible for V2G to be able to access. Key to it also is artificial intelligence-based software that can pick those revenue streams.” When it works with energy companies and enterprises interested in rolling out V2G programmes, Nissan has a set of criteria that have to be met to provide warranties for the batteries in its EVs. “Only bidirectional chargers validated by Nissan can be used by the operator introducing V2G services. We know precisely how the chargers we validate perform. The battery also has to meet certain cycling parameters, so we have set a limit and we won’t authorize any more than this,” says Carranza. Typically, 70%-75% of total battery capacity can be used, which is based on being able to charge up to 100% and discharge to a minimum of 25%. This is roughly 30kWh of usable capacity on a 40kWh battery in the newer Nissan LEAF models, to comply with the Nissan warranty.
Europe on a similar path to UK
Broadly speaking, European markets are on a similar trajectory, adding more variable renewable generation and closing centralized fossil fuel power plants, which is driving demand for grid balancing services. “UK, France, Germany, Netherlands. These are all promising markets for V2G. More recently Italy has also started to make moves in this area to procure more grid balancing type services,” Carranza says. “By 2025 the V2G market will begin to get established in more volumes. By then we should have the right market in place for the services and revenue streams. But we also
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“We believe the market will go towards this bundling approach, though how soon is more challenging to predict” – Nissan Energy’s Europe managing director, Francisco Carranza need the rest of the EV industry to adopt V2G. Others, such as Mitsubishi and Renault, are in the process of adopting this technology, while Volkswagen is also looking at it, we understand.” A wider availability of different makes and models of V2G electric cars and vans is also going to help drive the market forward, he says.
Energy suppliers ponder the value proposition of V2G
Energy retailers Octopus and OVO Energy have been involved in government-backed pilots for V2G among
their domestic energy customer base. Octopus has a simple proposition: to incentivize customers to enrol in its Powerloop V2G pilot. Customers plug in before six o’clock in the evening and stay plugged in until at least five o’clock the following morning, to complete a cycle. If they complete 12 cycles within a month their energy account is credited with £30 ($38). Using the company’s specially developed app, customers are able to indicate when they need their car, leaving the energy company to plan the 12 sessions around the driver’s schedule.
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY At this early stage in the V2G market, such simple propositions appeal to customers, according to Octopus’ director of technology and innovation, Claire Miller. Octopus, like many companies seeking to provide a V2G offering, wants to be technology agnostic when it comes to the charger, with different makes able to integrate with its platform. Miller says efforts such as the Open Charger Protocol (OCPP), which lets chargers talk to the world, is underpinning more open standard approaches, which will benefit the market as a whole. The hardware itself has required refinement, too.
“When we ran tests on a couple of types of chargers, they were industrial looking, more like air-conditioning units than a sleek consumer appliance.” Eventually Octopus started working with Wallbox and the partnership has grown over the past few months. The Barcelona-headquartered company was set up by ex-Tesla executives in 2015, to design, develop and produce intelligent chargers for homes and businesses. Initially Octopus aimed to start with 135 participants in its V2G programme, but has increased this to 185-200. Because of the coronavirus
pandemic and government lockdown in the UK, installations are on hold. But once the chargers are installed, Octopus will be able to gather realworld data into consumer behaviour that will feed into any future rollout. Octopus’ PowerLoop offering is one of the most comprehensive available on the market. From £299 a month, customers can lease a new Nissan Leaf with a 40kWh battery, warrantied by the carmaker, on a 100% renewable electricity tariff. PowerLoop also includes a Wallbox charger and installation, a smart meter, and a mobile app to let customers control their charging schedule, plus
OVO Energy — project Sciurus Through the Innovate UK-funded V2G project Sciurus, Ovo Energy is recruiting up to 1,000 households to take part. Here it shares its progress so far with Energy Storage Journal. The V2G offering is made up of three core components: a customer energy proposition, a bidirectional V2G charger, and an intelligent energy platform to manage the charging and discharging of the charger in sync with the needs of the energy system. “We have been installing V2G chargers at a rapid rate, making us the largest residential V2G trial in the world,” says OVO Energy senior commercial manager Nick Arnott. “As per current government advice, we’ve paused home visits to keep our customers and our team safe during the coronavirus outbreak so
we are not currently installing V2G chargers. All trial participants have a Nissan LEAF or the Nissan ENV200 van.”
Key partners and stakeholders
OVO Energy is leading Sciurus and has developed the tariff. Indra has led V2G charger technical development and manufacture. Kaluza has developed the app and control algorithms and is working with Indra to integrate the bidirectional chargers with its software platform. Nissan is also a key project partner, to certify the V2G charger with its electric cars
and vans to ensure compliance with battery warranties. “We have worked with Nissan to ensure that our V2G optimization and control protects the customer warranty, which still leaves us with plenty of usable storage and flexibility to use for arbitrage,” says Arnott. Nissan dealers have also been an important source of trial participant recruitment. Cenex is leading on research and dissemination. DNOs are also key stakeholders to allow installations to happen across the UK, and National Grid ESO is critical in terms of exploring future revenue streams. BEIS, OLEV and Innovate UK are the government stakeholders.
The customer proposition
Customers can sign up to OVO Energy to receive a free V2G charger installed at their home, and a payment of £75 on signing up to the proposition. As well as being supplied with energy, under the terms of their tariff they will be paid for export, receiving a £0.30 pence credit on their bill for every kilowatt hour exported to the grid.
The charger technology
OVO Energy EV charging using Indra V2G charger
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The V2G charger offered by OVO Energy has been designed and manufactured in the UK by Indra Renewable Technologies. “This
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY the £30 monthly credit on their energy account if they complete 12 cycles a month. Miller says: “The UK is an interesting market from a customer proposition perspective. More and more, customers are interested in how they are using their energy, whether it is from renewable sources, the ethos of energy providers and also innovation. “Solar probably kicked things off, but we are moving on from that. Essentially what you are seeing is people actively interested in energy and more appreciative and open to technologies and innovations that can en-
unit has seen phenomenal cost reductions since when we started looking into V2G three years ago,” says Arnott. Built from the ground up and field tested through project Sciurus, Indra is now exploring supply partnerships to roll it out in other programmes and use cases.
The software app
Kaluza has developed the app used to give customer control in project Sciurus, which can also be white labelled for future customers. “The app provides information to the user in the form of charging and discharging history, broken down into half hourly periods. It also provides the customer with the means of setting their schedule, minimum and maximum state of charge and allows the customer to boost charging, thereby overriding the schedule and charging at full power,” Arnott says.
Results and findings so far
“We have learned a lot in project Sciurus to date. The most interesting customer insight from this data is the significantly higher level of engagement in V2G than under other forms of EV charging. Customers plug in every day, as opposed to twice per week,” says Arnott. OVO Energy has also found that customers plug in for longer because they understand the value of doing so and they engage with the technology significantly more than in standard EV charging, or smart charging, according to Arnott. Arnott describes many of the V2G customers as EV enthusiasts
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who are also aware of their carbon footprint, with a significant percentage of the adopters having their own renewable generation at home, such as solar PV panels. User feedback is extremely valuable. “We are already implementing features that have been suggested by our customers. As with any technology, we need to engage constantly with our user base, be transparent and understand how we can solve challenges to improve user experience,” says Arnott.
Revenue streams
In Sciurus OVO Energy is primarily accessing the price arbitrage revenue stream. Using the Kaluza platform, Indra’s V2G charger gives drivers the option to discharge and sell surplus electricity from their EV batteries back to the electricity grid, helping to supply energy at times of peak demand. Kaluza also optimises vehicle charging to take advantage of cheaper electricity when it’s available and when there is more electricity generated from renewable energy in the system. “V2G has the potential to offer a host of benefits to the electricity system and we have been exploring the technologies application in a variety of balancing and ancillary services markets,” Arnott says. OVO Energy is working closely with Nissan to ensure that no battery degradation is caused by V2G charging beyond what would be expected from normal charging using a standard EV home charge point. “This has been dealt with by a
OVO Energy senior commercial manager Nick Arnott
combination of formal certification of the V2G charger, and an ongoing review of data from both the chargers and the vehicles,” says Arnott. Sciurus also provides a unique opportunity to do a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of V2G on EV batteries, according to Arnott. While there has been much talk of degradation some studies indicate that V2G could extend battery life over an unmanaged charging scenario, he says. “We are excited to be exploring such a pioneering topic. V2G is a real game changer as we transition to an intelligent, zero carbon grid. Not only can it enable intelligent charging of electric cars so that energy is used at cheaper and greener times of day, it offers bidirectionality flows that allow owners to sell surplus energy back to the grid and make a profit, effectively turning individual households into mini green power stations,” says Arnott.”
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY able them to give energy back to the grid. “UK Power Networks is a really good partner for us to be working with, as they have been exploring ways to reduce peak demand and make use of available energy. We are demonstrating a role that technology can play in that and hopefully showing that V2G can be an intuitive way to do this.”
As more adopt V2G, in future Miller envisages customers will want to get different things out of it, with some wanting insight into how the battery in their parked car is making money. Different commercial offerings could be defined that suit different levels of engagement. Carranza thinks the commercial model that Octopus has created in its PowerLoop bundle is probably
the direction in which other parts of the energy retail market will travel. “That said, it is challenging. You are essentially financing different assets with different profiles. “The advantage of the Octopus Group as a whole is that they have different subsidiaries set up, in leasing, in energy supply, for example. So, yes, we believe the market will go towards this bundling approach, though how soon is more challenging to predict.”
Entering the next phase will mean more challenges
Octopus’ PowerLoop offering is one of the most comprehensive available on the market. From £299 a month, customers can lease a new Nissan Leaf with a 40kWh battery, warrantied by the carmaker, on a 100% renewable electricity tariff.
According to Vincent de Rul, EDF Energy’s director of energy solutions, V2G is the next phase in the electrification revolution. “But an EV driver primarily wants their vehicle for getting around. Using it as a grid support asset should be an unobtrusive additional benefit.” One of the challenges, he says, is ensuring the needs of energy suppliers and the grid are reconciled with those of the EV driver or owner. “For us, an EV is a battery on wheels, while the owner or driver needs to
“Solar probably kicked things off, but we are moving on from that. Essentially what you are seeing is people actively interested in energy and more appreciative and open to technologies and innovations that can enable them to give energy back to the grid” — Octopus’ director of technology and innovation, Claire Miller.
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY know they have enough mileage for their journey the next day or week.” In October 2019 the company launched Dreev with its partner, California-headquartered V2G start-up Nuvve. Dreev is focused on developing V2G programmes and services that use Nuvve’s bidirectional charger and related technology. “Dreev was set up to investigate the customer proposition and commercial proposition for V2G,” says de Rul. “A key part in all of this is the EV manufacturer.” Dreev has partnered Nissan, however, de Rul says: “The technology and capability for V2G need to be embedded in future EV models, but it is an area that all major car makers are now looking into.” To test V2G technology in the real world, two of EDF’s UK sites, including Hove in Sussex, have been installed with Nuvve’s chargers. In 2018 EDF announced it would roll out 1,500 V2G chargers in the UK. Since then the company has refined its initiative. “Initially we are starting with commercial fleets and are in late stage talks with potential business and other enterprises,” says de Rul.
Role of commercial fleet owners and operators
“We found that commercial fleets provide a more straightforward way to implement V2G and capture grid service revenues,” de Rul says. “For a start, commercial and other enterprises will already have half hourly meters installed, whereas domestic consumers will need to have them installed to enrol on a V2G programme. “Having that half hourly consumption profile is important as it matches the wholesale energy market, enabling more accuracy when accessing the different revenue streams.” Giulia Privitera, low carbon technologies delivery manager at UK Power Networks, sees commercial vehicle fleet operators as potential key adopters of V2G. But they need a clarity on income that can be earned, she says. Electric vehicles cost more than combustion engine equivalents, so participation in V2G programmes can be a way to help offset the cost. They also tend to be driven a lot more than privately owned cars and, depending on the business, may be limited to recharging in specific time frames.
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For the past few months EDF and Nissan have been gathering data on the impact of EV batteries used for V2G services. The partnership involves EDF sharing information with Nissan on the charging and discharging profile of the battery while it is being optimized for providing grid services. “We are gathering good data on what happens to batteries and this work is ongoing,” says de Rul. EDF has installed technology within its lab in Paris, France to carry out accelerated testing of batteries. “We can simulate 10 years of aging to see what V2G does to the battery, but within a matter of weeks.” Nissan and EDF are also working together on second life opportunities for EV batteries. In a car, an EV battery has an operational lifetime of 10-15 years. It still then has sufficient capacity for use in a stationary storage application. In Sunderland Nissan has installed its old EV batteries in a second life battery, which is optimized through EDF’s software platform. “Key to the second-life opportunity is having better management of the full lifecycle of the battery,” says Carranza. If the operational life of the battery can be extended, in second life deployment, savings can potentially be leveraged to offset the cost of EVs. As more smart meters are rolled out among residential consumers, EDF will support the enlargement of V2G initiatives among the private EV ownership base. De Rul says: “V2G is a challenging market to get right. The location of the battery can change, depending on where the driver has taken it, and you don’t know how much energy is in the battery. “Virtual power plant software platforms will address a lot of these issues. But today it is more challenging to trade aggregated EV batteries enrolled in a V2G programme, compared with a standalone battery.”
“EV drivers want their vehicle primarily to drive around. Using it as a grid support asset should be an unobtrusive additional benefit ... V2G is a challenging market to get right”— Vincent de Rul, EDF Energy’s director of energy solutions Addressing barriers to adoption
The entities that operate and manage the UK’s electricity system are critical in any successful V2G deployment. To UK Power Networks, which is the largest DNO in the UK, V2G is just one tool in the box that will be needed to manage the networks as more variable wind and solar generation is built, and mobility and heating sectors continue to decarbonize by switching to electrification. There are up to 300,000 electric
For the past few months EDF and Nissan have been gathering data on the impact of EV batteries used for V2G services. The partnership involves EDF sharing information with Nissan on the charging and discharging profile of the battery while it is being optimized for providing grid services.
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VEHICLE-TO-GRID TECHNOLOGY “At this stage the early adopters are more interested in embracing innovation and being ahead of the curve than the payback of V2G, similar to early adopters of home battery storage systems” — Giulia Privitera, low carbon technologies delivery manager at UK Power Networks and plug-in vehicles in the UK, with about 30% of these plugging into conventional charge points on UK Power Networks’ network, which covers London, the south-east and the east of England. The utility predicts that by 2030 there will be 2.6 million EVs plugged into its network. “We can’t resolve this challenge on our own so partnerships have been really important to finding the solutions,” says Giulia Privitera, low carbon technologies delivery manager at UK Power Networks. “V2G can unlock flexibility at times of constraint on the grid. But you need a very customer-centric approach. There needs to be availability of charging infrastructure to support uptake. You also need to incentivize the market.” UK Power Networks is participating in several V2G pilots, including PowerLoop with Octopus, project Sciurus with OVO Energy, Bus2Grid with Transport for London and BYD and the Nissan-led e4Future, which also includes Eon and ESO and other partners. “These pilots provide us with insight in terms of V2G for domestic energy customers as well as commercial,” she says.
Key barriers to mass take-up that are being addressed by these projects include refining the connection process for V2G chargers. “We are in the process of simplifying the connection process,” says Privitera. “There has been no fit-forpurpose connection procedure for these types of chargers. The situation was similar for solar systems, but we are preparing to get ahead of the mass uptake of V2G, by defining a streamlined process that’s specific to V2G.” Arguably the biggest obstacle is lack of clear and reliable revenue streams. “There are existing DNO services, namely active power, peak shaving and load shifting that can be provided by V2G. Work is ongoing to provide the value of those services, through pricing mechanisms, which could be flexibility signals and the low voltage level, or changes in pricing at different times of the day for importing and exporting power. “More clarity and certainty over existing revenue streams is needed and commercial products need to be made available. These can be advertised through the Piclo platform, to show where constraints on the network are, to make it easier for flexibility providers and aggregators to
The utility predicts that by 2030 there will be 2.6 million EVs plugged into its network. “We can’t resolve this challenge on our own so partnerships have been really important to finding the solutions,” says Giulia Privitera, low carbon technologies delivery manager at UK Power Networks.
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target them. “As an industry we need to show that the business case stacks up.” Today UK Power Networks has 100 V2G chargers on its network, including those installed as part of the pilots it is involved in. At this stage the early adopters are most on board with V2G. Privitera says they are more interested in embracing innovation and being ahead of the curve than the payback of V2G, similar to early adopters of home battery storage systems. “But commercial fleets need to see a business case. So clarity over existing revenue streams is critical. For fleet operators it is also imperative that their vehicles, enrolled in V2G, are always adequately charged as well.” The work being undertaken has to be fed back to the regulator. UK Power Networks shares the learning from projects and pilots. “Ultimately a market for V2G requires regulatory change. In future we will define more services, other than our basic ones. Sharing learning among various stakeholders – Ofgem, other DNOs – can help to promote nationwide adoption across the country and consistency in V2G offerings too, which will help support mass uptake,” she says. There are many issues to fine tune, not least of which is the stress on EV batteries with utilities drawing from them so often; the battery is one of the most expensive constituents of an EV and it is still not clear if vehicle owners would have to pay the full cost of any replacement battery. However the signs are that moves are being made – and once the world is back on its wheels after the Covid-19 pandemic, V2G should be among the emerging markets.
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ANIL SRIVASTAVA, LECLANCHÉ
Europe’s oldest battery maker powers up both arms of its business In this eerie world of uncertainty and what is becoming a most over-used adjective for it — unprecedented — there are still many constants. One of them is the world’s need for energy and the fact that adding storage to it makes perfect sense. At Leclanché, Europe’s oldest battery manufacturer with a more than 110-year history in the Swiss town of Yverdon-les-Bains, the business model is always evolving with the market.
“For most of my career, I’ve had the fortune of building high-growth business in IT, telecoms and renewable energies around the world,” Srivastava says. “However, my experience of restructuring and reorienting the AT&T/ Lucent Technologies business after the internet crash of 1999 is most relevant, given today’s circumstances.” Srivastasa had moved to AT&T after working for Hewlett Packard in San Jose — he’d graduated with Masters degrees in finance and electrical engineering with the HP Foundation, which handed him a 100% scholarship in 1989 under its HP LIFE (Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs) scheme. “That restructuring meant selling most of the assets, forming joint ventures, and regrettably reducing a sizeable number of headcounts. It was
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Leclanché’s most recent development, says CEO Anil Srivastava, is in e-transport and fleet vehicles alongside the stationary storage business. But today’s crisis now puts everything in a different light. Debbie Mason spoke to Srivastava about the firm’s business plans and Covid-19.
“We shouldn’t allow any more renewable generation facilities to be installed without storage” very tiring, to take a business worth a couple of billion dollars and sell it out in two and a half years’ time — but there was no choice, it was the internet crash. “Sometimes one has to do the dirty work, but it was a great learning experience and really tested my leadership skills and how to stay compassionate while doing what was necessary. “No one can say for sure what the true impact will be from the Covid-19 crisis. One thing is clear: that its impact will be far wider and more profound than any other crisis we have seen in the last two decades. That said, I am convinced that the business fun-
damentals will remain strong in the long term. And the ability to preserve long-term business value in restructuring an organization sets apart a leader from an Excel spread sheet-based cost cutting exercise. “Energy storage was the only thing I hadn’t done before joining Leclanché” Srivastava says. “I joined, took time to understand the company before I took the plunge in 2014 and became CEO at the request of the then largest shareholder of the company. “In many ways, the energy business is now having the ‘mobility transformation’ the IT industry went through in the 1990s. “Back then, the ever-increasing networking speed, and resilience, led to more and more distributed computing. That in turn led to what we know today as cloud-based services. “Learning from this journey I went through in the IT and telecom indus-
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ANIL SRIVASTAVA, LECLANCHÉ grator rather than a manufacturer. We use our extensive knowledge of energy storage solutions to propose and implement solutions that address our customers’ needs,” says Srivastava. “We manage the whole project and provide a turnkey solution to the customer using an EPC approach (Engineering-Procurement-Construction).” In addition to solar + storage, Leclanché installs systems for commercial and industrial applications, microgrids, utilities — and fast EV charging, which pairs nicely with its e-transport side. Leclanche’s solar+storage project on St Kitts - delayed because of the virus
try until 2007, coupled with my recent experience in renewable energy generation, transmission and distribution, I am convinced that the major missing link to energy is deployment of cost competitive, flexible, and resilient storage solutions. What networking was and is to mobile and ubiquitous computing, storage is to the energy transition.” Srivastasa calls energy storage the missing glue to green energy. “With utilities, if anyone is developing systems without storage, I think they aren’t seeing the reality or they are even being irresponsible. We shouldn’t allow any more renewable
generation facilities to be installed without storage — whether dedicated or on a shared basis in the T & D network.” He points to the company’s 35.6MW solar plant and 44.2MWh battery storage project on the island nation of St Kitts and Nevis, in the Caribbean, which will provide up to 30% of the country’s power needs. Leclanché designed the power plant, which will deliver the baseload power during peak hours. The project will start construction as soon as the Covid-19 lockdown is lifted. “In stationary storage, Leclanché is a software provider and systems inte-
Opening up in India
With his roots back in India, it was perhaps inevitable that Anil Srivastasa would eventually set up in his mother country. A joint venture, Nexharge, has been set up with Exide Industries, one of India’s largest lead-acid battery makers, to assemble lithium batteries with a view to making them from scratch at the plant in Gujarat. Covid-19 has delayed operations, but production is slated to begin in June. The plant will assemble lithium titanate batteries for power applications and lithium graphite NMC batteries for long-range vehicles and stationary storage, but with a focus on
Seeing through the darkness of Covid-19 Anil Srivastava is convinced that any decline caused by the pandemic will be temporary, causing a postponement of several projects — but not the end. “Moreover, this crisis raises lots of questions about European production as well as cleaner energy and zero emission mobility, so there will probably be promising opportunities for European battery manufacturers in the coming years. However, this period will be a challenge for most companies,” he says. “It is too early to draw any final conclusions, however. Every crisis can be an opportunity but also carries risks, and this is no exception. People will turn towards cleaner energies, which could be an opportunity for storage. But projects won’t happen overnight, so we do not expect a big change — rather, an evolution towards more renewable energy. “The context is favourable to changes in sourcing materials and supply. On a B2C level, people are
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buying more local products. “We can assume that a similar trend on a B2B level will follow and European products will be preferred, providing Leclanché with a competitive advantage, as the sole vertically integrated European battery manufacturer. “However, as far as our supply chains are concerned, we remain heavily dependent on Asian chemical suppliers. Although we had taken diversification initiatives prior to the crisis, there is still a long way to go before we can qualify European/ local supplies for some strategic raw materials.” As Switzerland, where Leclanché is headquartered, slowly normalizes, the company is looking out for all of its facilities in Germany, Norway, France, the UK, North America and India, and putting lives first. First concern, it says, is the health of its employees and team members. Second is clients, business partners
and investors, with whom the company says it will maintain communication. “The current situation is fully unpredictable and impacts all customer and supplier relationships, but as the situation changes, and with every update and new measure taken, we promise to communicate to help keep everyone fully aware,” says Srivastava. “We continue to do everything possible to meet the requirements of our customers. This balancing act would not be possible without their patience and understanding, for which we are very grateful. “We urge everyone to follow all government and public health and safety precautions to have the best chance to emerge from today’s challenges in the safest, quickest and most prudent manner. We look forward to putting this period behind us and to focusing on creating a sustainable future.”
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ANIL SRIVASTAVA, LECLANCHÉ producing cells for electric vehicles, and particularly fleet vehicles such as e-buses and e-rickshaws, a market Srivastasa is keen to tap. “We are still predominantly a stationary storage business, but we are growing in our transport sector and we have multiple contracts in marine, trains and so on — we are perfectly positioned for the fleet market. This is the future,” he says. “Under the JV, Exide has licensed Leclanché technology for exclusive use in India, for which they have paid a good sum — it is the biggest industrial investment by Exide.” The plant is 75% owned by Exide, whose managing director and CEO Gautam Chatterjee said the Indian government’s focus on electric vehicles was a reason for Exide to ‘stay relevant’ by taking on lithium batteries. “We were looking for a company to help develop this and chose Leclanché,” he said. “Initially it will be limited to buses and two and three-wheelers, but gradually this will expand and include all kinds of cars.”
e-Transport perspective
In the e-transport side of the business, Leclanché owns the entire value chain, from the cells produced in Germany to the modules and BMS assembled and developed at HQ in Switzerland. “We are perfectly positioned for the fleet market,” says Srivastasa. “Fleet vehicles need an optimized combination of longer life and good range. And we have spent years in R&D – we were among this first to develop lithium titanate technology and launched the same in 2013. This was good but ahead of its time. “The market needed a high density, medium to low power product to last for 10 years. In 2015, I had to decide to create a new cell which had high energy density but was medium power. “This was a pivotal decision made in 2015 that will lead to tremendous success in the fleet electric vehicle market. Leclanché now offers a warranty of 8,000 cycles @80% DoD, where other comparable cells offer around half that. “We do so with high energy density cells of 210Wh/kg, giving a good range. Simply put, we offer double the life — at the same cost as our competitors. And it’s not going to end there. “By the end of 2020, using our composite graphite silicon anodes, we are going to produce ultra-high-density cells of more than 270Wh/kg. This
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Inside the Nexcharge JV in India, where production of lithium titanate batteries has been delayed because of the coronavirus
will enable us to address the automotive markets. “To better understand this, with the 30% increase in energy density, Leclanché battery systems will help increase the range to 500km per charge, which will favourably compare with a mid-range ICE car.” Seeking the perfect answer Lithium technology is the prevalent technology in many sectors — stationary storage, EVs — but Srivastasa accepts that it is not competitive for all applications; indeed, there is no single answer for all needs. “For response time, supercapacitors are the best but they don’t have the duration. Lithium titanate oxide has
fast response but it doesn’t have the high energy capacity. Lithium graphite NMC has good energy capacity, but can’t support fast charge. “Yet if you want to store energy for a few days and weeks, lithium-ion based systems are not competitive. For long duration you’ve got to consider hydrogen, flow batteries, kinetic energy, pumped hydro – but they’re not cost competitive for many other applications. “Replacing lithium-ion batteries with new breakthrough technologies such as zinc air, sulfur, etc, will need at least five years of industrialization. In the meantime, we can expect a few pilot projects, proof of concept-type implementations.”
A fire safety first One area in which Leclanché is charging ahead is with the invention of a fire safety system that can detect and neutralize a single dangerous cell inside a battery without forcing the battery to shut down. “No one else had done it before,” he says. Leclanché’s Active Fire Propagation System, he says, is one of the reasons he won Entrepreneur of the Year in the Energy Storage Solutions Industry (western Europe), in the European CEO Awards for 2019. “How it works is that if there’s a temperature rise in any battery module in a vehicle, and you could have 4,400 modules in a ferry, the particular cell is injected with a non-corrosive foam and the rest of the battery can keep going while that one is isolated. “We had a vision, we announced
the vision, people were sceptical, we delivered it and they were convinced.” The system has been installed in an e-ferry in Denmark and will be placed in most of the firm’s current marine projects, such as Yara Birkeland, the world’s first fully electric and autonomous container ship. It is scalable and can be used in stationary storage, trains, large vehicles – anything but passenger vehicles since they are too small. “It will also be installed on the first seagoing vehicle and passenger ferry that will be fuelled by locally produced hydrogen,” he says.
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COVER STORY
KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN CRISIS
Energy storage associations around the world are united in one theme: that the global economy could in part be rescued after the coronavirus crisis if governments inject vital stimuli into their sector. Debbie Mason reports.
Post-pandemic business case for storage: more compelling than ever W
hen the true gravity of the coronavirus pandemic hit home, saving lives had to be the prime focus of governments around the world. They battened down the hatches and locked up. Since then, a host of countries — Denmark, New Zealand, Germany, Japan, the UK, even Italy — and almost all US states have started to relax their lockdowns. Governments know that clawing back the crippling losses to the economy is a monumental challenge. Unemployment has soared to unheard of levels. Companies have gone to the wall in almost every business sector imaginable. But for the energy storage industry,
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that claw-back could be providing equally monumental possibilities. If governments get it right, then, according to the International Energy Agency, energy efficiency — a vast part of which includes energy storage — could play a vital part in the world’s recovery. But it’s more than just that. A huge wave of opportunities will also appear for the clean energy business, says Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA. “Large-scale investment to boost the development, deployment and integration of clean energy technologies — such as solar, wind, hydrogen, batteries and carbon capture — should be a central part of governments’ plans. It
will bring the twin benefits of stimulating economies and accelerating clean energy transitions,” says Birol. “Governments are drawing up stimulus plans to counter the economic damage from the coronavirus. These stimulus packages offer an excellent opportunity to ensure that the essential task of building a secure and sustainable energy future doesn’t get lost amid the flurry of immediate priorities. “Governments can make clean energy even more attractive to private investors by providing guarantees and contracts to reduce financial risks. Taking these steps is extremely important because the combination of the coronavirus and volatile market
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KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN CRISIS
COVER STORY
“There have been many calls to make clean energy technologies a key part of stimulus packages. This makes complete sense. Stimulus goals align very well with wider clean energy goals, and investment in all fields of clean energy can deliver great opportunities to increase employment and economic activity.”
conditions will distract the attention of policymakers, business leaders and investors away from clean energy transitions. “We’ve an important window of opportunity. A well designed stimulus package could offer economic benefits and facilitate a turnover of energy capital which have huge benefits for the clean energy transition.” Josué Tanaka, managing director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, says a third of its total investments are in energy efficiency. But equally importantly, he says deployment of all projects needs to be ensured and accelerated. The EBRD is working to put in place stimulus packages through low-inter-
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est bank loans and credit lines with an emphasis on financing projects that show a strong chance of achieving the goals set out, such as competitiveness. Phases of recovery “There are three economic phases to this recovery,” says Tanaka. “First, it’s rescue and survival; next it’s the stimulus and what form that should take; and last should be the growth of recovery. “In the first phase, we are focusing on helping countries confronting lockdowns. We need to introduce liquidity and make sure energy efficiency activities remain on course with no backsliding. “In the second, the stimulus phase,
we’ve spoken to 150 banks that are making funding available for projects, through loans or credit lines. Speed is of the essence for recovery. That’s why we have a technology selector to identify energy efficiency and we look at country-specific factors and supply chains and how we can accelerate deployment. “We need to acknowledge that there is a significant level of uncertainty, which may affect the type and effectiveness of particular energy efficiency investments. There are questions. Can financing be sustained in the private sector? What will the impact of the public health crisis be on banking operations and financing? What will the impact be on energy prices?”
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COVER STORY
KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN CRISIS Here, he says, is where agencies such as the IEA can play a big role to help answer these questions and ensure the industry can move into the third recovery phase. Get funds out — fast Andrew McAllister, commissioner with the California Energy Commission, also reckons time is of the essence. “There are great opportunities for the taking. But we need to get the funds out fast,” he says. “It’s critical to get these infrastruc-
ture projects on the ground, shovel ready … We can do this — we have the 2008 recession as an experience, when we had a state energy programme for critical facilities, including load flexibility and grid resilience. These need to be explicitly included in future investments. “Over the past five years we’ve made $2 billion of loans in California. We’ve existing programme infrastructures to provide incentives but these need to be updated to include resilience, IT infrastructure, load flexibility and
“We have an important window of opportunity. Major economies around the world are preparing stimulus packages. A well-designed stimulus package could offer economic benefits and facilitate a turnover of energy capital which have huge benefits for the clean energy transition.” — Fatih Birol, chief executive of the International Energy Agency
2020
…the renewable boom continues 2020 will be a record year for energy storage installations — even taking into account the number of projects that may have to go on hold. That’s the view of research group Wood Mackenzie, which reckons that after shaving 19% off its earlier forecast — a reduction of 3GWh over the year — 12.6GWh of deployment would still go ahead in 2020. The leap is all the more impressive in that last year the market growth contracted for the first time, says WoodMac’s senior research analyst Le Xu. It fell from 6.2GWh in 2018 to 5.3GWh in 2019, driven by declines in the market in South Korea, China, the UK and Canada. “It did not take long before cracks appeared in South Korea’s unbelievable 2018 market growth,” says Xu. “Since breaking the market record in 2018 for the most storage
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deployed in a single year, 28 fire incidents were reported, pulling this bull market into a 70% year-overyear decline.” By 2025 Wood Mackenzie predicts the sector will have grown 13-fold to 230GWh, with hybrid storage the trend to watch. “One third of all storage deployed in 2019 was part of a hybrid system,” said its principal analyst Rory McCarthy. “Although deployments of wind-paired projects were negligible in 2018, they tied with solar in 2019. In 2018 and 2019, we began to see a more commercially viable hybrid storage market take off. “Solar-paired storage was the clear winner in 2018, with 582MWh deployed against wind-paired at
57MWh. However, in 2019 these two technologies were deployed in equal amounts (227MWh). “We expect solar-paired storage to take over in the coming years, as decision-makers overseeing policy and procurement processes come to regard it as a lower cost option versus wind-paired storage. “Additionally, total energy storage investment should increase from $18 billion in 2019 to $100 billion by 2025.” Another research group, Markets and Markets, reckons the battery storage market will grow from $5.7 billion this year to $7.3 billion in 2021. “The major factors driving the battery energy storage industry include the growing need or continuous power from critical infrastructure sectors and the rising need to integrate renewable energy sources and rural electrification,” M&M analysts say. “The utilities application segment is projected to account for the largest share in the battery energy storage market. It is mainly being driven by increasing financial incentives and regulatory supports from governments globally.” However, in the near term, the analysts also said most of the projects in China, the US, Germany and South Korea had been delayed, and companies were facing shortterm operational issues because of supply chain disruption and lack of site access during the outbreak.
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KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN CRISIS Opinion: IHS Markit
COVID-19 disrupts the battery energy storage market, but industry growth will be resilient Julian Jansen, research manager, Energy Storage, IHS Markit, says it’s inevitable that Covid-19 will affect the battery storage market — but it will still grow by 49%. The year 2019 was the first to see installations of grid-connected battery energy storage decline in number, with 2.7GW of grid-connected battery energy storage deployed globally. While the market was ready to accelerate again in 2020, the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic and subsequent economic shock have profoundly affected the short-term outlook for energy storage, as well as parts of the supply chain. Revising down our forecast by 19%, IHS Markit expects installations to total just under 4GW in 2020. While demand in the residential and C&I segment will particularly suffer over the coming months, the overall market will still grow by 49% compared to 2019.
Covid-19 disrupts global stationary storage market
Initial estimates show the economic downturn may be very severe. Preliminary results from IHS Markit’s Economics and Global Risk team’s latest global forecast update indicate a global GDP decline will be far worse than the contraction following the 2009 financial crisis. This highlights the wider financial difficulties in the coming months as this is not a crisis purely defined by temporary restrictions on workforces and logistics, but increasingly by an economic collapse of unprecedented proportions. However, because the energy storage industry is still at an early stage, the epidemic should have a more limited impact on overall market development for 2020 than it may have on better established industries. The fundamental need for technology under-
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pins the strong project pipeline, and the steep growth curve. Growth for 2021 and beyond will thus accelerate. The effects will be diverse across different geographies and market segments. The behind-the-meter segment will suffer. Residential customers facing financial uncertainty are less likely to invest, and businesses will avoid unnecessary capital investments. Subject to the future trajectory of the virus, suppliers expect installations to grow again from Q3 onwards, with strong order books waiting to be fulfilled especially in the residential segment. However, wider economic challenges caused by a global recession will continue to subdue demand into 2021. In the front-of-the-meter segment, current indications are that project construction is in many countries still going ahead — albeit with delays of three to six months. Governments and regulators are focused on managing public health challenges and mitigating the economic impact of virus restrictions, which has caused other government and regulatory functions to be put on hold. The impact of this has been particularly felt in emerging energy storage markets in Africa, the Middle East and south-east Asia, where tenders have been delayed or cancelled, and regulatory reform is on hold. As policymakers and regulators are focusing on managing the spread and economic impact of the pandemic and private organizations focus on key priorities, regulatory progress in the industry
has been significantly slowed.
Battery supply chain resilient, but localization could accelerate
At the start of 2020, 86% of global lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity was in mainland China. China’s lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacities gradually returned to normal through March, as social distancing restrictions were eased. Manufacturers in Japan and South Korea have continued to operate at only partially reduced and full capacity, as outbreaks of the pandemic have been primarily limited to specific regions. Major challenges in the supply chain have thus turned to logistics and potential raw material and component bottlenecks. Initial concerns over the supply of batteries have also quickly become concerns over demand, leading to the industry potentially flipping from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market. Slowing demand for EVs, caused by the sudden halt of global trade, will inevitably affect global battery demand. In fact, slowing demand will more severely affect battery manufacturers than any halt in production.
The future remains bright for stationary energy storage
Energy storage will be crucial to providing resilience and reliability as renewable penetration increases. Without significant deployment of energy storage, clean energy policy goals will not be met. Despite a subdued year in 2019 and this challenging start to 2020, the outlook remains strong, and increasing parts of the supply chain could move closer to their main end-markets.
IHS Markit has more than 50,000 business and government customers, including 80% of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions.
Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 29
COVER STORY
KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN CRISIS
“It is particularly important that resilient energy storage systems be installed in the near term to avoid power system disruptions that could complicate effective response by health providers and hospitals to the pandemic.”— Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO of the US Energy Storage Alliance grid resilience. These energy efficiency functionalities need to be explicitly included in future investments that will have implications for how the job landscape develops, and also the project landscape itself. The IEA takes this further. “Governments will be looking at the very immediate future: how to create jobs and boost economies now,” it says. “There have been many calls to make clean energy technologies a key part of stimulus packages. This makes complete sense. Stimulus goals align very well with wider clean energy goals, and investment in all fields of clean energy can deliver great opportunities to increase employment and
economic activity. “Energy efficiency offers many winwin opportunities — labour-intensive projects that start quickly and are rooted in local supply chains, such as construction and manufacturing, can support existing workforces and create new jobs. “Energy efficiency brings other major benefits: it improves the economic competitiveness of countries and businesses, makes energy more affordable for consumers — and reduces greenhouse gases.” Critical sector In the US, seven states have set targets for energy storage deployment, and
“Remarkably, in anticipating a rebounding market, only 25% expected to reduce employment (inclusive of contractors). Most companies are focused on retaining their employees during this time to better respond once business returns.”
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the Energy Storage Alliance’s CEO, Kelly Speakes-Backman, tells Energy Storage Journal that this is only going to increase. “There are 24GW of total energy storage deployed today on the US electric grid,” she says. “Of that total, 1.6GW is non-hydropower, and more than 1.3GW are batteries. There are 8GW of non-hydropower storage in the long-term resource plans of utilities. Storage is in high demand to improve grid resilience, to reduce consumer costs and to manage the variability of intermittent resources, such as wind and solar. “Storage has been deployed in recent years all across the country and now, at MW-scale, in more than half of US states.” Yet Speakes-Backman admits the pandemic has put enormous stress on the physical and economic health of the energy storage industry. “In March 2020, the ESA conducted an industry poll and found 62% of respondents were already experiencing delays in project deployments and that 37% were anticipating six-month or longer delays,” she says. “In April, ESA surveyed the industry again and found that 63% indicated they expected a decrease in revenues, with 33% expecting 20% or greater reduction. It is clear the energy storage industry expects a deep, albeit brief, revenue downturn this quarter. “Remarkably, in anticipating a rebounding market, only 25% expected to reduce employment (inclusive of contractors). Most companies are focused on retaining their employees during this time to better respond once business returns. “However, ESA assesses that these results are consistent with the possibility that respondents plan to defer significant workforce reductions until after the end of the second quarter, if conditions do not rapidly improve. “ESA is requesting consideration by Congress of several provisions for inclusion in the Covid-19 economic stimulus legislation, to keep the more than 60,000 Americans employed in the energy storage industry while ensuring greater power sector resilience, efficiency and sustainability. “It is important that resilient energy storage systems be installed in the near term to avoid power system disruptions that could complicate effective response by health providers and hospitals to the pandemic.” The ESA will continue to work with members, legislatures and public
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“Without extra policy efforts to speed up the recovery and support energy storage deployment, projects might be delayed or postponed,” EASE says. “The energy system risks missing out on the valuable flexible solutions brought by these storage projects.” utility commissions to create rules and encourage the deployment of energy storage technologies, says SpeakesBackman. “Wholesale market rules are changing to account for the multiple values that energy storage provides to the grid. ESA members have been instrumental in these policy changes related to energy storage.” Among policies the agency will put to Congress are tax credit schemes, grants and enabling demonstration projects. Resilience in Europe In Europe, EASE — the European Association of Energy Storage — is urging EU policymakers to make energy transition efforts central to the recovery plan in the continent. EASE is still analyzing the results of a questionnaire it put to industry representatives between April 8-21. The initial responses suggested an expectation of lower Q2 revenues — some predicting 30% lower than forecasts. While manufacturing had slowed or stopped because of the lockdowns, this wouldn’t be the longer term prob-
lem, EASE says — that would be more likely to be a downturn in the number of new deployments and projects. But there are warnings. “Without extra policy efforts to speed up the recovery and support energy storage deployment, projects might be delayed or postponed,” EASE says. “The energy system risks missing out on the valuable flexible solutions brought by these storage projects.” In fact not all projects have been put on hold, helped by the fact that many governments have classified the energy storage industry as a critical one. Tesvolt, for example, the German energy storage systems firm, said on April 1 that it had begun semi-automated production at its site in Wittenberg, the first gigafactory in Europe for commercial battery storage systems. Tesvolt will make battery storage systems up to megawatt size on a 12,000m2 area with staff isolated from each other as production continues. Fluence, the Siemens and AESowned energy storage firm, says that
“Electricity is critical to every economy as it enables all other industries to operate. Without a stable electricity network, we could not combat this pandemic nor function as a modern society,”
Production began in April at Europe’s first battery gigafactory, the Tesvolt site in Wittenberg
32 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
while its office staff all work from home, staff still carry out onsite operations “to make sure all projects can come online and operate properly. “Electricity is critical to every economy as it enables all other industries to operate. Without a stable electricity network, we could not combat this pandemic nor function as a modern society,” the company says. Jim Jordan, a partner in the UK law firm Weightmans, says energy storage as an industry has good reason to be positive in the present Covid and post-Covid environment. “I work in construction and commercial law, energy, all sorts of energy projects,” he says. “Just recently, I was talking to a battery supplier who said their business wasn’t particularly affected by the virus — for two reasons. “The first was the need to get to net zero carbon emissions — the UK became the first major economy in June 2019 to pass a net zero emissions law, legally binding it to achieve that target by 2050. “The second was that the technology is such that it doesn’t matter what size it is, whether it’s 49MW or a few hundred megawatts, you don’t need a huge number of people working on it in a confined space, so it hasn’t been affected in the same way.” Harmony Energy, a UK-based renewables-plus-battery storage supplier, says it has continued with just slight delays. “We’ve seen a growing interest in our BESS field since January,” says CEO Peter Kavanagh. “The energy storage industry is more crucial than ever — from enabling the growth of the cheapest forms of renewable energy (onshore wind and solar) and security of energy supply in many countries.” German utility RWE, which has several projects under construction to build multi-MW battery back-up, says it’s going ahead with planned installations. “Currently we have no indication of any major delays or risks to our projects under construction,” said Regina Wolter, a company official. “However, we are observing the situation and are in constant talks with our suppliers.”
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KEEPING THE LIGHTS ON IN CRISIS
COVER STORY
And on into the sunlit uplands Given the wave of deaths and family tragedies Covid-19 has wreaked across the planet and the ensuing economic havoc, there would seem few reasons to be cheerful. But for large-scale energy storage the post-pandemic outlook is positive. Energy storage at a global level is new. The economic logic behind its deployment is still advancing — and nowadays at a greater pace than the business case for renewables. Renewables have held their own during the pandemic in Europe, according to Finnish technology group Wärtsilä. In early March it set up its ‘Energy Transition Lab’, recording data week by week on how much energy is consumed and in which sector. One key finding is that Germany and Spain have been able to operate on most days using 50%-78% renewables, with energy storage handling demand during any gaps in power generation. Wärtsilä says Germany could in fact have run on 100% renewables if it hadn’t been for an unwillingness to close down fossil fuel plants because of what it would take to switch them back on again. “At some points, Germany had to export 14MW of extra renewable power to other countries such as Norway and Austria, which have flexible generation (ie, storage),” Wärtsilä says. “And at a loss. “There’s a compelling case for storage. Since mid-March, generated energy prices have come down 50% year on year across Europe, and some days prices are even negative. Flexible generation, however, is outperforming, and is up 20% over last year. Providers are benefiting from charging when prices are low and discharging when prices are higher.” What it also shows, says Wärtsilä, is that European energy storage stands to benefit from stronger connections between countries and joint initiatives across borders. “No one can know for certain,” says Jim Jordan, commercial lawyer with Weightmans. “We’ve been talking to a lot of people in the energy sector and asking for their views — what will happen in 12-18 months? — how is your sector is going to be affected? You can talk about it not being affected at the moment but no matter whether sites are staying open, no one knows the impact longer term. “I am an optimist. This is a good
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opportunity to fast track the change towards net zero, in that it will almost force our hand in some respects. But the reality is that the wheels could fall off the economy. “The battery supply industry should be more positive than other industries because it’s got a wide range of uses — behind-the-meter, grid, co-generation — this combination of projects will be happening, we just don’t know how many or how few.” Market analysts at Wood Mackenzie have published three scenarios for a post-pandemic future, from ‘Full recovery’ to ‘Greener growth’ and somewhere in the middle, ‘Go it alone’. “The actual outcomes are likely to range between these extreme cases and to include elements from each, but they give us a framework to examine how energy markets might evolve,” the analysts say. In its ‘Full recovery’ scenario, the world emerges from a sharp but short recession with massive government intervention helping economies rebound. In the second, a longer recession leads to a backlash against international trade and pressure for shorter supply chains. Neither this nor the first scenario takes into account the current movement towards finding alternatives to fossil fuels. In the ‘Greener growth’ picture, a short recession precedes a strong bounce back, the difference being that governments focus their hand-outs on energy transition programmes just as the IEA, ESA and EASE have advocated.
“Tax breaks, grants and low-cost loans are offered to renewable energy, electric vehicles, storage and other low-carbon technologies,” Wood Mackenzie suggests. Most analysts do not paint a rosy long-term picture for industry as a whole, sectors such as oil have seen prices plummet to below cost during this pandemic. But in the energy storage sector, life goes on. Large-scale energy storage developer Key Capture Energy, based in Albany, New York State, says in fact it is busier than ever. “As with everyone, the impacts are changing day by day and we continue to monitor the latest news and adapt accordingly,” says chief operating officer Dan Fitzgerald. “We modify our efforts across the board based upon local, state and federal guidance to ensure the safety and well-being of our team, consultants, and contractors. Remarkably during this time, it seems that we are busier than ever and are effectively working remotely from home. “In fact we’re even hiring and onboarding employees remotely. Our development and operations teams are able to continue with nearly all of their work at this time. We have seen minor, but manageable, impact to our construction work.” So while we look at the dark prospect of a shuttered, stationary world — at least until a vaccine is produced — the likelihood is that our industry will still have a light on.
Global cumulative storage deployments
Source: BloombergNEF
Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 33
LEAD AND THE GRID
Rolling out lead batteries — to save EVs charging from the grid
So far 14 countries and 20 cities around the world have announced a future ban on the sales of new cars that run on fossil fuels. Many of them say the ban will begin in 2030, but some cities, for instance Paris, are planning to ban all diesel engines by 2025, Rome by 2024. This sudden influx of electric vehicles is bound to have a major impact on the power grids in all of these countries and cities, as Sarah Verbruggen explains in our feature this issue. Not only will so many more cars need power, often simultaneously, they will
34 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
also need to charge up quickly. One company in the US has been working on a way to relieve the grid of the stress it will come under when drivers are charging their EVs — by using lead batteries to take up the strain. A recent feasibility study run by the Consortium for Battery Innovation (formerly ALABC), based in London, has shown that lead batteries can provide the fast charging required by EVs. They can do this without having to suck large amounts of power out of the grid in short bursts — avoiding
peak demand charges, which can add huge costs for irregular electricity users — and in a more economical fashion than lithium batteries. And now, business consulting firm Paragon Business Solutions and EAI Grid Storage, a spin-off from Phoenix, Arizona-based electrics testing firm Electric Applications Incorporated, have completed the design for one gas station with a further eight earmarked for lead battery installations to charge EVs directly rather than them having to use the grid. The lead batteries will be on charge
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LEAD AND THE GRID International Lead Award winner Frank Fleming spoke to Energy Storage Journal about a project in Missouri that demonstrates how using lead batteries at petrol stations to recharge electric vehicles —instead of tapping power directly from the grid — is an economical option.
24 hours a day in a controlled way so they are always ready to discharge power to EVs that come into the gas station. Frank Fleming heads up EAI Grid Storage along with EAI president Don Karner and Jay Lohrbach, former manager, generation projects at City Utilities, in Springfield, Missouri. Fleming, who co-founded NorthStar Battery 18 years ago, worked with Lohrbach to install his own designed Blue+ thin plate pure lead batteries in Springfield for the City Utilities in November 2017.
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As level 3 chargers push power higher and higher, there is going to have to be a buffer between the chargers and the grid, otherwise there will be excessive demand. The batteries are still in place, providing grid support such as peak shifting for City Utilities customers in the southwest region of the town. “When I left NorthStar [which has now been bought by EnerSys], Jay, Don Karner and I saw the opportu-
nity to bring a new company together, EAI Grid Storage, whose function is to sit in between battery companies and end users and help integrate and design energy storage systems based on lead batteries,” says Fleming. “My background is lead acid and I
Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 35
LEAD AND THE GRID have a great loyalty for the technology, but more importantly I feel that lead ticks a lot of the boxes for energy storage. For one thing, stationary energy storage is not concerned with weight, but also lithium-ion — which is a wonderful technology — is going to be completely and utterly absorbed by the emerging EV market. “A lot of the world’s production of Li-ion cells will be cornered by the emerging EV market. For lead batteries that market’s completely out. However what is critical is how we’re going to re-charge all of these EVs off the grid. More than that, we want to charge quickly — fast charging is critical — because people don’t want to stand around waiting for their EV to charge up. “As level 3 chargers push power higher and higher, there is going to have to be a buffer between the chargers and the grid, otherwise there is going to be excessive demand. “This system places the lead acid batteries very nicely between the grid and the EV charging. They sit on charge 24 hours a day and take the energy off the grid at a controlled rate below the excessive demand rate. “When the EV pulls into the gas station to be recharged it gets its power from the lead battery and not the grid. Lead batteries are extremely capable of fast re-charge and can give us the recharging times we need.” Fleming says a system has been designed for one particular gas station, with another eight identified as contenders for similar systems.
“The battery companies want to make batteries, they’re not experts in integrating everything together, so there’s a vacuum, where someone with knowledge of both the end user and the battery side can exploit it and help both the battery company and the end customer — that’s what we’re trying to do.”
But at the moment the scale is small. “To recharge six EVs in a day, rea-
sonably spread out, we’d be looking at around 200kWh of lead batteries,” says Fleming. “That’s basically a 10ft x 10ft x 8ft housing, which is not a large volume. But that’s using today’s current technology, so with the progress of lead batteries we can see that volume being reduced. It’s also very modular. “If you go up to 12 EVs you wouldn’t have to change the power electronics, you would just have to add additional batteries, and if the throughput of EVs through gas stations increases, we simply add another container of batteries. “Level 3 chargers are limited to about 100kW, so a typical EV that comes in at a 20% state of charge can probably get up to 80% in 10 to 15 minutes, which in a gas station is perfect, allowing the driver to utilize the concessions.” Jay Lohrbach says the work being done at EAI Grid Storage will ultimately look at more than energy storage for electric vehicles. “From the utility perspective, the expensive power is that which we have to provide for a peak service or when the user demand is highest,” says Lohrbach. “So if it’s the hottest or coldest day of the year, when eve-
Angela Rolufs, vice president for strategic energy initiatives at Paragon Business Solutions, part of the team putting the plan together
Part of Rolufs’ recent presentation showing the business case for EV charging using lead batteries
Limited scale
36 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
ryone’s at home using their air conditioners or heaters, they are the most expensive times and I have to build my utility around those peak demands. “What energy storage does is give the utilities and end users the opportunity to schedule those peaks and clip off the top of those periods. Simply put, if I can somehow delay that peak to a time when other users aren’t using their power, it saves both the utility and the end user money. That’s the sort of thing — the scheduling — that energy storage allows me to do. “It means that when several cars come in to charge at the same time, as a gas station manager if I can avoid even a portion of that for the period of time during the utility peak then I’ve essentially performed the function that avoids that utility having to buy extra generation and transmission distribution resources to get that energy to me, saving me and them money. That’s at the highest level of what energy storage systems can do for the utility’s grid.” “The end user for an energy storage system wants to go and buy everything in a turnkey sort of manner, but there’s no one there to do that with,” says Fleming.
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LEAD AND THE GRID
Consortium working with Argonne National Laboratory Frank Fleming and EAI Grid Storage are part of a consortium of lead battery scientists and companies working with the Argonne National Laboratory to investigate the deeper properties of lead chemistry. Three years ago, RSR and East Penn formed an agreement with the ANL, and since then the agreement has been extended to continue looking at lead batteries with ANL’s real-time X-ray technology, the synchrotron photosource. Tests being carried out investigate the fundamental transport processes in lead batteries, using a variety of characterization techniques under controlled electrochemical conditions. It involves the fabrication of model electrodes and the use of high-energy X-ray techniques, high-resolution three-dimensional imaging and other technologies. “Our goal is to use the advanced
technologies and scientists that the ANL has available to look at the fundamentals of lead acid, not the applications but the very, very pure science,” says Fleming. “We’re able to see a greater resolution of what’s going on at the electrodes, and we want to take the current programme and advance it with other programmes. We are proposing that we have additional programmes in future that look at the form factor of the battery, for example. “We know that bipolar is clearly the way to go — so can the government help us to develop bipolar and make it into a more viable solution?” Lithium, says Fleming, only works because of the clever and sophisticated electronics around it — and if the same sort of electronics could be applied to lead, he believes the longevity and
performance of lead batteries could be enhanced. Similarly, where lithium has had the benefit of the ANL’s equipment to examine and analyze it, until the consortium was launched, lead had not been investigated in the same way. “We’ve known for years that the core limitation is the utilization of lead inside the batteries,” said RSR Technologies president Tim Ellis when the consortium was launched. “Lead-based technology has significant unused performance potential that can be tapped by improving active material utilization inside the battery. The lead battery industry has not had enough access to the right analytic tools to thoroughly investigate this phenomenon. Using Argonne’s technical facilities means we can hopefully uncover what has been unknown for many years.”
Front row: Matt Raiford, CBI; Tim Vargo, Exide Technologies; Kevin Moran, BCI; Tim Ellis, RSR Technologies; Jon Anderson, C&D. Second row: Ed Shaffer and Reed Shick, Advanced Battery Concepts; Hal Hawk, Crown Battery; Chris Pruitt, East Penn Manufacturing. Third row: Jerry Pyatt and Steve Betts, The Doe Run Company; John Howes, Redland Energy; Alistair Davidson, CBI; Dave Shaffer, EnerSys; Ray Kubis, Gridtential; Howard Meyers, RSR Technologies; Terry Murphy, Hammond; AJ Williams, RSR Technologies; and Jim Pedersen, Teck Resources. (Not shown: Dan Breidegam, East Penn and David Mihara, Microporous)
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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 37
LEAD AND THE GRID
“My background is lead acid and I have a great loyalty for the technology, but more importantly I feel that lead ticks a lot of the boxes for energy storage” — Frank Fleming “The battery companies want to make batteries, they’re not experts in integrating everything together, so there’s a vacuum, where someone with knowledge of both the end user and the battery side can exploit it and help both the battery company and the end customer — that’s what we’re trying to do.” While the initial concept is for individual gas stations to install battery storage as the use of EVs increases, the partners envisage a scene where several gas stations collaborate to set up one storage system at a distribution centre, avoiding that centre from experiencing peak periods.
Need for coordination
“There’s not enough co-ordination between what’s going on at a utility
or user level but with the advent of the time-of-use rate and the higher incorporation of intermittent resources such as wind and solar, that integration between load and supply will inevitably get more closely knit over the next decade or so. While that happens we will definitely see implementation of forward-looking resources like energy storage and other demand solutions from the utility,” says Lohrbach. Angela Rolufs, vice president for strategic energy initiatives at Paragon, presented the project to delegates at the 18th Asian Battery Conference in Bali, Indonesia last September. Rolufs directs resiliency planning and energy technology consulting services. The next step is to decide which particular lead acid battery technology to use, with many options available, from typical AGM to advanced AGM technology, carbon negative batteries to traction batteries as in forklift trucks, and bipolar technology – which Fleming says addresses the question of how to increase energy density. “Bipolar can double density, so instead of a 10x10x20 container it could be half that bulk,” he says. “But we need to understand how each technology performs before we decide which is the best for the future.”
New opportunities for lead
For utilities such as City Utilities, it’s not just about providing recharging facilities for EVs to avoid using the grid. “EVs coming in is going to put demand on our resources but there’s another side to this,” says Lohrbach. “With the incorporation of all these renewables, solar, wind, waves — the challenge becomes the fact that they’re intermittent. That creates real challenges for the grid. They’re great resources and providers of megawatts but they introduce some challenges that fossil fuels didn’t. “Although we have all these renewables, we still have to have some fossil
“In the US there are several thousand smaller utilities that want to take advantage of storage instead of laying out new distribution or transmission lines and an energy storage unit in a small town would certainly be very beneficial. But the lithium guys aren’t perhaps aware of those opportunities and we as the lead industry should take advantage of that.”
38 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
fuel plant running somewhere to take up the slack if the wind stops blowing or the sky clouds over. They are burning fuel all the time and wasting energy, causing pollution, and this is where batteries will provide the additional buffer. “In the mid-west last April there was a period when 70% of the energy consumed in the whole midwestern region was generated by wind and solar. If that had gone down for some reason it wouldn’t have been a good day. We need something to fill the gap when it goes away for 10 seconds and that’s where energy storage comes in.” “We have this Missouri opportunity, we have a couple of international opportunities, and locally we’ve had customers approaching us wanting to demonstrate their concerns and for us to design energy storage systems,” says Fleming. “We want to get the ball rolling and make people understand that it’s a technology that can work and meet these requirements.” And this, he says, is where lithium has failed to fill the gap. “The lithium energy storage approach has always been on very big systems indeed — frequency regulation, the very big 10MWh battery applications,” he says. “But these lithium BESS suppliers are perhaps not fully aware of the smaller customers. “In the US there are several thousand smaller utilities, such as munis and coops, which may want to take advantage of storage instead of laying out new distribution or transmission lines and an energy storage unit in a small town would certainly be very beneficial. But the larger lithium guys aren’t perhaps aware of those opportunities and we as the lead industry should take advantage of that. “To have a fast EV charging station between two big cities is going to cost an awful lot of money to lay out the transmission lines, so putting in a storage system in lieu of the transmission lines is by far the cheaper and more cost-effective way of doing it.” It’s time to get lead battery technology back to the forefront, Fleming says. “We’ve never really promoted it, we’ve just relied on traditional markets to keep the factories open. Now we’ve got a brand new market, a clean sheet of paper to design the right battery for this application, and if we educate people that we’ve got a 99.6% recycling infrastructure in developed countries, it’s a huge opportunity waiting to be realised.”
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DIVERSIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
Diversified Communications buys world’s largest energy storage event — just days before the world locked down Energy Storage Journal spoke to event director Wes Doane on the acquisition, the company and staying positive despite the impact of coronavirus. Just days before most of the world’s countries slammed lockdowns on their populations, closing factories, schools, bars, shops and even beaches, international media giant Diversified Communications announced it had bought arguably the world’s largest energy storage conference and exhibition company, Energy Storage North America, or ESNA. Not great timing for such a purchase, you could be excused for thinking, as reams of events covered in this magazine were already rescheduling or cancelling because of the pandemic, airlines were being grounded, some with little hope of ever taking off again, and most of the global workforce being told not to even venture outside their own homes. But not everyone is pessimistic. Diversified Communications hosts a vast range of conferences and expos in many different sectors, including archi-
tecture, food and beverages, building, waste and recycling, health, travel, and now energy storage, the newest kid on its block. It’s still listing events for the future and if it can’t physically put them on it will find ways round it, the company says. Q: What led Diversified Communications to energy storage events? A: Renewable energy has always been of interest to Diversified Communications, which owns and operates a 1.5MW solar farm in Brunswick, Maine. We acquired ees (electrical energy storage) early last year (along with
Intersolar North America [ISNA] and Power2Drive North America) — and just recently expanded our energy storage investment with ESNA this past March. We had wanted to get involved with the solar + energy storage industry for a few years prior to the ISNA and ees acquisition, which was simply the right opportunity at the right time. The same goes for ESNA, which is known across the industry for its insightful and relevant perspectives, training, and thought leadership. Overall, our investment in energy storage is being driven by two primary factors: industry growth and attendee interest. As you know, the energy storage market continues to see tremendous growth and is increasingly integrated with solar. We’ve seen that reflected at ISNA, where energy storage has accounted for more than 30% of the exhibition space these past two years. Q Have you actually been able to host an energy storage event yet, given what’s happened? A: We did host ees as part of Intersolar North America 2020, which we ran in San Diego this February, from the 4th through the 6th. Whereas ees was folded into Intersolar North America, it will now be co-located with Intersolar North America next January 12-14, 2021
If anything, this global lockdown has reinforced the intrinsic value of inperson networking and therefore, events.
40 • Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020
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DIVERSIFIED COMMUNICATIONS in Long Beach, California. The two events will share an expo floor so that exhibitors from both events will have access to attendees from both events and vice versa. The consensus we’re hearing from co-locating these events is that it makes absolute sense given the continued integration of solar and storage, so the benefits have outweighed any changes to travel plans and the like. Q Have you turned many events into virtual ones, rather than cancel them? A: We’re in the process of making those decisions as we speak for events taking place in the second half of the year, but it’s unique to each industry we serve. We plan to run some events with a digital component whereas others have been cancelled until 2021, when we can run them in person again. If running an event virtually ends up being the best option for a given market, we’re open to it. Q What is the most important thing about events for industries like this? What do you think are the most important things that delegates get out of them, and how good are they for industry itself? A: We hear from our customers that the main benefits are two-fold. The power of bringing together different stakeholders within an industry in one location cannot be over stated. It quite simply moves business deals along faster than any other medium, especially in an industry as complex as solar and energy storage, where any one business deal may require multiple points of contact across different companies and sectors. The second is the inspiration that attendees and exhibitors leave with, which may sound a little over the top but let me explain. When an event like this is done
right, people leave with new ideas and connections, which they gain through education and networking. Those ideas and connections lead to new business ventures, product ideas, regulatory changes, and the like — all of which are necessary to keep solar and energy storage moving forward. As we face these challenging times, events become ever more critical for industry progress because they give us the opportunity to strengthen ties and build a better future — together. Q Do you think that now people are getting used to virtual conferencing there is a danger they might start to replace the real thing? After all it’s much cheaper for people to stay in their own countries and communicate from behind a screen. A: If anything, this global lockdown has reinforced the intrinsic value of in-person networking and therefore, events. We’re grateful for all the tools and technology that make virtual meetings possible during challenging circumstances like the ones we’re facing now. But we’re all feeling the gap that is left when we’re not able to meet and collaborate in person and once people feel safe, they’ll want to return to that. There is a value to in-person education and networking that cannot be replicated virtually as of now. Certain aspect of virtual events, like some of the AI-enabled technologies, will continue to be a part of our in-person events in the future. If those technologies add value and complement attendees’ and exhibitors’ in-person experience, it will make sense to adopt them for the long term. Q How are you planning your next events in the face of this virus uncertainty? A: We were fortunate that our 2020 solar + energy storage event was held
prior to the pandemic taking hold in the US. Looking ahead to our January 2021 show, the health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, and staff is above all else. We’re staying up to date with federal guidelines, preventative measures and best practices, and state mandates to ensure we make informed decisions when the time comes. We’re looking to our peers’ creative solutions and alternative formats for informative, collaborative and well-run virtual events. Regardless of the format our next show takes, we’re committed to making safe and responsible decisions in the best interests of our staff and community. Q Could there be a shift from international conferencing to more national events? A: With flight times from Boston to California comparable to many flights from Europe to the US, it will depend on what actions the airlines and individual countries take. The answers to so many questions hinge on when a vaccine will be widely distributed. Until then, individuals are going to have to make their own risk assessments on information and factors that are of course changing every day. Q There are so many energy storage events around the world — in a normal year, anyway — do you have your eye on any others with a view to acquiring them? A: We’re always open to acquisitions that make sense for our portfolio but right now our focus is on delivering the best possible experience to ISNA and ESNA attendees and exhibitors alike at our 2021 show. See our Events Section for a list of what’s been postponed, rescheduled or cancelled.
Our investment in energy storage is being driven by two primary factors: industry growth and attendee interest.
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Energy Storage Journal • Summer 2020 • 41
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Disruption to the events programme As the spring conference season approached for the battery and energy storage industry, hosts and organizers were struggling to decide whether to go ahead with events that have been in the diary for months, if not years. As this issue was released, and with the situation changing on an hourly basis, a variety of energy conferences and meetings had been postponed. While we have taken every effort to ensure these details are correct, please contact the conference organisers with any queries, or check websites below and throughout the listings.
Overview of rescheduled events
3rd Medical Battery Conference, originally scheduled for May 4-5 has been cancelled until 2021. http://www.medicalbatteryconference.com
Energy Storage Europe, which would have been on, March 10-12, in Düsseldorf, Germany, Rescheduled for March 16 - 18, 2021. www.eseexpo.com
CTI Symposia USA, due to be held from May 11-14 has been postponed until further notice. https://drivetrain-symposium.world/us/
BuildingEnergy Boston on March 23-24 has been cancelled with the intention of rescheduling in the summer. https://nesea.org/conference/buildingenergy-boston
Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition has been postponed. New date is to be confirmed; https://australianenergystorage.com.au
The International Advanced Battery Power Conference, listed for March 23 – 25 has been rescheduled for April 28-29, 2021. battery-power.eu/en
China International Battery Fair (CIBF) has been postponed from May 25-27, 2020 to somewhere between March and May 2021. TBC. http://en.cibf.org.cn/News/Details/627
Power Utility Conference due to take place on March 24-25 has been postponed. A new date will be announced shortly. https://marketforcelive.com/future-of-utilities/events/ utilities-summit/
The International Flow Battery Forum will change to become an interactive web showcase on June 30 but the conference itself is now postponed to the third week of January 2021 and will be held, as before in Düsseldorf, Germany. https://flowbatteryforum.com
The Battery Tech Expo, scheduled for March 26th has been postponed until October 8. www.batterytechexpo.co.uk
The ILA’s DCA & Heat meeting has been postponed until October 7-8. https://batteryinnovation.org/dca-and-heatworkshop-2020/
The International Battery Seminar, scheduled for March 30-April 2, has been rescheduled to July 27-30. www.internationalbatteryseminar.com The 6th Residential Energy Storage Forum in Munich, Germany rescheduled from March 31-April 2 to November 16-20, and will now be held back to back with the 13th Energy Storage World Forum (large-scale applications). https://energystorageforum.com The Energy Storage Association show, listed for April 8-10 in Arizona, US and rescheduled for August 26-28; https://energystorage.org/events/esa-annual-conference/ CMT’s 2nd e-Mobility Asia has been rescheduled from April 23–24 to July 1-2. https://www.cmtevents.com/aboutevent.aspx?ev=200412 Battery Show Europe 2020 set for April 28-30; and reset for October 15-17; https://www.thebatteryshow.eu/en/Home.html BCI at the end of April near Las Vegas has been cancelled. Next BCI: April 25-27, 2021 in Naples, Florida https://batterycouncil.org/page/2020Home
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The related CBI technical workshop will be postponed until October 8-9. The schedule for meetings will remain the same and the location for both is still the Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh, Scotland. https://batteryinnovation.org/dca-and-heatworkshop-2020/ IHS Markit, the conference organizer and market analyst, cancelled its CERAWeek, which should have begun on March 9 in Houston, Texas, and is one of the largest energy industry gatherings in the world. https://ceraweek.com/index.html Large-Scale Solar Europe has been postponed until June 30 – July 1. https://lss.solarenergyevents.com PV India Tech has been postponed until further notice. https://indiatech.solarenergyevents.com ELBC, in Milan in September — is still going ahead though the organizers, the International Lead Association, say they will continue to monitor the situation. https://17elbc.ila-lead.org
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS CTI Symposia USA May 11 – 14 Novi, MI. USA Postponed
ees Europe June 17 – 19, Munich, Germany Rescheduled for March 19-21, 2021
Contact CTI – Car Training Institute Tel: +49 211 88743 3333 Email: info@car-training-institute.com www.car-training-institute.com
China International Battery Fair — CIBF 2020 May 25-27 China Rescheduled for March 19-21, 2021 Contact China Industrial Association of Power Sources Liu Xiaoxia Tel: +86 2223 959 049 Email: liuxiaoxia@ciaps.org.cn http://en.cibf.org.cn
LABAT — International Conference on Lead-Acid Batteries June 6 – 12 Bulgaria Rescheduled for June 8-11, 2021 Since 1989, the Lead-Acid Batteries Department of Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences has been organizing a series of triennial conferences on lead-acid batteries, named LABAT. The LABAT Conference is a globally recognized scientific forum gathering leading battery experts, technologists and academic researchers from all over the world. Contact Mariana Gerganska Email: gerganska@labatscience.com www.labatscience.com/conference/index
49th Power Sources Conference June 15 – 18 Jacksonville, FL. USA Rescheduled to June 7-10, 2021 The Power Sources Conference is the oldest continually held biennial conference devoted to research and development of power source, energy conversion, power distribution and management technologies for military use. The conference goal is to bring Government, industry and academic researchers and developers together to discuss advances in power and energy technologies to support the growing power demands of military platforms and electronic systems. Attendees are comprised of represen-
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Contact UKIP Media & Events Clinton Cushion Tel: +44 1306 743744 www.globalautomotivecomponentsandsuppliersexpo.com/en/
ITEC 2020 June 24 – 26 Chicago, Illinois. USA Discover future-ready solutions for renewable energy storage and advanced battery technology at ees Europe! Europe’s largest, most international and most visited exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems is the industry hotspot for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and users of stationary electrical energy storage solutions as well as battery systems. The exhibition will be accompanied by a two-day energy storage conference where leading experts delve into current questions of this industry. Contact Solar Promotion www.ees-europe.com/en/home tatives from organizations within DoD and other Government Agencies who are responsible for the design, research, development, engineering and transition of power and energy components and systems, along with industry and academic partners supporting collaborative research and manufacturing of such products. Contact Samantha Tola Tel: +1 212 460 8090 ext. 203 stola@pcm411.com www.powersourcesconference.com
Cancelled Contact Rebecca Krishnamurthy rebecca.k@rna-associates.com www.itec-conf.com
E-Mobility & Circular Economy EMCE 2020 June 29 – July 1 Tokyo, Japan Postponed At EMCE 2020, the industry will present its latest services, technologies and future designs in the field of E-Mobility, Power Distribution and Energy Storage. Meet all the industry’s stakeholders in a spacious Exhibition parallel to the Conference and experience Demo Rides with participants and media on Tokyo’s roads. Display your products and services. Show the hottest innovations in E-Mobility: cars, trucks, bikes, drones, toys, planes, helicopters, power storage and distribution. If you seek for great opportunities to promote your products and services, the E-Mobility & Circular Economy is the ideal event for you! Contact ICM AG Susann Schmid Tel: +41 62 785 10 00 www.icm.ch/emce-2020
Global Automotive Components and Suppliers Expo
European Fuel Cell Forum
June 16 – 18 Stuttgart, Germany
June 30 – July 3 Lucerne, Switzerland
Postponed TBC Tier 1, 2 and 3 automotive component manufacturers from around the world will be at the expo to display their very latest technologies and products. Plus numerous other exhibitors will be on hand to discuss how they can participate in cost reduction within supply chains, and how they can offer new, alternative, cost-effective manufacturing and supply solutions. Furthermore, international associations, pavilions and specialist components manufacturers will be participating from the Middle East, Asia, the Americas and Europe, so this is a truly global supplier-sourcing opportunity in one compact location.
Rescheduled to October 20 - 23, 2020 The EUROPEAN FUEL CELL FORUM was founded in 1994 for the promotion of the innovative technology using technical and scientific conferences, relevant literature, and unbiased information from the media. From early on many highly successful conferences have been organised. The forum continues to be one of the most prominent meeting platforms for the exchange of scientific and technical information, as well as for the networking towards future solutions. The organisation is located in Lucerne. Contact www.efcf.com
Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2020 • 43
FORTHCOMING EVENTS International Flow Battery Forum
Coventry, UK
June 30 – July 2 Düsseldorf, Germany
July 27-30, 2020 Orlando, Florida. USA
Rescheduled to January 19 - 21, 2021 The meeting is aimed at all those interested in the deployment, commercialisation, demonstration, manufacturing, financing, component and material supply, and the sector of academic and industrial research of flow batteries. The IFBF has a unique combination of keynote addresses, oral and poster presentations, seminars, and panel discussions to inform and educate delegates of the benefits of flow battery systems and for all to learn and share in the development of this exciting technology. The programme will cover recent progress, scientific, engineering and manufacturing issues, study of financial, marketing and commercial issues. Contact Swanbarton Tel: +44 1666 840 948 Email: info@flowbateryforum.com www.flowbatteryforum.com
CMT’s E-mobility Conference Asia July 1-2 Bangkok, Thailand Rescheduled from April 23-24 As demand for electric vehicles are expected to increase in Singapore, the country’s electricity and gas company SP Group plans a network of 1,000 electric vehicle chargers in Singapore by 2020. The EV chargers are expected to be 250 high-powered direct currentzxn with a power ratings up to 350kW. The chargers will be able to support EV models with large battery capacity and longer driving range. Contact Centre for Management Technology — CMT. Tel: +65 6346 9138 www.cmtevents.com/aboutevent. aspx?ev=200412
Bangkok, Thailand
44 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2020
37th International Battery Seminar and Exhibit
Rescheduled from March 30-April 2
Battery Cells & Systems Expo and Conference July 8 – 9 Coventry, UK Rescheduled to December 2-3, 2020 Battery Cells & Systems Expo will bring together automotive manufacturers, electric utilities, battery system integrators, cell manufacturers and the entire manufacturing supply chain. A truly unique showcase, companies from around the world will use the show to launch products and demonstrate their technology to an audience of over 4,000 professionals. Co-Located with Vehicle Electrification Expo and The Advanced Materials Show, this will be a highly concentrated two days of networking, lead generation and education featuring the leaders and innovators responsible for shaping the future of this industry. Contact Event Partners Tel: +44 1273 286 399 Email: alex.oliver@event-partners.org www.batterysystemsexpo.com
Founded in 1983, the International Battery Seminar & Exhibit has established itself as the premier event showcasing the state of the art of worldwide energy storage technology developments for consumer, automotive, military, and industrial applications. Key thought leaders will assemble to not only provide broad perspectives, but also informed insights into significant advances in materials, product development, manufacturing, and application for all battery systems and enabling technologies. As the longest-running annual battery industry event in the world, this meeting has always been the preferred venue to announce significant developments, new products, and showcase the most advanced battery technology. Contact Cambridge Enertech Tel: +1 781 972 5400 www.internationalbatteryseminar.com
The 5th Asia (Guangzhou) Battery Sourcing Fair 2020 — GBF
PlugVolt’s July 2020 Battery Seminar
August 16 – 18 Guangzhou, China
July 21 – 23 Plymouth, MI. USA
Asia GBF is one of the professional demonstration and trade platforms of battery & energy storage industry, in which hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of professional visitors will gather there.
Rescheduled to )ctober 6-8, 2020 PlugVolt will be hosting its next Battery Seminar in Plymouth, MI (USA) featuring an entire day of in-depth technical tutorials on fundamental materials’ challenges for electrochemical energy storage, opportunities and challenges with solid-state batteries, best design practices for cell engineering, battery modeling and health monitoring, second life design considerations for energy storage, etc. Next two days will include complementary industry updates provided by subject matter experts from Automotive and Grid Storage OEMs, major battery manufacturers and global Tier 1 system developers and suppliers. Attendees will also get an exclusive opportunity to tour A123 Systems’ new Novi, Michigan (USA) facility first-hand and ask questions to resident experts, and enjoy some light appetizers and beverages while networking with industry peers. Contact PlugVolt JC Soman Tel: +1 877 7584 8658 Email: juratesoman@plugvolt.com www.batteryseminars.com
Contact Guangdong Grandeur International Exhibition Group Tel: +86 20289 67766 E-mail: grand@grahw.com www.battery-expo.com/index.php?lang=en
Guangzhou, China
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The Leading Exhibition Series for Batteries and Energy Storage Systems
NOVEMBER 16–18, 2020, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL SOUTH AMERICA’S HOT SPOT FOR BATTERIES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS www.ees-southamerica.com
DECEMBER 15–17, 2020, MUMBAI, INDIA INDIA‘S LEADING ELECTRICAL ENERGY STORAGE EXHIBITION www.ees-india.in
MARCH 2–4, 2021, DUBAI, UAE EES@MIDDLE EAST ENERGY: MENA‘S MOST COMPREHENSIVE ENERGY STORAGE EVENT www.ees-mena.com
JUNE 9–11, 2021, MUNICH, GERMANY EUROPE’S LARGEST EXHIBITION FOR BATTERIES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS www.ees-europe.com
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS ees South America August 25 – 27, São Paulo, Brazil Rescheduled to November 16 - 18, 2020
30th Annual Energy Storage Association Conference & Expo
20th International Automobile Recycling Congress — IARC 2020
August 26-28 Phoenix, Arizona. USA
September 2-4 Geneva, Switzerland
Rescheduled from April 8-10 The 30th Annual Conference and Expo is the industry’s premiere conference and networking event. It is the most influential gathering of market leaders, customers, decision makers, and technology innovators. Attending will provide you with new strategies, new connections and innovative ideas that will move your organization forward. The special exhibition “ees South America” is the industry hotspot for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and users of stationary and mobile electrical energy storage solutions. It will be hosted for the second time at Intersolar South America, taking place at the Expo Center Norte in São Paulo. Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies – from components and production to specific user application - it 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. Contact Solar Promotion International Tel: +49 7231 58598-0 Email: info@solarpromotion.com www.intersolar.net.br/en/home/for-visitors/ about-intersolar/focus-ees-south-america. html
Contact Energy Storage Association Tel: +1 202 293-0537 www.esacon.energystorage-events.org
12th Shanghai International Lithium Battery Industry Fair August 26 – 28 Shanghai, China 12th Shanghai International Lithium Battery Industry Fair will be held on Shanghai New International Expo Centre, China. The exhibitions of new energy vehicles, super capacitors, charging equipment and energy storage will be held at the same time. The show area is expected to reach 30,000 square meters, while more than 600 exhibitors from the whole industry chain will show their latest products and technology. Over 100 visitor groups and 35,000 people are going to visit the site with a purpose to purchase or communicate, making sense to promoting industrial innovation and development. Contact Guangzhou Zhenwei International Exhibition Tel: +86 208 395 3211 Email: cnibf@zhenweiexpo.com www.cnibf.net/en/
IARC 2020 is the international platform for discussing the latest developments and challenges in automobile recycling, bringing together more than 250 decision-makers in the ELV recycling chain such as car manufacturers, metal and plastic scrap traders, recyclers, shredder operators, policy-makers and many more. A large exhibition area is integrated into the conference facilities, where vendors meet their clients. Cocktail receptions and a networking dinner create an excellent atmosphere to get in touch with business partners and colleagues. Furthermore, the congress will offer interesting two plant tours. Contact ICM AG Susann Schmid Tel: +41 62 785 10 00 Email: info@icm.ch https://www.icm.ch/iarc-2020
2020 International Zinc Conference Europe September 7-9 Istanbul, Turkey Rescheduled from March 30-April 1 In addition to providing an update on key market trends, including supply and demand for concentrates and metal, sustainable development, first use markets with a focus on hot dip and continuous galvanizing, innovative applications and regulatory issues, this 1.5day conference offers excellent networking opportunities. The conference will be complemented by an optional plant tour to a galvanizing plant. Contact International Zinc Association Tel: +1 919 361 4647 www.zinc.org/international-zincconference-europe-2020/
the12th Shanghai International Lithium Battery Industry Fair will be hosted in Shanghai
46 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2020
Istanbul, Turkey
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FORTHCOMING EVENTS Intersolar Mexico September 8 – 10 Mexico City, Mexico. USA Intersolar Mexico serves as the industry’s go-to source for invaluable technology trends and premier B2B contacts in the promising Mexican solar market. Intersolar Mexico sits at the crosssection of photovoltaics, solar heating & cooling technologies, and energy storage. The event will be the largest gathering of professionals in Mexico for international manufacturers and distributors looking to meet regional buyers in the fields of solar, renewable energy and cleantech.
17th European Lead Battery Conference and Exhibition (ELBC) September 22 – 25 • Milan, Italy
Contact Solar Promotion International www.intersolar.mx/en/home.html
The Battery Show North America September 15 – 17 Novi, MI. USA This is your chance to hear from and meet the technical champions and industry experts who are setting the pace for the next generation of lead batteries, at an event with the industry’s most comprehensive technical conference programme. The exhibition is designed for suppliers to the lead battery industry including materials, components, bat-
The Battery Show connects you with more than 8,000 engineers and executives, and more than 600 leading suppliers, across the advanced battery supply chain. A powerful, end-to-end showcase, this leading global industry event covers today’s emerging advanced battery technology for the automotive, portable electronics, medical technology, military and telecommunications, and utility and renewable energy support sectors. Explore the full spectrum of cuttingedge solutions you need to make faster, smarter, and more cost-effective products at the most comprehensive industry event in North America.
An exhibition area is integrated in the conference facilities where vendors can meet their clients. Cocktail receptions and a networking dinner create an excellent atmosphere to get in touch with business partners and colleagues.
Contact Informa Markets/UBM Melissa Adams Tel: +1 310 883 8822 Email: Melissa.adams@ubm.com www.thebatteryshow.com
Contact ICM AG Susann Schmid Tel: +41 62 785 10 00 Email: info@icm.ch www.icm.ch
25th International Congress for Battery Recycling – ICBR 2020
Battery Experts Forum
September 16 – 18 Salzburg, Austria ICBR is the international platform for presenting the latest developments and discussing the challenges faced by the battery recycling industry. The 25th edition of ICBR will bring together many experts and decisionmakers of the battery recycling value chain such as battery manufacturers, battery recyclers, OEMs from the electronic and e-mobility industry, collection schemes operators, service and transport companies, policy-makers and many more.
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tery manufacturing equipment, testing equipment, environmental services and manufacturers of battery recycling equipment. Contact International Lead Association — ILA Maura McDermott Email: mcdermott@ila-lead.org www.17elbc.ila-lead.org
• Exchange with experts. • And bring your knowledge up to date - at our BATTERY EXPERTS FORUM. Expect high class speakers and top topics. This event is an absolute must for those involved in battery technologies. Contact www.battery-experts-forum.com
September 29 -October 1 Frankfurt, Germany In order to meet the great demand, the Battery Experts Forum will be taking place in the financial metropolis of Frankfurt am Main. With even more exhibition space, additional capacity in the conference halls and a great backdrop, the Battery Experts Forum is growing in the premises of the Forum Messe Frankfurt. Be there when over 100 TOP experts in the battery industry report on the latest technology! • Discover the hottest trends in battery and charging technology live and up close.
Frankfurt, Germany hosts the Battery Experts Forum
Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2020 • 47
FORTHCOMING EVENTS Lyon, France
Battery Show Europe October 15 – 17 Stuttgart, Germany
Batteries Event 2020 Lyon, France October 7 - 9 For 20 years, the Batteries event has remained one of the World’s most attractive event and the meeting place for technologies (lead acid, NiMH, Li-ion, Post Li-ion), applications (from micro batteries to large format batteries) and the value chain (raw material suppliers, components manufacturers, OEMs, end users, recyclers, investors,)... BATTERIES 2020 will be held in Lyon at Marriott Lyon Cité Internationale. It will cover all aspects of the battery circular economy, beginning from the production of the battery through raw materials, battery manufacturing, battery use and safety, management and applications, going through market trends, research and development, new technologies and finally closing the loop with a focus on recycling, second life and regulations. International battery industry key players such as OEM, battery manufacturers, end users, experts, researchers and recyclers will come together to discuss and exchange on new chemistries, manufacturing process, battery components, battery second life, recycling, producer regulatory obligations in Europe, future expectations and innovations. Contact Avicenne Energy Laurent PILLOT Email: contact@batteriesevent.com www.batteriesevent.com
The Battery Show Europe, co-located with Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo Europe, is the industry’s largest and fastest-growing trade fair for advanced battery and H/ EV technology. 400+ suppliers from across the battery supply chain, such as A123 Systems, CATL, Leclanché, Voltabox and Bosch Rexroth will display thousands of design, production and manufacturing solutions, including battery management systems, battery pack assemblers/ integrators, materials, components, research, testing and recycling. This free trade fair is an opportunity to source the latest energy storage solutions to reduce costs and improve the performance of battery applications. Contact Informa Tel: +44 (0) 20 7921 8166 Email: thebatteryshowcs@informa.com www.thebatteryshow.eu
Battery Tech Expo Nordic November 3 Gothenburg, Sweden The Battery industry is on the cusp of a power revolution with big technology companies investing heavily in the next generation of battery development and energy storage. The Battery Tech Expo Nordic runs 3rd November 2020 in Gothenburg — the hub of the high tech industrial sector and will bring together professionals from across the advanced battery technology industry.
The event will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the latest products, technologies and services covering the Battery Management Systems, EV Battery, Battery Storage, Battery Development/ Discovery, Commercial and Mobile Power Device sectors. Contact 10fourMedia David Reeks Tel: +44 1283 815719 Email: david.reeks@10fourmedia.co.uk www.batterytechexponordic.com
6th Residential Energy Storage Forum — Europe November 16 - 20 Munich, Germany With speakers from 12 Utilities, 3 Commercial and Industrial companies, 4 Regulators and 16 Countries, gain insights on operational projects from over 12 utilities including: VATTENFALL, EDF, E.ON, GREENPEACE ENERGY, ENEL, EVOLVERE, VIESGO, WESTNETZ, WEMAG, EDP and many others. Join us for a fun-filled dinner at the Löwenbräukeller in the centre of Munich. Get to know your peers outside of work and enjoy the impressive architecture of this historical building with a long tradition offering modern Bavarian cuisine, and of course some of the best beer in town! Contact Dufresne Davide Bonomi Tel: +44 203 289 0312 davide@energystorageforum.com www.energystorageforum.com/residentialforum-program
Battery Tech Expo October 8 Northampton, UK Rescheduled from March 26 The Battery industry is on the cusp of a power revolution with big technology companies investing heavily in the next generation of battery development and energy storage. The event will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the latest products, technologies and services covering the Battery Management Systems, EV Battery, Battery Storage, Battery Development/ Discovery, Commercial and Mobile Power Device sectors. Contact 10fourmedia Tel: +44 1283 815 719 Email: david.reeks@10fourmedia.co.uk www.batterytechexpo.co.uk
48 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2020
Gothenburg, Sweden hosts the Battery Tech Expo Nordic in November
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