Energy Storage Journal — issue 8 Spring 2015 by hamptonhalls

Issue 8: Spring 2015

Let cool heads prevail The lead-lithium storage debate steps up a notch

The new titan of lead Ecoult’s UltraBattery, ready to take lithium on, head-to-head

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

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

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CONTENTS COVER STORY

LEAD ACID AND THE GRID Separating hype from substance as competing battery chemistries clash

The value of grid storage is often judged on the prices of batteries alone, making lead acid seem a good deal and lithium ion too costly. But when the functionality of the various chemistries is compared is there such a thing as a clear winner?

One size doesn’t ﬁt all

Lithium ion would appear to dominate the grid storage market, but the industry needs a range of storage technologies at its disposal.

EDITORIAL

The rise and rise of the Horsey Horseless

PEOPLE NEWS

Younicos focuses on selling storage-as-service and announces senior management team • Alevo recruits Duke Energy veteran Jeff Gates as sales director • AEG Power Solutions appoints Casper as CEO • Axion Power mourns sudden passing of chairman and CEO • Sad farewell to Chuck LaSota • Jones, Teliska set up agency for sales, marketing of energy storage products • Australia’s AGL Energy hires AES’ Vesey as new chief executive • National Grid’s Winser to chair new UK energy systems, storage centre • New industry-academic partnership picks professor of energy storage research • NAATBatt International honours three in AGM awards ceremony

NEWS

The lessons of history

New team at Younicos

Oakridge move to take controlling stake in Leclanché ‘expensive’, but could work • Aquion to supply aqueous hybrid ion battery to Hawaii private estate • New Energy Power Systems facility to deliver 500MWh of lead acid batteries suitable for grid storage/start-stop • Iberdrola pilots energy storage system, as alternative to substation upgrade • Grid storage, transportation sectors to drive revenues in advanced battery materials— reaching $132 billion for 2014-2023 period • Smart grid installations to drive energy storage from 2014 to 2020 • Lead acid tipped for growth in India • Exide expands energy storage range with two new products • Hammond, EcoBat collaboration boosts performance of advanced lead materials • Arnold Magnetic introduces new line of thin and ultra-thin metals • Trojan targets renewables with new deep-cycle AGM battery • NEC Energy launches 12V LiFePO4 battery for off-grid and telecoms • Eos raises $15m, seeks a further $10m

FEATURES The integrators: Batteryman becomes middleman as next generation of grid storage rolls on

The integrators: interview with NEC Energy’s Roger Lin

UltraBattery throws down the gauntlet to the lithium ion battery industry

From PV to plug

Srivastava: the plans

Energy Storage India

Furukuwa: grid hero

John Wood, CEO of East Penn-owned Ecoult, explains how the company’s core offering, the UltraBattery, was squaring up to the challenges posed by lithium ion.

THE CEO INTERVIEW

Europe’s oldest battery maker, Leclanché, is about to execute the final stage of a turnaround plan away from battery producer to energy storage systems supplier. Meet the company’s new chief executive Anil Srivastava

SOLARUNITED

Inside track run-down of what SolarUnited is planning as it restructures its committees to tackle a fragmented industry. Plus: news from the association’s members

EVENT REVIEW

Energy Storage India December 3-5, 2014 • New Delhi, India

EVENTS

Our comprehensive listing of the major events in the energy storage and smart grid world

HEROES OF THE GRID Our regular section looks at Jun Furukawa, one of the pioneers of the UltraBattery

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Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 1

EDITORIAL Sara Verbruggen • sara@energystoragejournal.com

The rise and rise of the Horsey Horseless The patent office has always been the home of the weird and the wonderful. Take one patent filed in the US in 1899, describing a car hood with a life sized wooden horse’s head attached. The inventor, a Seventh-Day Adventist preacher called Uriah Smith, wanted to overcome the problem that motorcars were causing for horses. The sight, smell and noise of those first vehicles were deeply frightening and disturbing, sending horses into a panic and something to be avoided at all cost when attached to carts or passenger buses packed with people on busy thoroughfares. Smith’s idea was that horses would not panic at the sight of a motorcar if it looked like a horse. For so many reasons, which we don’t need to go into, this invention did not fly. All the evidence left, with the US Patent Office, is a sketch of the horse head on a car bonnet and a lengthy description of its purpose.

But its inventor must have been convinced he was on to a winner because Smith even gave it a name, the Horsey Horseless. Eventually horses got used to motorcars, especially as cars became increasing popular and … well … the rest is history. But the thinking behind the idea at that very time – however silly and ludicrous it seems now – came from that same place in terms of how we react to change. There was a logic to Smith’s idea; rooted firmly in a belief that the world of horsepower, would always prevail. We try to bend the new and potentially disruptive to fit. But what threatens today’s way of doing things will be the status quo tomorrow. It’s a question of when, not if. Just think back again to the early days of the motor car — one or two-seated affairs equipped for towns

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Energy Storage Journal — Business and market strategies for energy storage and smart grid technologies Energy Storage Journal is a quarterly publication. Publisher: Karen Hampton, karen@energystoragejournal.com, +44 (0) 7792 852 337 Managing editor: Michael Halls, mike@energystoragejournal.com, +44 (0) 1 243 782 275 Editor: Sara Verbruggen, sara@energystoragejournal.com, +44 (0) 7981 256 908

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EDITORIAL

and cities, far from able to match a team of pulling horses. People who drove them were viewed as eccentric, rich and a little odd. They were slower and horses were far more efficient. The notorious Red Flag laws introduced in the UK in 1865 (before the petrol driven car was even born) dictated that a man had to walk ahead with a flag or lantern to warn of the vehicle’s approach. And they had a top speed — by law — of 2mph in the city, but 4mph in the country. They were prone to breaking down. They were noisy. Their value was questionable, especially in the context of what they were promising to replace. But why change away from the tried and tested? Expensive, tricky and difficult to ascertain if they are a more efficient, cost effective and smarter way to do something, batteries on the grid bear a striking resemblance to those first motorcars. Just like cars, making their presence felt on the thoroughfares of the turn of the last century, energy storage will continue to make its presence felt on the network. Many are drawn to California’s goldrush, though the smart money is on Texas and the PJM Interconnection, while in Germany, wind and solar plant owners, and businesses using UPS, are all doing the math and can see that storage pays. The point is players now have a growing number of markets to choose from. www.energystoragejournal.com

This wasn’t the case 18 months ago. Storage is approaching a tipping point – just look at the growing number of seasoned utility executives that have hopped the fence, from gamekeeper to poacher. It took roughly 20 years from those first automobiles in the mid-1880s to reach a point where Ford Motor Cars begun mass production of the Model T. And then within a decade the motor vehicle revolution swept over America and then Europe. The industry’s equivalent of Ford might be the Tesla. It might be another, or it may well need more than one. But before it even gets to that point, storage has to continue to work hard to prove its value. It’s easier for storage to be thought of as simply a drop-in replacement for existing parts of the network, but a growing number of projects are showing that storage is most valuable if it can do several jobs, some renewables firming, peak shaving, a little frequency regulation. Storage is a grid asset quite like no other. It can even be relocated around the network. No wonder, that the conservative, regulated energy sector, it has often failed to grasp its full potential. There is change in store for the energy sector, but let’s not try to dismiss it, and stick a horse’s head on it in the hope it will eventually go away, like a passing fad. Sara Verbruggen Editor

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 3

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PEOPLE NEWS

Younicos focuses on selling storage-as-service and announces senior management team Energy storage developer and integrator Younicos has created a new senior management team, which includes several new hires. The Berlin-headquartered company has been reorganized into three main business divisions, which the new appointments will manage. The technology business will oversee software development, as a core part of Younicos’ business is developing the software needed to operate batteries in response to different grid signals. The development company will supply Younicos’ energy-storage-as-service business model, where customers benefit from storage for providing grid services or deferring grid infrastructure investments. Power purchase agreements and other financing tools will be used to fund the projects so that customers do not have to raise capital to own costly storage assets outright. Younicos’ third business — a consultancy arm — will target potential storage opportunities, working across policy, regulatory and financing issues. The team will work with utilities, grid operators and industrial and commercial end-users to identify, for example, how much storage is needed to integrate more renewables within the T&D network and will carry out grid studies to see where on the network storage can potentially be most effective. Alan Gotcher, who was CEO of Xtreme Power, is now CTO at Younicos, which bought Xtreme’s

The Berlin-headquartered company has been reorganized into three main business divisions, which the new appointments will manage. assets in 2014, following its bankruptcy. Gotcher has been bringing together both companies’ technology teams and manages over 70 staff. Clemens Triebel, who cofounded Younicos – and prior to that Solon, one of Germany’s first solar PV panel producers – is the company’s chief visionary officer. He will oversee Younicos’ advanced R&D programmes. Philippe Poux became chief financial officer at Younicos in January. Poux was the former general manager for operations and special projects at Areva Solar. He joined Areva as a vice president for mergers and acquisitions in 2005. Stephen Prince became Younicos’ chief revenue officer last November. He is responsible for global sales as well as marketing and product management. His background is in executive, large company roles and venture capital-backed CEO positions. Companies Prince has worked at include Oracle, SAIC and Edison Enterprises. Michael Mahan has been appointed as the company’s chief development officer. Mahan, a former senior executive at Good Technology and at General Electric, heads the company’s business development division,

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promoting and implementing the company’s energystorage-as-service business. He has had extensive business development experience in the energy storage and enterprise security software industry. Robert Manasse, a former executive at the renewables division of Italian utility Enel, in change of business development, regulatory affairs and innovation, becomes Younicos’ chief consulting officer. He joined the company in October 2014 as a senior adviser. Wade Guindy becomes chief operating officer. Guindy has worked for 30 years in energy storage and software businesses including Teledyne Technologies, Solicore, Valence Technology and Quantum3D. With an estimated pipeline of 2GW mainly in the US and Europe, Younicos is also planning more recruitment, across software engineering, sales, consulting and other areas, especially at its US business, with a mix of new hires and some transfers from Europe. Younicos has about 90 staff at its Berlin headquarters and around 30 working in its US offices, in Kyle, Texas. There are also plans to set up a small local office in Singapore as the company looks to expand into AsiaPacific. ■

Gotcher: CTO

Triebel: CVO

Prince: CRO

Mahan: CDO

Manasse: CCO

Guindy: COO

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PEOPLE NEWS

Alevo recruits Duke Energy veteran Jeff Gates as sales director Jeff Gates, previously the managing director at Duke Energy’s commercial transmission business, joined Alevo as director of sales and field operations in December. Gates will be responsible for project development for energy storage projects, project execution and operations, and sales of energy storage services. In particular he will be responsible for the firm’s energy storage product GridBank. Gates previously spent 14 years at Duke Energy, the largest electric power holding company in the US with assets across the Americas. Senior positions at Duke included work as an associate director in corporate finance, a strategic planning manager for growth, and then director

and managing director for commercial strategy. The first projects using its batteries and energy storage systems will be built, owned and operated by Alevo, generating revenues from providing grid services such as frequency regulation. Having Gates on board will help the company to convince utilities, grid operators and other energy sector players of the benefits of energy storage. It was during his time at Duke Energy that Gates came across the company. He says, “From being on the buyer side I had talked to every battery vendor and Alevo was the first company to talk not only of the operational benefits, but of the actual value of storage on the network.” He refers to the com-

AEG Power Solutions appoints Casper as CEO AEG Power Solutions promoted Jeffrey Casper to chief executive in November. His appointment follows the hiring of Dietrich Ehrmanntraut as its chief operations officer in September. Casper was previously chief restructuring officer and chief financial officer of the company. He remains as CFO. As such he was a key architect in putting together the firm’s recovery and financial debt restructuring — a process that started in December 2013 and only ended last August. Casper, a former director at UBS Investment Bank, joined AEG in 2009. He was a key figure in transitioning the firm to public company status, with a listing first on Euronext

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in Amsterdam in 2010 and then on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Casper is expecting good things for the future. “In the last 11 months we have refocused AEG Power Solutions on its core strengths in industrial power supplies, power control and advanced power solutions in emerging technologies such as energy storage,” he says. Ehrmanntraut joined in September and initially

Casper: new chief exec

pany’s analytics software, which has been in development for over five years, and is able to process data from numerous, disparate sources, rapidly. Alevo has simulated the benefits of fast ramping GridBanks in the western grid in the US. This required analyzing historical data from the western grid to evaluate how future deployment of battery storage co-located with coal-fired power plants will bring about cost savings focused on operations activities in the company’s largest facility in WarsteinBelecke in Germany. His background is in the automotive industry. Previously Ehrmanntraut worked at Yazaki Corporation from 2000, including heading Yazaki North & Central American activities in Detroit. AEG PS is a global supplier of uninterruptible power supply and energy storage systems as well as power electronic components for utility, industrial, commercial off-grid and renewable energy markets.

Ehrmanntraut: COO

and other benefits like reduction in emissions. “The grid is like a car in traffic, with power plants ramp up and down chasing loads. Locating storage on the network helps the grid operate more efficiently, like a car on the freeway going further on a tank of gasoline than it would by stopping and starting,” he says. Gates had primary project development responsibility for the award-winning $44 million 36MW energy storage system at its Notrees wind farm and related battery storage project in Texas. This was developed by energy storage firm Xtreme Power which, however, filed for bankruptcy in 2014. Gates is also vice chair of the Energy Storage Association. Founded in 2009, Alevo Group is headquartered in Martigny in Switzerland. The company’s GridBank system comprises scalable containers of batteries and control electronics that can be sited on the grid network. The company claims that its technology is the only 100% DoD lithium battery on the market. The devices can tolerate extreme temperature swings with no calendric aging. Alevo bought what was a Philip Morris cigarette factory in Concord, North Carolina and has kitted it out to make industrialscale lithium batteries. Production lines are being installed during late Q1 and Q2 and the factory should produce its first batteries by July. In the first year of operation the company expects to make about 480MWh of batteries and will roughly double this amount in 2016. Each GridBank is 1MWh. ■

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 7

PEOPLE NEWS

Axion Power mourns sudden passing of chairman and CEO David DiGiacinto, chairman and chief executive of Axion Power, died unexpectedly on January 25. David DiGiacinto was respected as much for his proven business acumen — fostered in over 30 years of commercial experience — as a kindhearted and fair employer, known for his ability to see all sides of the management situation: the workforce, the customer and the need for a company to thrive. “Companies are about people,” he said recently. “How you employ and lead them with structure, flexibility, and process. The other side of the people equation is the customer. Customers will buy and appreciate if they gain the confidence of their suppliers and they see a product, operational organization, and management team that can execute consistently and successfully.” He was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania — a town that despite his travels he was attached to all his life — in 1954. He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point with a BS in Engineering and the Humanities in 1975. While at the academy he lettered in varsity football and baseball. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Air Force and became a pilot in command before he eventually resigned his commission as a captain. He flew one year for a private charter before he started his business career with Pfizer in 1982. He worked at Pfizer for two major operating groups until 2000 in everincreasing positions of responsibility in sales, marketing, business development and general management

where he was in charge of businesses, domestic and international. From 2000 onwards, he joined Spencer Trask Ventures a New York private equity investment. Within 18 months of joining he became senior managing director and eventually VP for business development. Once a company or technology was identified, it was up to Dave DiGiacinto to sponsor the investment candidate through the review process, and finalize the business proposition. As part of this he served on the board of directors of several client companies, both public and private. He also held roles as audit and compensation committee chair on many of those boards. This large experience was brought to bear when he was brought into help Minrad, a troubled general anaesthesia and medical device company. He was involved in raising a $40 million debt financing and became the company’s president. DiGiacinto refocused and restructured the company. It was later successfully sold to Piramal Healthcare. After this he took on the P&L responsibility of a $200 million private label pretzel and snack food company, managing the day to day operations. This business was successfully sold to ConAgra Foods. He has also worked on various other boards of directors in helping companies to achieve their full potential. He was brought into help Axion Power in February 2014. He quickly became a key figure in the firm and took over from Tom Granville as chairman last summer when he

David DiGiacinto • 1954-2015 retired due to ill health. DiGiacinto’s new work encompassed Axion’s private placement in November as part of a more general attack to balance the books and bring the start-up firm’s exciting technology to a wider audience. In his private life, he held various civic responsibilities for his hometown, Bethlehem and also for local non-profit organizations. A local paper reported that friends and family members of David DiGiacinto recalled him as a fiscal watchdog — he was the city’s financial controller — dedicated to his city and his family. “He was a great public servant with a great love for the city and an even greater love for his family,” said Robert Donchez, the mayor of Bethlehem. “He was one of the smartest people I ever met and certainly one of the most passionate,” said Bethlehem council president William Reynolds. A local paper said that despite a divorce in 2000, his ex-wife described him as her best friend and how they still talked daily. “Dave was a devoted family man,” a friend said. He was just 61. ■

Sad farewell to Chuck LaSota Charles LaSota, president of the Battery Innovation Center, lost his battle with his cancer on January 26. His presidency of the BIC, based in Indiana in the US, was a second career for LaSota who had completed a distinguished and much respected 35-year term with the US Navy. The BIC is a not-for-profit technology development enterprise

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that brings together resources from industry, academia, and government agencies to accelerate the development and commercialization of advanced battery solutions. The BIC, which was formed in May 2012, is being considered for membership in the soon-to-be-formed Energy Hub run by the US Department of Energy. One of his colleagues said: “He

had that unique ability to very quickly grasp a technical problem and then provide the technical leadership as solutions were developed and implemented.” Jim Greenberger, head of NAATBatt International, said: “Chuck was an outstanding patriot and an even more outstanding gentleman. “He will be sorely missed.” ■

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PEOPLE NEWS

Jones, Teliska set up agency for sales, marketing of energy storage products Two well known battery industry figures, Laura Jones and Maggie Teliska, announced in January the set-up of a marketing/ sales partnership working under the banner of Regent Power/RyanTel. “A new generation of companies and products are seeking to do business in what is still a market that has largely been unexplored,” says Teliska. “The world of microgrids, community energy storage, integration of photovoltaic and wind power into smart grids, adapting existing new generation products, such as hybrid buses, to fit third world environments are just some of the products that we intend to promote.” The two say they each complement the other’s strengths. Jones — who married last autumn and is better known under the surname Schacht — brings over 20 years of consultative selling to the partnership. Teliska, with a PhD from George Washington University and a background of post doctorate research, as well as senior experience in Johnson Controls’ Power Solutions Business and consultancy work, brings technical expertise as the customer-facing engineer. The two argue that the energy storage industry is under-served and there are structural problems hindering its development. Jones and Teliska been endorsed by several key industry leaders, including Ann Marie Sastry, who runs solid state battery company Sakti3. “Laura and Maggie are Energy Storage Impresarios — they have their fingers on the pulse of the industry. Firms like theirs provide a critical business interface for

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manufacturers, purchasers and other members of the supply web in batteries. We are thrilled to welcome their new business to the industry, given their outstanding track records and joint expertise. “We’ve many companies that are filled with some of the best and brightest engineers but their problem is that this, their core strength, works against them when involved in sales,” says Jones. “Their tendency to over-analyse is confusing for buyers who don’t want a flood of information but the big picture first. It’s not just this but also the ability to engage the prospective buyer into getting the big picture and ultimately the ideal solution.” “Moreover, technical expertise only goes so far in a sales relationship where meeting a buyer’s objectives and earning their trust is only the first step. Buyers need to feel safe with their decision and that their sales rep has their back.”

Relationship building Both Teliska and Jones believe in the after-sales relationship. “It’s this that delivers referrals and future business within our small — and very connected — ecosystem of an industry,” says Jones. “Repeat business and referrals only happen when that balance of quality, trust and reliable results are achieved consistently. Over the past 10 years, I’d say 80% of my business has come from referrals.” Part of the sales’ product they offer is preferential access to parts of US government business through being certified as WBE (women owned small businesses) and DBE (disadvantaged business enterprise)

Marketing and technical savvy: Laura Jones and Maggie Teliska

members. “There are advantages in bidding for government and military business as there are quotas for WBE, DBE and WOSB business and most of the Fortune 100 companies in the US are striving to increase their diversity programmes,” says Teliska. “Some are called ‘set asides’ which can be bid on by certified small WBE and DBE (as well as veteran) businesses. It gives small firms like ours the opportunity to earn business that they might not be considered for.”

Results based “Once given the chance, it is up to us to build on our reputation and not rest on our certification laurels. We have to deliver consistent quality results or we won’t continue to win projects.” Jones says: “In my experience, women look at sales as a process rather than an event, which is why it is easier for us to establish long-term relationships with clients. It’s never for the one-off sale.”

Future business could come from a variety of energy storage directions. “Many will be in smaller niche markets that the big players don’t want to deal with,” says Jones. “It may be finding the best batteries for a certain application or integrating an entire renewable solution which will be attractive to hospitals, small communities with unstable grid systems and brownouts, or simply smaller products for other niche applications.” Jones, a long-time director of sales for Sovema, became an outside rep for the Italian battery equipment manufacturing company in December to focus on and advance Regent Power. “I’ve made some wonderful friends in Sovema and the broader industry these past years so transitioning on a positive note is unusually nice. But, the international energy industry is standing on the brink of the biggest upheaval in a century— and we need to foster the leadership to usher in these changes.” ■

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 9

PEOPLE NEWS

Australia’s AGL Energy hires AES’ Vesey as new chief executive Andrew Vesey joined AGL Energy on January 12 as the company’s new managing director and chief executive and replacing Michael Fraser who retired on February 11, following the half year results announcement. Fraser established AGL as one of Australia’s largest energy retailers and led the expansion of the utility’s activities in renewables, thermal power generation and upstream gas exploration and development. Before joining AGL Vesey was executive vice president and chief operating officer at AES Corporation, an independent power producer with

businesses in 20 countries. Vesey has more than 30 years’ experience in the energy sector, including strategic and commercial leadership of large energy organizations. While at AES Vesey gained knowledge and experience of large-scale renewables, including

wind and solar, as well as rooftop solar and battery storage, particularly the R&D and commercialization of new technologies that are expected to shape future energy markets and pave the way for new business models in the electricity markets. His duties at AES also included chairing subsidiary Daytona Power and Light, which operates competitive electricity retail businesses in Ohio and Illinois. “His experience in creating value in energy companies with evolving business models will be an advantage to AGL,” said Jeremy Maycock, chair-

man of the utility. Vesey joined AES in 2004 from FTI Consulting, where he was managing director of the utility finance and regulatory advisory practice. During his 10 years at AES, Vesey held a number of senior positions, including chief operating officer of global utilities, leading AES businesses in 10 countries, and executive vice president and president for Latin America and Africa. Before that he was a partner in the energy, chemicals and utilities practice at Ernst & Young. Vesey’s appointment as AGL’s chief executive sees him return to Australia. Before Ernst & Young, Vesey worked in at Citipower in the company’s offices in Melbourne. Vesey has also written papers on restructuring transmission grids and the role of new technology in deregulated electricity markets. ■

National Grid’s Winser to chair new UK energy systems, storage centre Nick Winser, a National Grid executive director, has been appointed as chairman of a new energy systems centre in the UK that aims to speed commercialization of storage and other energy and grid technologies. The Energy Systems Catapult, which opens for business in April, is one of several hubs set up by the UK government to improve links between cutting-edge fields of R&D and private industry. Winser had been a member of National Grid’s board for 11 years before leaving last year. This July he will also step down as chairman of subsidiaries National Grid Gas and National Grid Electricity Transmission as well as

president of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity. Winser previously had been the chief operating officer of National Grid’s US transmission business since 2001. He began working at National Grid in 1993 holding a number of managerial roles before becoming the company’s director of engineering in 2001. He started his career at the state-owned Central Electricity Generating Board in 1983, working in a number of technical and engineering posts before becoming involved in the privatization of the UK electricity industry in 1989, then joining PowerGen as

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a commercial negotiator in 1991. The focus of the Energy Systems Catapult will be on technology-based products and services, including energy storage, to transform and improve energy networks, in electricity, combustible gases and heat. Like its counterparts, the main aim of the Energy Systems Catapult is to connect businesses with UK research and academia, support the commercialization of new products and services and open up new opportunities for exporting to global markets. UK universities have been leading developers in whole systems approaches to energy as well as enabling technologies for energy

systems such as storage, power electronics, system controls and communications technologies. However, small and midsized companies that are trying to bring these types of innovations and new products to market face a number of obstacles. For example, in dealing with a sector that is regulated, conservative and complex, suffers a lack of resources and a need for supportive environments in which to test promising inventions and new technologies relating to energy systems. ■

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PEOPLE NEWS

New industry-academic partnership picks professor of energy storage research Renewable energy expert Deyang Qu has been named as the Johnson Controls endowed professor in Energy Storage Research, a collaborative appointment between the company, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Energy Institute. Qu’s new duties, in Milwaukee, include helping lead joint projects that will get ideas and concepts about storing energy out of labs and into products. He says, “This will also provide a unique opportunity for students to gain early exposure to the real-world of industrial engineering and my focus will be on developing student curricula to build the skill sets needed for advanced technology industries.” Qu has been a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts

Boston since 2005. He will be responsible for providing long-term strategic coordination between the universities and the clean

energy industry’s needs in matters of curricula, sponsored research and the nurturing of talent. During his tenure at UMass Bos-

NAATBatt International honours three in AGM awards ceremony James Greenberger, executive director, of the NAATBatt International announced in January the three winners of its awards that will be presented at its annual general meeting held in Phoenix in midFebruary. • Stan Whittingham of SUNY Binghamton will receive the NAATBatt 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award —Technology. Whittingham is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern lithium-ion battery. His work has facilitated battery applications that would have been unthinkable 30 years

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ago. Anyone working in lithium-ion technology today owes their job in part to the professor. • Naum Pinsky of Southern California Edison will receive the NAATBatt 2015 Technology Commercialization Award. When Pinsky went to work for SCE some 23 years ago and established its Electric Vehicle Technical Center, few envisioned electric drive, let alone storing electricity on the power grid, as practical possibilities. Pinsky was an early researcher and pioneer in those fields at one of the first electric

utilities to take electrochemical energy storage technology seriously. • Sally Miksiewicz, former chief executive of East Penn Manufacturing, will receive the NAATBatt 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award — Industry. Under Miksiewicz’s leadership, East Penn introduced the Deka UltraBattery, a major leap forward in lead acid battery technology, and became an industry leader in lead acid battery recycling. She was a friend, mentor and role model to many in the industry. Miksiewicz died tragically last year.

ton, Qu built a recognized research programme in energy storage systems for electric vehicles, smart-grid technology and military applications. In addition to the endowed professorship, Johnson Controls’ multimillion dollar investment in research already has produced two joint laboratories at UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science, where faculty, students and the company’s scientists work side-byside. One of the labs is a stateof-the-art dry pilot manufacturing lab, the only one of its kind on a university campus in North America, which enables work on the next generation of lithium ion batteries. The company also has funded and installed the Johnson Controls Energy Storage Research Lab, housed in the Wisconsin Energy Institute at UWMadison, to test, evaluate and optimize how battery systems perform and interact with a vehicle’s powertrain and electrical architecture. Qu brings with him two PhD students, one senior research associate and a visiting professor. He holds three patents and brings existing grants from the US Department of Energy and the Office of Naval Research. Qu earned a PhD from the University of Ottawa in Canada and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Wuhan University in China. For more than a dozen years he worked in research for private industry, including Rayovac Corporation (Spectrum Brands) and Emtech Technology Corporation (Ashurst Technology Center). ■

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 11

NEWS

Oakridge move to take controlling stake in Leclanché ‘expensive’, but could work Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, the solid-state battery system firm, is to acquire a controlling stake in Leclanché, one of Europe’s oldest battery makers in a deal that analysts call ‘expensive’ but say could ultimately work for both companies. Oakridge will acquire 11,000,000 Leclanché shares from Precept Fund Management in a deal worth $45 million. Leclanché also invested heavily in recent years in lithium titanate energy storage technology. One analyst said this will be a big attraction for Oakridge — though it could prove difficult to

commercialize. “The deal looks expensive but the company has made significant investments in lithium titanate cell production which, so far, is loss making and needs cash,” he said. “They need sales in utility energy storage and related markets at a premium price which will be a challenge.” The deal follows a joint development and marketing agreement between the two in April 2014 that provided Leclanché with a Sfr3 million ($3.1 million) loan in June 2014. However, the agreement with Oakridge is a nonexclusive relationship. CEO

Anil Srivastava says the two companies are not under obligation to use the others’ technology in each market. In the US, Leclanche’s batteries for energy storage are undergoing testing with a national research laboratory to gain certification. Two and half years ago Leclanché began promoting and field-testing energy storage products using its lithium chemistry, including residential energy storage products as well as supplying its cells for testing with wind and solar farms. In 2013, the company said it begun ramping production at its factory and validating lithium titan-

Aquion to supply aqueous hybrid ion battery to Hawaii private estate Aquion Energy, a developer of aqueous hybrid ion batteries and energy storage systems, is to supply a 1MWh battery system to complement an off-grid solar microgrid at Bakken Hale, a private residential estate on Hawaii. The battery system will store energy generated from the solar installation and enable the estate to operate entirely from self-generated solar power. The off-grid microgrid system will be designed and installed by Renewable Energy Services. The microgrid uses a 176kW solar array, a 1MWh Aquion AHI battery system, and a propanefuelled generator for emergency backup. It is designed to generate 350MWh annually from the sun, with little maintenance for 20 years. The battery storage system will enable Bakken Hale to meet most of its electricity needs with solar generation and will reduce fossil fuel usage by 97%.” Scott Pearson, chief executive of Aquion, says: “This

is the first of several very large microgrid projects we plan to supply using our MLine battery modules.” The company’s battery technology is attracting interest from the energy storage market. Last year, Greensmith, a company that integrates advanced batteries with its software controls for grid and commercial storage applications, announced it would deploy Aquion’s aqueous sodiumion batteries in its storage systems. The company confirms it is bidding for a couple of projects that will use Aquion’s batteries. Separately, Aquion announced the closing of a $36.8 million series ‘E’ financing round in November and included participation from new investors. Hawaii and other islands have begun turning to green microgrid technologies, which use solar PV and wind with batteries, to reduce the cost of producing electricity from running diesel generators and to cut emissions.

12 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Navigant Research predicts microgrid-enabling technologies could exceed $155 billion by 2023 with energy storage using advanced battery technologies being one of the big winners from this change. In February last year, US power company NRG Energy announced a contract to provide a renewables-driven microgrid for Necker Island, owned by UK billionaire Richard Branson. NRG’s microgrid system is designed to provide electricity powered at least 75% by an integrated array of solar, wind and energy storage technologies. The system will be supported by energy efficiency and control automation designed to reduce energy use and synchronize consumption with renewable energy production on the island. The agreement was signed and announced at the Creating Climate Wealth Summit, by Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and NRG CEO David Crane. ■

ate cells from the line, but since then the company has been quiet on its activities concerning energy storage. Anil Srivastava, chief executive of Leclanché, in a keynote speech at the Energy Storage Europe conference in Düsseldorf in March, is to say that instead of debating the merits of individual storage technologies the industry needs to adopt a multipletechnology approach that consolidates the strengths of different options into hybrid systems. “Different storage applications often require different capabilities. While some areas of application need high output and quick reaction, others demand inexpensive storage technologies with a high capacity,” he will say. “Frequently these various features need to be combined seamlessly with each other. These days, many people are on the lookout for a kind of miracle system that fulfils all their requirements equally as well.” Separately, Leclanché has secured a Sfr21 million ($23.6 million) credit from Danish financial services firm Recharge. The facility matures on June 30, 2016. The financing consists of two parts. A Sfr13 million portion will provide Leclanché with working capital until it can achieve steady-state cashflow break-even, which it expects to happen by the end of the year. A second Sfr8 million will fund the company’s 2015 Growth Plan, which aims to create sustained profitability and increase market share through various initiatives. Leclanché, founded in 1909 in Switzerland, is one of the oldest continuously operating battery businesses globally. It is credited with inventing the lead acid battery used for starter motors. ■

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NEWS

New Energy Power Systems facility to deliver 500MWh of lead acid batteries suitable for grid storage/start-stop Energy Power Systems, which has developed a new lead acid battery based on planar layer matrix technology, is preparing for commercialization of a high-volume factory that will make lead acid batteries, for around $150/kWh. The new plant, in Michigan, will start commercial scale production in the second quarter of 2016. It will make batteries for use in utility-scale distributed energy storage, renewables integration and batteries for start/stop micro-hybrid vehicles. The initial annual production capacity will be 500MWh — the equivalent of half a million start/stop vehicle batteries. The company says it has spent the last few years

developing its planar layer matrix nano-technology and claims it has five times the life of standard AGM batteries with over 2000 cycles at 80% DOD, over 5000 cycles at 20% SOC swing and more than 200,000 for start-stop applications. “PLM technology particularly has a sweet spot for applications that require multiple hours of storage (two to six hours) such as behind the meter applications, energy arbitrage as well as T&D applications,” says EPS. “The advantage in this segment is driven again by the lower cost as well as ability to meet a three to five year operational life which is desired by most customers.” Energy Power Systems says it has addressed every

aspect of lead acid battery chemistry, including materials morphology and processing, as well as battery and electrode design to come up with a device where the mechanisms that result in corrosion, sulfation and stratification are slowed down. Company founder Subhash Dhar — who is also chief executive of X-Alt Energy, a former Dow Kokam company that is now owned by venture capital firm Townsend Capital — has spent many years working on electric and hybrid vehicle technologies, including lithium ion, fuel cells and, before that, nickel metal hydride batteries, used in many electric vehicles today. “Here our approach has

been to take a high energy density or high power density chemistry and then try to push down the price, which is very hard to do,” Dhar says. “We looked at what’s cheap. Lead acid, of course. Now let’s think completely out of the box about making a battery that performs on par with a lithium ion one.” The new factory is unusual as most investments in building advanced battery factories to supply growing stationary and grid storage demand are for lithium ion chemistries. The new factory, which will be in a former General Motors building, is expected to create some 300 new high-tech and manufacturing jobs during the initial production phase. ■

Iberdrola pilots energy storage system, as alternative to substation upgrade One of the largest utilities in the world, Spanish electricity provider Iberdrola, is piloting an energy storage system to defer investing in new transformer equipment at one of its substations. The storage system, which went live in January, has been built at the site of a secondary substation owned by Iberdrola, in Vitoria, northern Spain. The installation is housed in two buildings, one for the 600kWh battery bank including the battery management system, based on wireless cell sensors. The other contains controls, monitoring and supervision systems, communications and power conversion equipment. The batteries store electricity during low demand, injecting it into the grid at

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peak demand, which can occur at various times on a daily basis, during the week. Iberdrola can monitor the grid load closely and integrate locally generated electricity, adapting the secondary substation’s consumption more closely to the grid by using the batteries for peak shaving. The transformers will be able to operate more efficiently, avoiding saturation. Otherwise, the power of the transformers needs to be increased, which would require upgrading the substation. The storage system also allows Iberdrola to free up more electricity for demand on other parts of the local grid network. During the weekends, when demand is less, the batteries will be able to charge fully.

The project uses lead acid batteries based on tubular cells, customized by AEG Power Solutions. The battery has to charge at double the rate of standard long-life gel cells (C/5 instead of C/10). To do this required producing a use profile for the batteries, a process of information exchange between AEG Power Solutions and the battery supplier over 3-4 months. Eduardo Lopez de Armentia, marketing manager at AEG Power Solutions Iberica who worked on the project, says: “The project is important for Iberdrola because it will demonstrate the potential of energy storage to be used to stabilize the grid in areas where high renewables penetration is occurring across

parts of Spain.” Iberdrola, through its renewables subsidiary, has developed wind and solar plants, in Spain and Europe but also in North and Latin America. The team at Iberdola involved includes colleagues from Iberdrola Renewables. The system, is part of the project SAGER (Sistema de Almacenamiento de Energía a Gran escala para la Red Eléctrica — System for Large Scale Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid). Tecnalia, the Spanish government-funded R&D and technology agency is also a partner. The project’s first phase examined different energy storage technologies, including batteries, types of compressed air storage and hydrogen. ■

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 13

NEWS

Grid storage, transportation sectors to drive revenues in advanced battery materials — reaching $132 billion for 2014-2023 period Boosted by demand from the grid storage and transportation sectors, the global market for advanced batteries materials will total $132.2 billion from 2014 to 2023, according to a new study by Navigant Research. More battery factories coming online, increased experience, coupled with a maturing supply chain as well as growing demand for products using advanced batteries are all contributing to Navigant’s predictions. Capacity and materials shipments are also expected to continue to grow. The report – “Materials for Advanced Batteries” – expects the number of annual shipments to nearly triple by 2023. The study describes advanced batteries as any mass manufactured rechargeable chemistry that has been introduced in the last two

decades. Conventional lead acid, nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride battery materials are not covered in the report, though newer implementations of lead acid, such as carbon-doped lead acid, lithium ion, flow batteries and several other

report author Sam Jaffe. While the enhanced capabilities that advanced batteries can enable has been a major driver in the increased shipments of materials for these batteries, a decline in the prices of batteries themselves is also contributing.

Stationary storage and electric vehicles are the end-user markets driving growth of the market. By 2020 we expect 90% of the battery sector to be relatively evenly split between stationary storage, transportation and consumer electronics. recent chemistries are. Stationary storage and electric vehicles are the enduser markets driving growth of the market. “By 2020 we expect 90% of the battery market to be relatively evenly split between stationary storage, transportation and consumer electronics,” says

During the last five years, according to the report, the factories in which batteries are made have become larger, while manufacturing yield losses have decreased and supply chain ecosystems have become established, nudging prices down. Jaffe expects advanced

Ultracaps used for frequency response in Ireland’s Tallaght Smart Grid Testbed Maxwell Technologies, announced mid-February that Freqcon, a German developer and distributor of renewable energy systems, has deployed an energy storage system for the Tallaght Smart Grid Testbed in Ireland that uses Maxwell ultracapacitors and lithium-ion batteries to support grid stability in residential and industrial settings. Freqcon’s Microgrid Stabilizer addresses the electricity intermittency challenges that accompany high renewable energy penetration. The testbed uses Freqcon’s Microgrid Stabilizer for voltage and frequency stabilization, with a combination of lithium-ion batteries and ultracapacitors

for active power support in the grid’s distributed network. The Maxwell ultracapacitors perform fast functions such as frequency response, while the batteries are used for peak shifting and operating reserve. As Ireland works toward its goal of 40% renewable energy generation by 2020, the Tallaght Smart Grid Testbed, run by the South Dublin County Council and the Micro Electricity Generation Association (MEGA), is designed to demonstrate how energy storage can minimize electricity distribution issues and grid instability. With multiple sources of energy generation, the grid network in Ireland must deal with voltage and

14 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

frequency issues before distributing the electricity to end users. “Smart grid projects are a priority in Ireland, and depending on the local setup, the grid challenges can vary greatly,” said Dudley Stewart, secretary general of MEGA. “Freqcon’s Microgrid Stabilizer can be customized for individual projects, and the combination of batteries and Maxwell ultracapacitors is a promising solution. We are looking forward to seeing more of these systems deployed in the field in the near future.” Stewart said that: “on achieving stable critical, the operation will open 30 new similar test beds to create a basic mesh

lead acid to see significant growth in the next decade, including the technology’s uptake in stationary energy storage applications, but the increasingly low price points of lithium ion are making it harder for advanced lead acid to compete. “We think that the advanced lead acid batteries have reached as low as $500/kWh, but most pricing we see for that technology is still above $800/kWh. The cost of the carbon doping adds to the cost of advanced lead acid batteries and we do not see a way to bring that down,” says Jaffe. The vast majority of advanced batteries are made in Asia. China is the largest producer, followed by South Korea and then Japan. Advanced battery makers in Europe and the US produce less than 5% of the global total. ■ throughout the island of Ireland.” Norbert Hennchen, chief executive of Freqcon, said, “The market for grid-tied energy storage systems is growing, and fast frequency response is a valuable system service to the grid. Ultracapacitors are the ideal technology to do this. “Based on our longstanding relationship with Maxwell and our experience with ultracapacitors in pitch systems for wind turbines, we’re bringing this technology to the space of grid stabilization.” Franz Fink, president of Maxwell, said, “With a reduced number of fossilfuel-based synchronous generators in operation, grid stability is becoming a challenge, and we expect ultracapacitors will play an important role in addressing this issue.” ■

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NEWS

Exide expands energy storage range with two new products GNB Industrial Power, part of Exide, is launching two products in the coming months to meet growing demand for energy storage. Both have been developed in Germany. The first is a containerized 500kWh energy storage system. Restore500, available in mid-2015, uses the company’s line of Sonnenschein A600 lead acid gel batteries, designed for solar energy storage. The company anticipates demand for Restore500

in regions where renewables adoption is rising, but particularly in emerging markets where battery storage in conjunction with a renewable energy plant can provide power during the night, for instance. The modular system can be customized to match specific applications, such as peak shaving for utilities and industrial sites, as well as renewables time shifting, long-term storage of renewable energy, grid voltage stabilization and UPS.

Combinations of these main functions are possible based on individual customers’ requirements and investment. The Sonnenschein battery range is rugged, has a longlife and has been used for many years in installations worldwide. GNB’s other new product, also due out in the summer, is a residential energy storage system that uses lithium ion batteries. The new offering expands the company’s Sonnenschein@home energy storage system, which has

Hammond, EcoBat collaboration boosts performance of advanced lead materials Hammond Group is working with lead producer EcoBat Technologies on a project to further improve materials used to make advanced lead acid batteries. The collaboration’s first phase will be completed by mid-year, building on each companies’ new product launches targeting advanced lead acid batteries. These are Hammond’s additives under the K2 brand and Eco-Bat’s launch of recycled lead under the Supersoft brand. The technology division of EcoBat is working on the project with Hammond Group.

Terry Murphy, CEO of Hammond Group, says, “We believe we can notably improve the performance of lead batteries and we are evaluating the best of our developments with specialty chemical additives, combined with Eco-Bat’s resources and insights with metallic compounds.” Many of the formulations under Hammond’s K2 branded carbon-based additives for lead acid batteries have been developed to enhance the performance of these batteries operating in partial state of charge.

The company is able to offer these expanders at a range of prices, depending on the customer’s battery requirements. The collaboration is in response to transportation and industrial battery segments that are demanding improved energy density and charge acceptance across different duty cycles. In the last issue of Energy Storage Journal Murphy said he believes grids of the future based upon renewables will be underpinned by lead acid batteries. However, according to

Arnold Magnetic introduces new line of thin and ultra-thin metals Arnold Magnetic Technologies introduced in December its BESThin line of thin and ultra-thin metals for battery and energy storage designs. The BESThin line, which includes nickel, aluminium and copper, enables thinner substrates to be used in battery and energy storage technologies. As the push for new battery performance materials increases, titanium and

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stainless steel are also being considered. These thin substrates improve storage capacity by allowing for greater energy density in a smaller system. In addition to thinness, Arnold says it is able to improve material performance through fi ne-tuned grain size and grain structure and uniform surface roughness. These allow for precise deposition of electrode ma-

terials on to the substrate. “Thin and ultra-thin metals play an important role in today’s battery and supercapacitor technologies,” says Ted Baker, general manager of Arnold’s Precision Thin Metals division. “We’re working to overcome the challenges and limitations of each technology, to achieve more efficient electrification of their machines.”

been available as a lead acid battery-based product since 2013. The new Sonnenschein@ home Lithium product achieves excellent float and cycle life with zero maintenance, saving end-users money on the total cost of ownership of the system over its lifetime. As energy prices continue to rise, self-consumption of solar-generated energy has become more popular in Germany, which has also incentivized households and small-scale energy users to invest in solar and storage systems with interest-free loans and subsidies that cut the cost of storage systems. ■ some energy storage system providers, lithium ion batteries outperform many of the commercially available advanced lead acid batteries in some of the more challenging grid storage applications. Price, however, has always been a limiting factor in lithium ion battery adoption. ■

Marubeni to distribute EnerG2’s next-gen energy storage materials throughout Asia Marubeni Corporation has announced an exclusive distribution agreement with EnerG2, a US company manufacturing advanced carbon materials for energy storage devices. Marubeni will have the exclusive rights in Asia — including Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea and Malaysia. EnerG2’s engineered carbon is used for high-end and high-performance rechargeable lead acid batteries, electric double layer capacitors (supercaps), and lithium ion batteries. Marubeni says its proprietary carbon technology platform enables it to design and manufacture customized carbon and silicon carbon nano-composite materials. ■

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 15

NEWS

Trojan targets renewables with new deep-cycle AGM battery Trojan Battery has developed an AGM battery that it says it designed from the ground up for deep-cycle applications. The product, Reliant AGM, increases total energy output to meet demanding deep-cycling requirements in various markets, including floor cleaning, renewable energy, telecoms, golf and material handling. Trojan will produce the battery in the US and anticipates substantial demand from the domestic market. Regulation has been a key driver in Trojan’s decision to develop the battery, where the company’s customers in several end-use markets are required to use non-spillable lead acid batteries that also address the rigours of deep-

cycle applications. Unlike other AGM batteries, which tend to have a very high initial capacity and then decline rapidly — the ‘ski slope’ curve — Reliant AGM is designed to provide sustained performance over the lifetime of the battery. The battery uses the company’s C-Max technology, which includes features not found in many other AGM products. “The active material in our paste formulation can get energy out — not just high current but energy for long duration needs. To do this you need smaller, consistently sized crystals, which create lots of surface area needed for high energy production,” says Vicki Hall, Trojan’s director of global

technical services. The paste is applied to plates on both sides of the grid using an automated process to provide consistent thickness when compressed. The separators are very porous and have a thick design to ensure high compression to prevent the paste from shedding as it is pressed between the plates and the glass mat. The polymer casing provides both rigidity to protect the cells but enough deflection to absorb vibration and shock. The C-Max technology also incorporates a flame arrester for each cell to maximise battery safety. Trojan will produce the batteries at its new-

NEC Energy launches 12V LiFePO4 battery for off-grid and telecoms NEC Energy Solutions, the energy storage subsidiary of NEC Corporation, announced production availability of a lithium iron phosphate battery at the end of January. The new ALM 12V35 battery uses technology from A123 Systems, which Japanheadquartered NEC bought

in 2014. The product is being sold as an alternative to 12V 35 amp-hour lead acid batteries, extending the service life and reducing total cost of ownership of systems such as telecoms, remote off-grid power, uninterruptible power supply, solar PV and medical carts. The battery is suited to

deep cycling applications, such as weak and off-grid power systems, including remote telecoms and oil and gas. Key benefits of the ALM 12V35 include twice the usable energy at fast discharge rates, says the firm. This can cut – by up to half – the number of similarly sized

est factory, in Sandersville, Georgia. Though completed in 2007, the Sandersville plant closed following the global economic crisis, and the production tools were sent to other Trojan facilities. This February Trojan flew in engineers and staff, from around the world including Haiti, Japan and Spain for training about the new product. The floor care market is providing the biggest demand for the new batteries though the solar and renewable energy market is also expected to grow rapidly. As with telecoms, the use of solar with battery storage is growing as the cost of solar panels has fallen and the operational expenditure is less compared with diesel. However, sites are often remote, requiring a tough, durable battery that provides energy as well as power for back-up. ■ batteries required for high power applications. Charge rates are faster than standard lead acid batteries and other lithium ion batteries, enabling systems to remain in service longer, reducing the total cost of ownership. The batteries are also compatible with most lead acid battery chargers, use built-in management and communications for monitoring and have integrated safety systems developed by NEC. ■

Eos raises $15m, seeks a further $10m Eos Energy Storage, a developer of grid-scale battery systems, has raised $15 million from a private placement with specialist energy investment firm AltEnergy. The New York-based start-up plans to raise a further $10 million from other investors. The money will be used to scale up manufacturing of its hybrid zinc cathode, aqueous electrolyte-based battery, known as the Aurora battery. Eos previously raised

about $27 million in two funding rounds from investors including AltEnergy, NRG Energy and Fisher Brothers. Eos says its batteries promise 75% round-trip efficiency, along with a 10,000-cycle, or 30-year, lifetime, at a price point of $160/kWh, much lower than the cheapest competing lithium ion battery grid storage systems. The company has partnered with utilities and grid

16 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

operators to commercialize its battery storage systems, including Enel, National Grid and Public Service Company of New Mexico. Eos Energy Storage will also demonstrate its gridscale battery system at Pacific Gas & Electric’s Smart Grid Lab in San Ramon, California, with the support of a $2.1 million award from the California Energy Commission. “We’ve developed an energy storage solution

designed specifically to meet the requirements of California’s utilities and industrial users. At a price of $160/ kWh, our batteries will compete with gas peaking plants and copper wire to provide peak generation and infrastructure benefits,” says Philippe Bouchard, Eos vice president of business development. Commercial volumes of Eos’s MW-scale Aurora systems will be available in 2016. ■

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COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE

Separating hype from substance as competing battery chemistries clash The value of grid storage is often judged on the prices of batteries alone, making lead acid seem a good deal and lithium ion too costly. But when the functionality of the various chemistries is compared is there such a thing as a clear winner? Sara Verbruggen reports. Grid storage is probably the battery industry’s toughest challenge yet. More often it seems that in many projects happening now, energy storage systems are expected to do not one, but often several things. It’s partly the result of how the electricity grids are regulated, where stor-

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age is too expensive to be solely a generation or a distribution asset, so its value is extracted by measuring out a multiplicity of different services and functions, over the system’s lifetime. These values might be calculated by deferring the cost of investment needed in putting more copper wires into

the system, or from providing the various different additional services that generators provide the grid to keep it all operating smoothly. Specialized software controls are critical parts of modern energy storage systems. Nevertheless, at the core of these systems is the battery, called on

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 17

COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE to absorb and inject electricity into the grid, on a daily basis or, in cases, many times a day. The industry is going through a hype cycle and at the heart of the bubble is lithium ion. Some forecasts suggest variants of this chemistry are going to dominate

grid storage in the years to come — lithium sulfur and lithium air are recent favourites — while others see lithium ion as being too expensive to ever provide real genuine value for investors. Some are already saying that lithium ion is a battery technology that will be

The global grid storage market is still in its early throes. Where batteries are concerned, it will be a case of horses for courses, analysts think. Many say that is why companies such as Greensmith and Younicos, have opted to be battery agnostic and focus on applications and software needed to make batteries perform well for grid storage tasks. THE DILEMMA OF COST METRICS: THE NEED FOR A BIGGER PICTURE

Anil Srivastava, chief executive at Swiss battery manufacturer Leclanché, thinks the continuing obsession with pricing batteries in terms of dollars or euros per kilo watt hour, only engenders hype. He believes it has led to some aggressive pricing, particularly by the bigger energy storage players, looking to take a large chunk of the market. As a sustainable long-term strategy by the industry, it is questionable. “Expressing the cost of the storage system cost at the investment level, such as in euros or dollars per kWh, does not account for the operational cost or the total cost of ownership, which is deﬁned by the chemistry operating under a load proﬁle,” he says. The solar photovoltaics industry fell into a similar trap a few years back, expressing cost of this form of

18 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

renewable energy generation as cost per watt. The result was that while it encouraged the industry to push hard to reduce costs — and prices have come down dramatically — the trend also facilitated a price war. This encouraged solar panels to be produced as a mass commodity product, leading to compromised product quality in many cases. Nowadays, usually the cost of a utility scale solar or wind power plant is calculated using a common metric that was used for more traditional power plant assets, levellised cost of energy (LCOE). This considers all costs, not only capital outlay on the plant itself but the operational expenditure over the plant’s operational lifetime, such as costs of fuel, operations and maintenance and other considerations.

supplanted sooner rather than later. Compared with its share of the overall global battery market lead acid is disproportionately under-represented in grid storage, even in the format of advanced lead acid, which has been commercialized by companies including East Penn, through its Ecoult subsidiary — see interview on page 36 with John Wood, Ecoult CEO — and Axion Power. Some energy storage insiders say that is for good reason. Lead acid batteries lack the functionality of lithium ion. The $44 million 36MW/24MWh Notrees energy storage project in Texas, owned by Duke Energy, is to have its advanced lead acid batteries swapped out. They will most likely be replaced with a lithium ion variant. In January 2013, when it was connected up to the grid the Notrees Battery Storage Project was one of the largest grid installations in the US at the time. Duke Energy matched a $22 million grant from the US department of energy to install large-scale batteries capable of storing electricity produced by the company’s 153MW Notrees wind farm in west Texas. The system was supplied by Xtreme Power, which had also commercialized an advanced lead acid battery under the PowerCell brand. However Xtreme ran into cashflow problems and in 2013, the firm put its battery manufacturing business up for sale, to raise funds and focus on the management side of energy storage, by testing qualifying and integrating different battery technologies. However, the company could not sell the battery business and even with over 77MW of energy storage projects under its belt, including installations on Hawaii, was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2014. Its assets — exclusive of the battery business — were picked up by Younicos. Jeff Gates, director of sales and field operations and energy storage provider Alevo, says, “I can’t comment on the Notrees storage project, but the batteries are doing a different duty cycle compared with when the project was initially commissioned, responding to a new signal that did not exist when they were installed. At conferences it was suggested that the batteries would most likely need to be replaced fairly early on because of this.” Gates was managing director at Duke Energy’s commercial transmission business, and worked on the utility’s storage pilots and the Notrees project, before joining Alevo as director of

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COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE sales and field operations in December. The Switzerland-headquartered company is a vertically integrated provider of energy storage systems, investing in the region of $1 billion in a factory in North Carolina to make its lithium ion batteries that use a solidstate electrolyte. Some observers are more direct about the lack of a role that they see for lead acid batteries in grid storage. When it started out, Greensmith, a US supplier of grid-integrated energy storage systems used a lead acid battery for UPS functionality. John Jung, the company’s founder says, “Lead acid has not kept up with lithium ion as it pertains to broad, grid scale energy storage needs in several ways. That includes, cycle life, which is a fraction of what lithium ion is these days. “Useful capacity is anywhere from 30%-70% state of charge, versus 5%95%, or better, for lithium ion. These two factors creates an energy unit cost disadvantage for lead acid when you calculate a levellized cost analysis in contrast to nameplate pricing per kilowatt hour.” His company regularly collects pricing versus performance quotes from lead acid vendors along with those for other types of batteries. Then there can be other issues concerning lead acid too. Lack of density is a problem for some applications with space constraints. The Notrees energy storage project also shows that some types of advanced lead acid may not be up to high power applications like frequency regulation, though poor integration and issues with software controls can also be likely to blame. “Lead acid could retain niche markets like backup cell towers in India or automobiles in general but it’s not really advancing either on the cost front or innovation which is a huge contrast to the growth, scale and innovation seen from not only li-ion but flow and new technologies like aqueous ion by Aquion,” says Jung. When Younicos was getting started the company’s founders looked at over 20 different energy storage technologies, including supercapacitors, compressed air as well as several types of battery technologies, including lead acid and advanced lead acid. Company spokesmen Philip Hiersemenzel says, “We looked at lead acid technologies since such a lot of bids for projects at the time were based on these types of batteries. Even then, we were sceptical.

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Lead acid has not kept up with lithium ion as it pertains to broad, grid scale energy storage needs in several ways. That includes, cycle life, which is a fraction of what lithium ion is these days. “Useful capacity is anywhere from 30%-70% state of charge, versus 5%95%, or better, for lithium ion — John Jung, Greensmith

The batteries on the Notrees energy storage project are doing a different duty cycle compared with when the project was initially commissioned, responding to a new signal that did not exist when they were installed

“While these batteries were cheaper they had issues, such as only being able to be discharged to 40%, both for lead acid and advanced lead acid.” The company settled on three main battery technologies, vanadium flow, sodium sulphur and lithium ion. Even though it acquired the intellectual property for a vanadium redox flow battery technology and set up the Austrian company Cellstrom to commercialize these types of batteries, Younicos has reduced its stake in Cellstrom, which is now majority-owned by renewable energy company Gildemeister. “We made two decisions, to not become a battery manufacturer and not to use lead acid batteries, or variants of the technology, unless the customer specifically wants them,” says Hiersemenzel. The company continues to test vari-

ous battery technologies in its labs. The Samsung cells used in the Leighton Buzzard energy storage project, in the UK, which deploys Younicos’ software controls to address various grid applications, uses the same chemistry as lithium ion batteries found in BMW’s electric car model. “It is the software that transforms a car battery into a stationary storage battery,” says Hiersemenzel. “I don’t have a crystal ball but cost reductions in lithium ion are projected to fall by 20% yearly. This is being driven by the e-mobility market. Lead acid has been around so long that there is not the potential for it to reduce in cost, it is already a mass manufactured product with economies of scale achieved. “Lithium ion factories are being built. Not just the Tesla gigafactory but in Asia, by companies such as

$150/kWh is a realistic and sustainable price point for lead acid as opposed to some of the aggressive pricing in the lithium ion battery market, where players are prepared to incur losses to gobble up market space. Their strategy requires deep pockets and does not always work out.” — Subhash Dhar, Energy Power Systems Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 19

COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE Samsung. You only have to look at the solar PV industry to realise that a claim that a particular technology is always going to be too expensive can be proved wrong.” However, Subhash Dhar, chief executive of Energy Power Systems which makes an advanced lead acid battery using planar matrix technology, says “An accurate metric governing how the cost of batteries are measured is cents per kWh per cycle. “We have a

long cycle life. If our cost is low then that metric is favourable.” However, if he has to put a price on the batteries they are about $150/ kWh. “This is a realistic and sustainable price point for lead acid as opposed to some of the aggressive pricing in the lithium ion battery market, where players are prepared to incur losses to gobble up market space. But that’s a strategy that requires deep pockets and does not always work out.”

IT IS LEAD ACID, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT Question: How do you come up with a cheap battery that’s up to scratch in terms of a comparison of lithium ion performance? Answer: You take battery and storage expertise from across several technologies, but exclude lead acid. Then you go ahead and make a lead acid battery. That’s the gist of how Energy Power Systems, got started. “In August 2011 we walked through the doors of these premises,” says Subhash Dhar, the chief executive and company founder from its headquarters in Troy, Michigan. “None of us knew anything about lead acid. Between us we had worked with nickel-metal hydride batteries, lithium ion batteries, fuel cells, metal oxide coatings. But not lead acid.” The approach was a deliberate one. “We couldn’t risk having that mentality of, ‘But, you can’t do this. Or ‘But, that’s not going to be possible.’ We needed to tackle this without blinkers.” The challenge Dhar and his team set themselves was to do the opposite of the lithium ion battery industry. “For years it was always about once lithium ion scales the cost will come down. The industry was saying this every 10 years and it wasn’t happening.” Dhar should know. He’s worked on electric and hybrid vehicle technologies, including lithium ion, fuel cells and, before that, with nickel metal hydride batteries. He’s also the chief executive of Xalt Energy, a high tech ﬁrm that deploys lithium ion batteries for energy storage. “Our approach has been to take a high energy density or high power

20 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

density chemistry and then try to push down the price, which is very hard to do. We looked at what’s cheap. Lead acid, of course. Now let’s think completely out of the box about making a battery that performs on par with a lithium ion one.” That approach is starting to register with pockets of the energy storage industry as well as the automotive sector producing micro-hybrid models for the North American market. From its pilot line in its Troy facilities, Energy Power Systems is able to make a small number of batteries a week and send these off to prospective partners and customers for testing and qualifying. “We’ll keep doing that through this year and into next year,” he says. Meanwhile the company will build its high volume factory about 12 miles north of its premises (see news section). This should be operational by mid-2016. Then, production from the pilot line will make the transition to the full-scale factory line.

Dhar: “we needed to tackle this without blinkers”

Dhar’s company is building a factory that will produce a new type of advanced lead acid battery, based on the company’s proprietary technology. The batteries use the same ingredients as the traditional lead acid industry, but that’s where the similarities end. Every aspect, from materials morphology to battery design has been reconfigured radically. “For example, lead is used in the substrate but is used differently than how it has traditionally been used. There is no casting process. We use the same lead oxides as used by the lead acid industry. But the form — the morphology — of the materials is different,” he says. The resulting PLM batteries eventually corrode and undergo sulfation and other mechanisms that cut down their performance and lifetime — the difference, however, is that only processes have been slowed right down. Dhar says the company made a conscious decision not to play up the lead acid origins of his company’s PLM batteries. “When it comes to markets like grid storage, there are questions about the performance of lead acid technology, including advanced formats. Our focus is on the application, but of course we do not shy away from telling people what chemistry is at the heart of PLM.” Valuing energy storage on the price of batteries, as in dollars or euros per kilowatt hour, may not do lead acid players breaking into grid storage any favours either, in the long term. A new report out by Navigant Research forecasts the global market for materials for making advanced batteries will total $132.2 billion from 2014 to 2023. Demand from grid storage and transportation sectors is driving demand. While advanced lead acid materials can expect to see significant growth in the next decade, the falling cost of lithium ion is making it harder for advanced lead acid to compete. The cost of advanced lead acid batteries has reached as low as $500/ kWh, according to the consultancy, but the cost of the carbon doping — adding carbon materials — to lead acid batteries to enhance their performance under partial state of charge (PSOC) intensive applications, adds to their cost. Grid storage covers a broad range of applications and for high power applications, such as frequency regulation, lithium ion seems to be favoured though there are lead acid batterybased energy storage installations that are performing these tasks.

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COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE “You only have to look at the solar PV industry to realise that a claim that a particular technology is always going to be too expensive can be proved wrong.”

The Samsung cells used in the Leighton Buzzard energy storage project — battery building shown above — in the UK, which uses Younicos’ software controls to address various grid applications, uses the same chemistry as lithium ion batteries found in BMW’s electric car model

Last year, Axion Power was named as the supplier of energy storage and frequency regulation for the largest solar farm in Pennsylvania, which will comprise two 2.4MW plants. As well as storing electricity for supplying the local Coatesville Area School District, the storage system, based on Axion’s advanced lead acid technology, will provide frequency regulation services for the PJM Interconnection. East Penn, too, has supplied some grid storage installations using the advanced lead acid technology in the UltraBattery of its subsidiary, Ecoult. Chad Christ, marketing manager for East Penn’s motive and reserve power batteries, thinks the balance is tipping in favour of lead acid. The lead acid industry is mature with a growing base of over 20GW of existing installed stationary storage in the US, with more than 6GW being installed each year in new sites and refits. “This storage doesn’t grab headlines because it is relatively passive — performing stand-by functions for data centres and critical industries,” he says. In terms of the short term need for ancillary services, and variability management on the grid and microgrid systems, 20GW is very large. “But it is a tiny amount of the output of the lead acid industry today and the industry can expand readily. East Penn is investing in expanding its industrial manufacturing capacity, for industrial and motive, while investing in the Ultrabattery technology to address the needs of advanced products for grid storage,” says Christ. He says the next step is to draw upon the manufacturing and support industries that maintain the 20GW installed

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base of lead acid cells to support the growth of grid storage. “We see scope for a gradual evolution of the existing stationary industry away from single purpose backup to dual purpose systems that can both provide backup and contribute to grid services. The existing backup systems provided a resource that is already grid connected.” Potentially these can begin to be migrated to new lead-acid formats, bringing large banks of distributed, cycling storage online. Financial incentives will encourage data centres to install fast cycling storage to earn grid regulation revenues in increasing numbers of grids. Ecoult says it is pursuing leads for the business. “The only hurdle is the cultural change required for understandably conservative owners of data centres who depend entirely on uninterrupted power,” says Christ. How long this change might take to happen is difficult to judge, in part as many UPS players say that the sort of proposal put forward by East Penn is more theory than reality. Nevertheless East Penn is building on its earlier projects such as the PNM Prosperity site in New Mexico. “This project has delivered and exceeded the original project objectives and is continuing to operate extremely effectively, while our PJM grid frequency regulation project is a profitable installation that has been used as a showcase for several fullycommercial projects that will begin to come online over the next year,” says John Wood, chief executive of Ecoult, the East Penn subsidiary. “These are MWscale projects with a multi-purposing capability. The customer will use the storage infrastructure for their own internal requirements, such as load management or backup, but will have a regular income stream gained by using the batteries to sell

frequency regulation services to the grid operator.” The global grid storage market is still in its early throes. Where batteries are concerned, it will be a case of horses for courses, many think. Many analysts say that is why companies such as Greensmith and Younicos, have opted to be battery agnostic and focus on applications and software needed to make batteries perform well for grid storage tasks. Leesa Lee, senior vice president of product management and marketing at Greensmith says, “Our software platform gives our suppliers’ batteries an edge. We spend an inordinate amount of time researching and keeping up to speed on batteries, including new chemistries and technologies and new iterations of existing technologies. “The process of integrating them with our software can take two to eight weeks and we also regularly visit our vendors’ factories.” Currently two thirds of the company’s batteries come from lithium ion suppliers, though the company is bidding for projects that will use Aquion’s aqueous ion batteries. “There is not a single chemistry or a single product that can serve all needs. But we’ll have something compelling to offer, for behind the meter and for load shifting, for example,” says Dhar. ■

Energy Power Systems made a conscious decision not to play up the lead acid origins of its company’s PLM batteries.

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 21

COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE Lithium ion would appear to dominate the grid storage market, but the industry needs a range of storage technologies at its disposal.

One size doesn’t ﬁt all Announcements such as Tesla’s lithium ion giga-battery factory — where Elon Musk is rumoured to be extending its domestic specific plans for home energy storage to that of the grid — and more recently, a $1 billion lithium ion battery plant investment by Alevo, help contribute to the idea that grid storage technology is synonymous with lithium ion batteries. But big grid storage systems are not like cell phones or laptops. These batteries will have a big role to play in the coming years but they are not the whole story. In Germany industrial and commercial companies that have invested in onsite renewable energy generation, such as wind, solar and biomass, are beginning to investigate the economics of having onsite energy management and storage. GNB Industrial Power/Exide, one of the major lead acid battery makers, is working with potential customers that are evaluating how batteries can be used to provide uninterruptible power supply and also deliver controlled power to the grid and to generate additional returns. The company is launching a containerized 500kWh system that will use its Sonnenschein Solar gel lead acid batteries. “It is important that the batteries are not only able to discharge power when needed but also act as a sink

to absorb power. The battery therefore provides positive and negative controlled power to the grid,” says Martin Sinz product director advanced applications and renewable energy systems. Germany operates a primary, a secondary and a tertiary control reserve market. Providers are paid to bank power as well as release it into the grid. There is also interest in the system from other countries, where a battery in conjunction with a renewable energy plant, for example, can provide power during night time, often in places where the grid is not that well reinforced. “The advantage of lead acid is that it is well proven and it works. With lithium ion many suppliers have not been around for as long. Also costconscious customers are interested in lead acid technology, which can be 30% more economical than lithium ion batteries,” says Sinz.

“It is important that the batteries are not only able to discharge power when needed but also act as a sink to absorb power. The battery therefore provides positive and negative controlled power to the grid” — Martin Sinz, Exide 22 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

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COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE Spanish utility Iberdrola is piloting an energy storage system supplied by AEG Power Solutions. The decision to use lead acid batteries was driven by the specifics of the application. The system is installed in northern Spain on the premises of a secondary substation, owned by Iberdrola, located in Júndiz, Vitoria and will be operated by Iberdrola as part of a project called SAGER (Sistema de Almacenamiento de Energía a Gran escala para la Red Eléctrica — System for Large Scale Energy Storage for the Electricity Grid). The first phase of the project examined various different energy storage technologies, including different batteries, types of compressed air storage and hydrogen. SAGER II will provide results and data on how a battery storage asset operates on the network. AEG Power Solutions supplied the whole 600kWh energy storage system, including the battery management system, software controls and the power conversion system.

The Tensor Solar batteries are used in solar integrator Belectric’s Energy Buffer Unit, designed to be used as part of a hybrid power system that can integrate a solar plant, with other energy sources

Tubular lead The project uses lead acid batteries based on tubular cells, customized by AEG Power Solutions for the demands of the project as the battery needs to be able to charge at double the rate of standard long-life gel cells and is required to cycle for 1800 cycles at 80% DOD and 5200 cycles at 20% DOD. Variables such as temperature will have an impact on the battery’s lifetime and the project will provide lots of data on the performance of the batteries, but it is expected that the BESS may have an operational lifetime of between five and eight years, based on DOD of 80%, lasting 1800 cycles, cycling five days a week. The batteries were selected and qualified by AEG to ensure level of quality and reliability. To do this required producing a use profile for the batteries, a process of information exchange between AEG PS and the battery supplier over three to four months. AEG Power Solutions wants to supply the energy storage market as a turnkey supplier of systems or as a supplier of components, such as its power converters developed from technology already widely commercialized in large solar plants. “As batteries are the most expensive component of an energy storage system, in the role of integrator we would source the batteries but also need to build this into our margins, so we see the opportunity to be a component sup-

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“As batteries are the most expensive component of an energy storage system, in the role of integrator we would source the batteries but also need to build this into our margins, so we see the opportunity to be a component supplier as well as doing full-scope energy storage system installations,” — Stefan Kempen, product manager, AEG plier as well as doing full-scope energy storage system installations,” says Stefan Kempen, product manager for advanced power solutions at the company. In a separate energy storage project in Germany, AEG Power Solutions supplied its Protect SC converter to Vanadis Power, which supplied vanadium redox flow batteries for an en-

ergy storage project in northern Germany. The Braderup project uses two types of batteries — the other is lithium ion. Kempen sees potential for hybrid storage projects increasing in prevalence as the market grows, because it means batteries are selected for their specific performance strengths.

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 23

COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE SAFETY FIRST

Lithium ion is popular for grid storage but its detractors argue that as well as being expensive, there are other issues too. Concerns range from issues of safety to long-term fears that it may soon be out of date. On the safety front some companies are making progress. One of these is Leclanché. The Swiss battery maker has spent the last two years ramping its factory for making lithium ion batteries, based on lithium titanate chemistry originally developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology. Leclanché acquired the spin-out Bullith Batteries in 2006 in Willstätt in Germany. For the cells Leclanché developed a proprietary ceramic separator, which forms a strong barrier between the anode and cathode materials. The ceramic structure of the separator has been designed to ensure the safety of its cells. Last year the company struck a collaboration agreement with SaintGobain to develop a new separator that uses polymers and inorganic grains and powders, through a Saint-Gobain division that produces material ﬁlms, ceramics, slurries, and inorganic materials. Leclanché will use the separator in its stationary storage product range, while Saint-Gobain will market them for other lithium ion cell applications. Last year, Alevo, another advanced battery company headquartered in Switzerland, bought what was “For medium term storage duties, required on a daily basis, lead acid could be used. For long-term needs, such as weekly or monthly, vanadium redox flow is suitable while for short, fast charging, perhaps multiple times a day, lithium ion is suitable,” he says.

24 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

a Philip Morris cigarette factory in Concord, North Carolina and has turned it into an industrial lithium battery plant. The factory is expected to produce its first batteries by July. These will be used in its GridBank energy storage system, which the company is planning to install in the next year in the US. Each GridBank is 1MWh in size and modular. The company’s chemistry is the first inorganic lithium battery to be commercialized, a technology that has proven hard to take from the laboratory bench and then into production. Alevo will not divulge the original source of the chemistry, which is a sulphur-based inorganic lithium ion electrolyte. The company took control of it by acquiring Fortu PowerCell, a Germany company founded in 2007. Fortu had tried to secure state tax breaks to build a factory in Michigan, before it went insolvent. But, before Fortu tried to commercialize it, the technology was developed under a public private partnership arrangement. “For the specific application it was developed for the technology had to be 100% safe. So the researchers concluded that whatever lithium ion technology was used the source of it becoming flammable and combustible had to be eliminated, which led them down the inorganic electrolyte route,” says Jeff Gates, director of sales and field operations at Alevo. Starting with a completely safe non-flammable cell technology, other features became apparent. “The cells are very reliable and they last a very long time. So this by-product of longevity would also prove useful for grid storage,” says Gates. The batteries have achieved 40,000 recharge cycles. Alevo has not been around that long, so it has secured a third party company — in insurance — to give the batteries a 20 year warranty. The company also supplies rectifiers for hydrogen storage. AEG is also drawing on its UPS business and experience gained to also go after microgrid and off-grid projects. “In North America, there is an increasing demand for storage to provide

“Even though these systems are not cost-competitive yet, it would be short-sighted to assume that lithium ion prices will not come down to the level that makes it competitive with lead acid” — Martin Sinz, Exide grid services such as frequency regulation and arbitrage, but another ben nefit is for the systems to act as a standalone back-up power source, kicking in when the main grid is down, for example due to bad storms,” he says. Through its UPS business AEG PS has a lot of experience of building and controlling islanding grids and furthermore of working with classical batteries such as lead acid or nickel cadmium.

Medium-term storage While Kempen acknowledges the technology for its reliability and versatility for applications such as backup and UPS, he says: “In the energy storage market, while we do see a role for lead acid, for medium-term storage, especially as it is so cost-efficient, other storage technologies will also be needed depending on the requirements placed on storage systems. “These are dictated by the needs of the grid for specific applications. But in any system configuration the selection of the right set of battery technologies and qualifying of the batteries is really important to ensure the storage project maximizes value.” For more power intensive requirements GNB Industrial Power has used an established lead acid technology gained through its acquisition of Hagen. The company made batter-

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Linking the Solar Power Generation and Energy Storage Technology Value Chain Are you ready to be connected?

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COVER STORY: LEAD ACID AND GRID STORAGE ies for German submarines and also a huge 14MWh battery installed in West Berlin between 1986 and 1994, operated by BEWAG for grid services. GNB’s line of Tensor Solar batteries, launched in 2012, use the same core technology and battery design as that used in the Berlin battery bank. The battery’s excellent performance in PSOC is achieved through using conductive copper-stretched metal, for optimizing internal resistance, in combination with positive tubular electrodes and larger cross sections of current conducting components. The Tensor Solar batteries are used in solar integrator Belectric’s Energy Buffer Unit, designed to be used as part of a hybrid power system that can integrate a solar plant, with other energy sources. The Energy Buffer Unit is installed in Alt Daber in Germany, with a solar plant. GNB also supplies Germany’s residential storage market, where batteries are used in conjunction with solar systems. The company is expanding its line by supplying a lithium ion battery version alongside its lead acid-battery based product. Eventually the company may consider lithium ion for larger storage. “Even though these systems are not cost-competitive yet, it would be short-sighted to assume that lithium ion prices will not come down to the level that makes it competitive with lead acid,” says Sinz. Because big banks of batteries are expensive and grids are heavily regulated, energy storage providers are under pressure to deliver systems that achieve a predictable return on investment. While capacity ramping in lithium ion battery factories will drive down the unit price of batteries, there is more to be done to optimize system performance. The renewable energy industry has been through similar growing pains, increasing efficiencies of cells and panel outputs, in the case of solar, and turbine capacities, in the case of wind power, and developing products guaranteed to work for longer. But battery storage systems are also unique because the systems have to be designed for the specific grid application. Grid signal frequencies, as well as other services and functions must be considered over the projected lifetime of the system and in some cases, these might also change. Once this is understood, a use profile of the battery is needed. This enables system providers to decide what type of chemistry would be best

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Alt Daber: coming soon to a ﬁeld near you, the shape of things to come

deployed and would be most cost-effective over the life of the system. The hybrid system concept behind the Braderup project has a lot of potential. One system can provide several services and functions, using different batteries, as opposed to being over-sized with one very expensive type of battery.

A powerful lithium mix Swiss battery maker Leclanché is promoting a similar approach, albeit using lithium ion. The company has developed a lithium titanate battery for power intensive applications but is also producing lithium ion batteries with graphite anodes, for energy intensive requirements. Depending on an individual project’s specifications the company can produce energy storage systems that integrate both chemistries, in varying ratios. The company’s chief executive Anil Srivastava thinks there is a demand for such systems from the mass transportation sector as well as from utilities and grid operators for stationary storage. Energy storage system suppliers can be divided into two camps. In the first, there are the companies that source batteries and integrate

them to work with their software platforms and controls. They range from software start-ups such as Greensmith, Younicos and Stem to the big global suppliers of T&D equipment, such as ABB and AEG Power Solutions. But none of these companies are tied to one battery technology. They can secure more business by having a range of battery technologies — power intensive through to energy intensive — at their disposal, depending on the specific project. In the second camp, there are the vertically integrated businesses that supply everything from the software platform and controls for integration to the production of batteries, such as Leclanché and Alevo. These businesses can control each step of the value chain but it is a risky approach. Jeff Gates, sales director of Alevo, says: “The grid storage market is going to be big and there are so many different applications for it that there is not one technology that is going to address it all. “It’s not a one size-fits-all market. But batteries will have a big share of it and for the types of projects that we are going after, the lithium ion technology that we have is right.” ■

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ENERGY STORAGE IN THE GRID

Battery manufacturers have become de facto the key players in the technology behind the integration of renewable energy supplied into the grid. It’s not necessarily a job that they’re cut out for — or always that adept.

Batteryman becomes middleman as next generation of grid storage rolls on

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new category of business has emerged in the world of energy storage. The integrator. It’s a broad term — sometimes meaning different things to different parts of the industry. But typically an integrator is involved in three capacities in this electrical supply chain that runs from renewable energy source through to the grid and the eventual end user: they work on hardware systems, control systems, and as project managers. Over the last few years, the battery has started to become the central player in this chain. “Battery technology is now, after years of development, finally on the verge of being implemented in a widespread way on the utility grid,” says James Sember, a director of the research group WEMPEC at the University of WisconsinMadison in the US. Given their key position, it would seem logical that battery companies should assume lead integrator roles in energy storage projects. But as the high failure rates of battery makers over recent years has shown they often lack the financial balance sheet to acquire funding. Or, if they do, unfortunate circumstances manage to take them down anyway. “The larger these systems become, the greater the commercial role batteries have to play,” says Pat Hayes, business development manager for ABB Energy Storage. “If 70% of the cost of project is the battery, and the rest is the power conversion system and the controls, it’s tough for that company with the 30% of the cost, to package that battery, mark it up enough to meet your margin requirements, and then report to your management.” As a result, some of the larger battery companies have to assume leadership roles because they represent the largest portion of the cost and investment. Or they’re accepting the lead, even if they’re not used to assuming such roles. “We’ve seen projects led by companies that lack project experience, and run into problems,” he says. “The companies you see consistently rising to the top, surround themselves with partners that they can trust and that can cover the areas that they may not be as strong in. That said more battery suppliers are performing their own integration of their battery systems into containers to create a product that you can see and feel. “The more that these energy storage ‘projects’ can start feeling like a ‘prod-

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 27

ENERGY STORAGE IN THE GRID

“The more that these energy storage ‘projects’ can start feeling like a ‘product’, the better chance of minimizing risk, which would translate to bankability.”

“A lot of battery companies started off doing batteries for consumer electronics. When you think about rechargeable batteries in your laptop, longevity was never a consideration for what they made” — Andy Tang, Greensmith

“Sometimes we’ll come up with our own algorithms for state-of-charge management, and these are internal procedures or algorithms for housekeeping that preserve the life of the battery” — Jim McDowall, Saft 28 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

uct’, the better chance of minimizing risk, which would translate to bankability.” Battery makers seem to be falling into two camps. “There are companies that make batteries as commodities,” says Chris Kuhl, a long-standing veteran of energy storage, battery and power systems. “For example, batteries in the UPS area are valued mostly as a commodity by systems integrators. Then you have major battery makers like Johnson Controls that are moving into systems integration functions. “Or they’re putting the cells into packs and modules initially for demonstration purposes, but eventually those translate into commercial value that is very persuasive to both clients and funders.” The cost perspective, arguably the greatest challenge in integrating on any project, looms particularly large for battery companies. “Lining up financing is one of the toughest aspects of integration,” says Dave Roberts, former CEO of Enerdel, “particularly since no single project partner — neither the battery nor the inverter maker — wants to shoulder a responsibility they don’t understand. Most companies start by focusing on a particular competitive advantage they have or can cultivate, not necessarily how to put other vendors’ products together with their own.” For those banking on the concept that a great technology is going be enough, one cautionary tale is the case of Xtreme Power, the Texas-based grid battery startup bought in April 2014 by Younicos, the German energy management firm. Good funding and a good product are great start, but when those falter, an ability to pivot in a new direction can save the day. At the time of its bankruptcy filing, Xtreme had a various projects in the ground, including the US’s largest, a 36MW, 24MW-hour system sited at a Texas wind farm owned by Duke Energy. However, it no longer had its original signature “PowerCell” advanced lead-acid battery chemistry upon which it had built its brand and initial success.

After encountering problems in manufacturing, the firm halted its battery operation and with the battery’s viability uncertain, Xtreme’s battery management system — the hardware, software and related services that keep grid-scale battery units running smoothly — became its primary marketable asset, and ultimately a valuable one. The real world experience of completing projects is worth a lot it turns out, as was the case of A123 Energy Storage, which NEC bought from Wanxiang (buyer of A123 Systems in 2012) in 2014. A significant portion of the company’s value in the bankruptcy auction was its controls, regardless of the battery or the inverter. Xtreme opted not to commit themselves to a particular battery or inverter technology. Instead it concentrated on managing integrative functions better than its competition. “The philosophy of not being wedded to any one battery or technology explains why you see several companies migrating to this space,” says Roberts. “Providing an integration service involves low overhead, but if done right, high margin because of the point in the value chain directly touching the end customer. Anytime you see the potential for profit, you’ll see a number of players into that particular area of the market. “For example solar panel makers stand to gain a lot if they determine to provide integration, since they know how to do such projects, and they usually have the financial relationships in place to finance them. Typically they’ve established those relationships that can make the projects happen over the past two decades, so you’ll see more and more solar panel people coming in.” But too many battery companies are trying to do this, and lacking adequate knowledge and experience, struggle to succeed. “Usually they end up spending too much of their time finding their way, instead of actually doing the work,” he says. “Enerdel’s strategy, during my time as CEO there, was the opposite. Rather than merely evaporate, we were one of the first battery companies to go through a Chapter 11,

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ENERGY STORAGE IN THE GRID and we were determined not to fail. Thereafter we saw A123 go through it, then Valance, and others, some of them going through restructuring out of court.” “What we learned through that experience was that we should not try to be the integrator,” says Roberts. “We found much better reception when we would walk into a room with a customer and tell them we had consciously determined to partner with players that complemented our strength and various weaknesses. I’d say most companies would do well to ally themselves with partners that can do the same.”

Ability to pivot NEC Energy Solutions (formerly A123), has been able to pivot from one market (power tool batteries) to another (electric vehicle batteries), and another (storage systems). “They’ve probably done the best job, in terms of a battery systems integrator, in containers, in management systems — though they did not make their own inverters,” says Kuhl. “To some degree they created a project integrator role when it didn’t really exist as a standard format in the first projects they worked on with AES. “In a way, the two companies grew together. A123 threw resources at integration capabilities and quickly became one of the best, if not the best, in the industry. Their integration skills added value to their systems integration technology and the company. They’d mastered how to make that repeatable at cost.” But while A123/NEC stands out for its ability to reinvent itself, other battery makers have been working in this market successfully, if with less fanfare. Notable among them has been Saft. Jim McDowall, business development manager at Saft’s facility in Jacksonville, Florida in the US, says the company has been working in integrative capacities in energy storage for years. “Though not necessarily in a general contractor role,” he says. “Saft has also worked as the commercial integrator, but only occasionally as a technical integrator. For example, with a technical system we’ve put together, we’re using a site controller that has been developed by someone like ABB or some other company, and they have certain standard algorithms that we can use. “Sometimes we’ll come up with our own algorithms for state-of-charge

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management, and these are internal procedures or algorithms for housekeeping that preserve the life of the battery, so it won’t continually run out of energy, or cycle too hard, or whatever. So we’ll have those control algorithms added into the power electronics company’s controller.” One of the big reasons they need the controller, he says, is that they’re the outward interface to the rest of the world, whether it’s the system operator, the utility, or a customer who might be an end user with a behindthe-meter storage system. He cites Xtreme Power’s misstep in its first incarnation as a lead acid battery manufacturer, when they invested a lot of resources in what was ultimately an inadequate battery design, when their real expertise was in their energy management system — a controller — and their 24 hours call/ dispatch center. “In any given project, the weak link is rarely the battery cells themselves,” says Hayes. “It’s usually whoever is providing the integration of the system — that’s where the protection and the control break down. It’s also why experienced integrators advise people to look under the hood when they consider various systems and make sure they’re comfortable with prospective partners and their subassemblies.” Andy Tang, senior vice president for business management for Greensmith Energy, the grid energy storage service firm, says that battery companies are experts on their products but that the markets and applications are too broad to be experts in all of them. “While they understand the chemistry and can explain their technology, they rely on partners like Greensmith to provide expertise in applications like frequency regulations and how they relate to the duty cycle of their batteries,” he says. “A lot of battery companies started off doing batteries for consumer electronics. When you think about rechargeable batteries in your laptop, longevity was never a consideration for what they made.” The point at which automobile manufacturers wanted five and 10 year warranties opened new territory for battery makers — they could no longer think in terms of degradation being the consumer’s problem. “Now they’re entering into the energy/utility industry, where customers want a 20 or 25 year warranty. This is all very far from their origins – but it is something we, in our industry,

“If 70% of the cost of project is the battery, and the rest is the power conversion system and the controls, it’s tough for that company with the 30% of the cost, to package that battery, mark it up enough to meet your margin requirements, and then report to your management” — Pat Hayes, ABB Energy Storage

Sember: battery storage part of the grid’s new momentum

understand because we come out of it. We understand the utility requirements and why they exist, so we can convert the battery performance into a kind of financial model for the customers. “We find battery companies that have been the most successful are the ones who are able to identify the integrators that have the right level of market experience. Those open to being collaborative, as opposed to those that assume they have all the answers, will succeed; those resistant, will struggle and even fail — for lack of full understanding beyond their core technology.”

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 29

ENERGY STORAGE IN THE GRID Roger Lin, NEC Energy Solutions’ director of product marketing, spoke to Energy Storage journal about how the former A123 Energy Solutions was facing up to the challenges of grid storage.

Finding the sweet spot for business

fter focusing our early efforts on producing lithium ion batteries to serve the power tool market, we built an integration team for the purpose of exploring other areas where their chemistry would best fit. As we began looking at what other areas the A123 Li-ion chemistry might serve, certain key segments became apparent. Certainly the automotive segment ranked high on that list. Another was the ancillary services market where you didn’t need the battery to have a lot of energy storage to get the job done; what you needed was something high power that was durable — and that was where our sweet spot was. One of the reasons we developed that team was that the type of lithium ion battery we were making didn’t necessarily have a lot of applications for it. So we had to find customers to take a chance on a battery that was unlike the other products available in that class.

Roger Lin, NEC Energy Solutions’ director of product marketing

Lithium ion was then seen as a high energy long run time product for portable electronic devices, and what we were making was more of a high pow-

er and high cycle life product, with good safety characteristics. Traditional lithium ion battery integrators didn’t have experience — or didn’t see the value in taking a risk on these new cells — back then, and so we had to do it ourselves. The traditional markets didn’t appreciate the value of the characteristics our battery offered. As vehicle electrification in the transportation sector began to grow, so did the batteries and packs — we developed what was then one of the largest automotive lithium ion batteries in existence, a 200kW pack for a hybrid-electric bus. Certainly the grid space had considered energy storage in grid applications by the time the lithium-ion industry began to look at that market more closely, but lithium ion had never reached what was necessary for grid-scale before. A123 saw a huge opportunity if it could achieve a price/performance ra-

THE DEBATE CONTINUES: IT’S STILL ALL ABOUT THE PRICE PER KW/HOUR For all the excitement and potential, says Dean Frankel, energy storage analyst with Lux Research, the market for integration technologies is still uneven and fragmented—because the ovedrall costs, particularly those of the battery, are still too high. “Growth is strong, yes, but due to the cost conundrum, growth has been coming in spurts, most often from top down mandates or policy kick-ins,” he says. “We still have a massive disparity between what it costs to buy a Nissan Leaf battery pack and what it costs to buy a 24kW hour energy storage system. Until we hit $500 per kW hour, energy storage is still a tough sell. We’re currently at least double that in most cases.”

30 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Price point aside, utilities represent perhaps the most immediate client base, along with industrial/commercial customers. For them energy storage offers solutions to several of their most pressing issues, chieﬂy additional power supply, time-shifting, better integration of energy generation assets (renewables particularly), transmission congestion and voltage support, and resiliency. But utilities are not investing great amounts of money yet, says Frankel. “How do you get utilities to buy these systems when the price point still isn’t there? They’re

interested but not willing to spend the money because the price point still isn’t attractive enough to them. That’s why policy is driving so much of the activity in the large scale space right now.” Despite very concerns for its long term future, the modern day grid in most of the world is quite reliable, and most of the enhancement options on offer are less expensive than any of the coming advanced batteries and systems. Another fundamental disconnect in the cost-beneﬁt equation is that the costs of outages are paid by the customers, not the utility — so

“Until we hit $500 per kW hour, energy storage is still a tough sell. We’re currently at least double that in most cases.”

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ENERGY STORAGE IN THE GRID tio to justify the owners’ investment in grid energy storage. When we looked at the grid space we found that grid operators had not contemplated using advanced lithium ion batteries in their infrastructure and systems at all. Once we understood the opportunity in energy storage, we tried to make our product as modular as possible, designing them for flexibility to accommodate different sizes and shapes for multiple applications. Having worked in integrative capacities in grid storage for some years now, I don’t think categories of roles and functions can be precisely defined — roles and functions can vary from project to project. For example, I can see three different categories of hardware alone: the energy storage itself, the power conversion systems, and the controls that provide the AC power to the grid at the right time and rate. There are companies that can do one or two, or even all of those things; and then there are the equipment makers. Outside of that there is the task of getting the project into the ground: designing the energy storage installation, getting the permits, doing the system impact studies. A lot of that is typically done by EPC — engineering, procurement and construction — companies, but they’re still learning about storage. Then there are various project structures where the lead company, such as an equipment vendor for instance, might handle some of those functions, and delegate others.

the utilities don’t have an incentive to increase reliability. And generally, they do not yet have the ability to financially analyze the cost/benefits in order to take different actions. Until the technologies produce the right price point, the projected dollar amounts being churned out by analysts will miss the mark, says Larry Dickerman, vice president of T&D integration for KEMA. “Achieve $1200/kw per device, and there is no question that will become something very destructive to the industry. Deemphasize the cost point, and you’re not being serious about realistic analysis. Utilities can’t move forward until costs come down sufficiently to warrant any significant investment.”

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“The more that these energy storage ‘projects’ can start feeling like a ‘product’, the better chance of minimizing risk, which would translate to bankability.” In some cases we’ve done everything ourselves; selecting the type of power conversion equipment that interfaces well with the DC energy storage equipment that we design and manufacture. We’ve developed controls that can manage the storage and the power conversion and in some cases even other components, on-site at the substation. We’ve also been responsible for the EPC-type work in addition to manufacturing and sourcing all the hardware. That’s where the integration piece has all the value — we not only manufacture the major component, the energy storage, we also can put it all together and hand it over ready to run. Similarly, clients want a turnkey type of service, and aren’t finding it. Battery companies provide batteries but these don’t provide an AC output — and most battery makers don’t want to do it because they want to focus on their systems. So there’s gap there, because so many companies don’t do all of it. Key to A123’s success in this area has been recognizing the importance of client education. We enabled the possibilities that higher performance batteries could bring to their products and services, in power tools to

be both lighter and more powerful, in automotive to drastically increase fuel efficiency, and in the electric grid to provide more effective and valuable grid stabilization services. It wasn’t easy to establish the expertise required to deploy all those successful grid energy storage installations; there are complexities in doing business in the grid space as well as technical difficulties getting all the parts working together safely and with high reliability. Today, education continues to play a role in the discourse with utilities and other grid stakeholders, but we’re seeing a tremendous driving force towards greater adoption of energy storage. It can enhance renewable generation and prepare the grid to accept more of it, support more efficient use of transmission and distribution equipment, and lower the cost of ensuring grid reliability. Hurricane Sandy and similar events have sparked the discussion as to how energy storage can be used to support reliability and decrease the impact of outages. Having a grid that’s hard to break, hard to kill, but at the same time more sustainable – offers many benefits and storage is clearly going to be a big component of that.

Dean Frankel, energy storage analyst with Lux Research

Larry Dickerman, vice president of T&D integration for KEMA

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 31

ORGANIZED BY

Energy Storage Europe 2015: The largest gathering in the industry brings together ﬁve conferences and one exhibition

The the 2015 Energy Storage Europe, which will take place March 9 to 11, 2015, in Düsseldorf, Germany, will combine Energy Storage Europe, the 9th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES 2015), the 2nd VDE Finan-

cial Dialogue Europe 2015, the 4th OTTI Power-to-Gas Conference, and the German Solar Alliance’s 6th Storage Day. Together, these annual conferences will cover the widest topical range in the international energy storage market. This land-

mark event is organized by Messe Düsseldorf in cooperation with EUROSOLAR/Weltrat, WCRE, the Institute of the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE), OTTI e.V., and the Solar Alliance.

SESSION CHAIRS / MODERATORS / KEYNOTES ENERGY STORAGE DÜSSELDORF

MARKUS BREHLER CEO Caterva GmbH

PATRICK CLERENS Secretary General, The European Association for Storage of Energy EASE a.i.s.b.l.

NICOLA COSCIANI CEO FIAMM Energy Storage Solutions

LOGAN GOLDIE-SCOT Associate, Energy Smart Technologies, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, UK

DR. ANDREAS GUTSCH Project Coordinator, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

DR. ANDREAS HAUER Head of Division “Energy Storage”, Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern)

32 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

FRANZ-JOSEF FEILMEIER CEO Fenecon/BYD, Germany

DR. DÖRTE FOUQUET (Lawyer, Partner, German Admission to Practice) Becker Büttner Held, Brussels, Belgium

DR. DR. CHRISTOPHER HEBLING Division Director Energy Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE

PROF. DR. HANSMARTIN HENNING Deputy Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)

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09 -- 11 11March March2015 2015 Düsseldorf, Germany Düsseldorf, Germany

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché and keynote speaker at Energy Storage, calls for a shift in focus in the energy storage debate

Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché a specialist for efﬁcient energy storage

While the future of energy storage lies in a multiple-technology approach that consolidates the strengths of different storage options into hybrid systems, the current energy storage debate is focusing too heavily on the advantages and disadvantages of individual storage technologies. This hypothesis will form the central argument of the keynote speech to be delivered by Anil Srivastava, CEO of Leclanché, at Energy Storage Europe. “Different storage applications often require different capabilities. While some areas of application

need high output and quick reaction, others demand inexpensive storage technologies with a high capacity. Frequently these various features need to be combined seamlessly with each other,” explains Anil Srivastava. “These days, many people are on the lookout for a kind of miracle system that fulfills all their requirements equally as well. Until such a concept exists, batteries, for example, will continue to be used in devices to which they are not ideally suited and oversized storage systems or a reduced service life will continue to be endured. During my more than 20 years’ experience of working in the energy industry, I have never come across any miracle technology. This is why I am convinced that we should no longer invest merely in making certain types of storage devices stand out from their competitors. Instead, we would achieve more by using smart software to integrate the strengths of different storage technologies seamlessly into hybrid systems. This applies to

both stationary applications and e-mobility.” Srivastava cites electric buses as an example of where a hybrid design would work. During acceleration, buses require a fast storage system capable of producing a high output for a short period of time. However, during the journey they need an economical battery with a high capacity. The best solution would be to use hybrid systems in which various types of batteries seamlessly perform a variety of functions. A similar approach could be used in stationary applications to perform the different grid services required.

Electric bus. Picture Bombardier

SESSION CHAIRS / MODERATORS / KEYNOTES ENERGY STORAGE DÜSSELDORF

DR. JÖRG HERMSMEIER Head of Research and Development (R&D), EWE AG, Oldenburg

FELIX HOLZ Vice President, Expert Team Greentech, Deutsche Bank, Germany

JANICE LIN Managing Partner, Strategen Consulting LLC, California/USA Co-Founder and Executive Director California Energy Storage Alliance

DR. PHILIP MAYRHOFER Managing Director, ENERSTORAGE GmbH

SØREN MOHR Head of Stationary Battery Systems/Battery 2nd Life, BMW Group

HILDEGARD MÜLLER General Executive Management Board, Chairwoman of the Management Board, BDEW, German Association of Energy and Water Industries

CHRISTOPH OSTERMANN CEO, Sonnenbatterie, Germany

DR. K. PETER RÖTTGEN Head of E.ON Innovation Center Energy Storage, President EASE – European Association for Storage of Energy

MICHAEL SALOMON Managing Director, Clean Horizon, France

PROF. DR. DIRK UWE SAUER Professor for “Electrochemical Energy Storage Systems”, RWTH Aachen University

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Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 33

09 -- 11 11March March2015 2015 Düsseldorf, Germany Düsseldorf, Germany

Srivastava: tackle grid-problems at their source On the supply side, this involves using storage systems as an intelligent network resource, a practice that is more economical than equipping each individual generator of renewable energy with their own storage option. On the demand side, major energy consumers must be given more The search for the best possible system design does not merely extend to solutions developed for use in vehicles or homes. Srivastava argues that if we are to develop an efficient, flexible grid architecture able to manage large quantities of fluctuating renewable energy, a package of measures is actually needed: “Instead of trying to manage fluctuations in electricity demand and supply by continuously increasing power line capacity, we must tackle the problem at its source.

Day 1

09 march 2015

4th Energy Storage

Day 2

EXPO & CONFERENCE

9th IRES 2015 Int. Conference

combined track

financial incentives from the government to reduce peak loads. This would lead to a grid and storage system architecture that is overall more beneficial to the economy than an uncoordinated set of yet more intertwined networks and a plethora of privately owned storage solutions.”

10 march 2015

4th Energy Storage Energy Storage EXPO & CONFERENCE

Networking Reception

Conference language

11 march 2015

4th Energy Storage EXPO & CONFERENCE

9th IRES 2015

Int. Conference

IRENA Workshop

Workshop 1

Day 3

4th Conference Power-to-Gas

2nd VDE Financial Dialogue

6th Storageday

BVES Annual Members Meeting*

Workshop 2

combined (IRES, Otti, Energy Storage 2015)

Networking Dinner/Party

Simultaneous translation

PARTNER EVENTS

SESSION CHAIRS / MODERATORS / KEYNOTES ENERGY STORAGE DÜSSELDORF

MICHAEL SCHIEMANN Technical Director, BAE Batterien GmbH

BENGT STAHLSCHMIDT Head of Sales CellCube, Gildemeister energy solutions; Cellstrom GmbH, Wiener Neudorf, Austria

PROF. DR.-ING. MICHAEL STERNER Professor for Energy Storage at the University of Applied Sciences Regensburg

TOBIAS STRUCK Project Leader, WEMAG AG, Schwerin

DR. JENS TÜBKE Division Director Applied Electrochemistry, Fraunhofer ICT and Chairman Fraunhofer Battery Alliance

VOLKER WACHENFELD Executive Vice President, Head of Business Unit Off-Grid and Storage, SMA Solar Technology AG, Germany

PROF. DR. EICKE R. WEBER Conference Chairman, Director Fraunhofer ISE, Chairman Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and President of the German Energy Storage Association (BVES)

DR. OLIVER WEINMANN Director, Vattenfall Europe Innovation GmbH

ALFONS WESTGEEST Executive Director, Association of European Automotive and Industrial Battery Manufactrers

SAM WILKINSON Associate Director, Solar Supply Chain and Energy Storage, IHS Technology, UK

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Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 35

THE VIEW FROM EAST PENN/ECOULT Energy Storage Journal quizzed John Wood, CEO of East Penn-owned Ecoult, on how the company’s core offering, the UltraBattery, was squaring up to the challenges posed by lithium ion and how the world’s largest advanced lead-acid battery ﬁrm plans to industrialize its product.

UltraBattery throws down the gauntlet to the lithium ion battery industry Last year a report from Carnegie Mellon University said economies of scale for lithium ion batteries for EVs may be almost exhausted — suggesting that the muchanticipated cost reductions for lithium ion batteries may not materialize. In the meantime the lead acid battery industry is developing advanced products for grid storage. Is the balance ﬁnally tipping in favour of lead acid? We certainly believe this to be the case. The lead-acid industry is very mature with a growing base of well over 20 GW of existing installed stationary storage in the US. This base is maintained in

a sustainable way with more than 6 GW being installed each year in new sites and refits (note all refits are fully recycled). This storage, while crucial, doesn’t grab headlines because it is relatively passive — performing stand-by functions for data centres and critical industries. 20 GW is large in terms of the short term need for ancillary services, and variability management on the grid and micro grid systems, but it is a very small amount of the output of the lead-acid industry today and the industry can expand readily. East Penn Manufacturing for example is investing in a major expansion of its industrial (stationary and

motive) manufacturing capacity while simultaneously investing in UltraBattery technology to address the needs of advanced products for grid storage. In maintaining this installed base, the lead acid industry has already solved some of the difficult problems now being encountered by newer chemistries — and li-ion in particular. Reuse and recycling are the most pressing of these problems. Whereas lead-acid batteries are essentially closed-loop the li-ion industry still produces a one-way technology. (The recycling rate of lead in the US for used lead-acid batteries is close to 100%. These batteries are broken down and made into new

Ecoult Lyon station, Pennsylvania, US: Ecoult has implemented a grid scale energy storage system which provides 3 MW of regulation services on the grid of PJM Interconnection: the largest of 10 regional transmission organizations/independent system operators in the US. The system is also used for peak demand management.

36 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

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THE VIEW FROM EAST PENN/ECOULT batteries and the situation is very similar in most developed economies.) Virgin materials are sandwiched together in ways that make li-ion cells very difficult, dangerous and costly to break back into raw materials at endof-life. Hence many cells go to landfill or are processed into industrial sludge to be mixed with concrete or steel, with only the most expensive materials recovered — and very rarely the lithium. Very little information is available on the actual rates of recovery in the li-ion industry but it appears very unlikely that more than a few percentage points of the world’s li-ion batteries are ever recovered for anything other than industrial sludge. Importantly, even if the technological barriers to li-ion recycling are overcome, the industry is yet to cost-in end-oflife recovery. Lead-acid cells are less expensive, even with their recovery step fully costed. Moreover any lead-acid cell can be included in the recycling stream, whereas the multiple flavours of liion chemistry cannot necessarily be processed together, adding a further difficulty and adding to the incentive to simply grind old li-ion cells down for sludge. Now that lead-acid technologies have been developed that can cycle as effectively as li-ion technologies within the reserve power market, the manufacturing and support industries that maintain the 20 GW installed base of lead-acid cells can be drawn upon to support the growth of grid storage. As expansion and reallocation of manufacturing capacity for the new markets happens we see scope for the gradual evolution of the existing stationary industry away from single purpose backup to dual purpose systems that can both provide backup and contribute to grid services. The existing backup systems (usually housed in battery rooms designed with low-flammability lead-acid safety processes in mind) provide a resource that is already grid connected. Potentially these can begin to be migrated to new lead-acid formats, bringing large banks of distributed, cycling storage online. Importantly this gives the data centre a financial incentive as fast cycling storage can earn grid regulation revenues in increasing numbers of grids, particularly in the US. Technically this change could happen today (indeed Ecoult is pursuing business cases). The only hurdle is the cultural change required for understandably

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We see scope for the gradual evolution of the existing stationary industry away from single purpose backup to dual purpose systems that can both provide backup and contribute to grid services conservative owners of data centres who depend entirely on uninterrupted power. So could you tell us about the progress of storage products using Ultrabattery technology that have been up and running for a while now – such as the smart grid storage demo with PJM Interconnection, using the Deka UltraBattery and also the project in New Mexico? Existing UltraBattery projects have been highly successful. The PNM Prosperity site in New Mexico has delivered (and exceeded) the original project objectives and is continuing to operate extremely effectively. The project was recognized as a finalist in the Platts 2013 Global Energy Awards The PJM grid frequency regulation project is a profitable installation that has been used as a showcase for several fully commercial projects that will begin to come online over the next 12 months. (These are commercially sensitive projects for our clients and we are unable to discuss them in detail.) However in general they are MWscale projects with a multi-purposing capability. That is, the customer will use the storage infrastructure for their own internal requirements (such as load management, backup, shifting and the like) but will have a regular income stream gained by using the batteries to sell frequency regulation services to the grid operator. So far your projects are US based, is there any reason for this? There are two major reasons for this. First, because we are well positioned to

monitor and support projects that are easily accessible to our manufacturing plant, and second because some grids in the US offer incentives for faster frequency regulation response and batteries can provide a response almost instantaneously. For frequency regulation applications, the faster response leads to less feedback in the system — an overshoot caused by a slower responding technology itself becomes a frequency issue that needs to be rectified — and less feedback means less overall frequency regulation requirement. There is evidence that fast frequency response technology can reduce the overall need for frequency regulation services by around 40%. In markets outside the US that have not (or perhaps have not yet) created fast-frequency response incentives, battery storage must compete against relatively cheap gas peaker plants. These markets may be suitable for the UltraBattery in grid regulation, but the US is certainly the lowest-hanging fruit. (In other markets we are of course pursuing many non-frequency related projects, on kW and MW scales, in application areas ranging from telecoms and microgrids to smoothing and shifting in commercial and domestic markets.) And your future plans inside and outside the US? Again due to client confidentiality our projects cannot be discussed in anything but general terms. That said, there are some mains-grid and large microgrid projects in various stages of planning in the US and in Europe. (While we have not planned an entry into Europe in the immediate term, we have been approached by a consortium looking

Lithium ion battery recycling is technically highly challenging and economically prohibitive. This makes it less likely that li-ion costs will drop in the future, since the free pass given to li-ion technology for its environmental footprint — no regulated recovery, few regulations preventing wholesale disposal in land ﬁll (despite toxicity concerns) — will not last Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 37

THE VIEW FROM EAST PENN/ECOULT Graph 1. Typical remote telecom tower with PV (without storage): Variable demand and inconsistent solar output lead to diesel inefﬁciencies

Graph 2. With energy storage: Ultrabattery system maximizes diesel efﬁciency

Graph 3. With energy storage: Ultrabattery system maximizes solar utilization and diesel efﬁciency

38 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

at a particular project that is quite interesting and very suitable for our technology.) Although we are extremely active in developing grid-scale projects in the US for non-utility customers — previous projects have had the utility itself as the client, whereas our upcoming projects have large energy consumers as customers. Such projects take time to develop, particularly since, once the sales and design stage is complete, a round of network connection studies and iterations and the like are required. In Australia the UltraBattery is used in two large scale micro/island projects and we are actively moving in the kW-scale space. We are soon to launch plug-and-play products in the Australian market to suit domestic, commercial, agricultural and remote users preliminary to release in North America and other markets. We will release details in the near future of a diesel-microgrid project where an Ecoult system using UltraBattery technology has reduced the diesel load by more than 50% for an installed system in a remote location. Remote refuelling is extremely expensive and can require almost a working day for two employees to travel to the site, so savings are a multiple of the diesel cost itself. Furthermore Ecoult takes control of the generator on site and can run it in a very efficient mode of operation to further reduce fuel use and to decrease wear and tear as well as frequency of maintenance visits. A typical example of this type of system is the remote telecom tower, of which there are several hundred thousand worldwide. Graph 1 (left) shows the way the diesel (yellow) jumps up and down in a choppy manner to try to balance between the load and a typical solar profile for a remote tower. This mode of operation is wearing on the generator and also sees it racking-up large numbers of duty-hours as it runs for 24 hours a day. Note too that the generator is rated far above the average load — its most efficient output is only used rarely when a spike in the load forces the generator to ramp up to full power. When we install the Ecoult system we see an entirely different mode of operation — here shown without a PV system installed where operation is very straightforward. (graph 2, left) And here below shown operating with a PV system installed, where the battery manages the load and the PV variability. (graph 3, left)

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THE VIEW FROM EAST PENN/ECOULT Now the fast-charging UltraBattery can be quickly charged in a short period by the generator running at full rated output. The generator runs for a fraction of the hours as it can switch off between charging periods since the UltraBattery system is sized to take the full load and to manage spikes and give the generator time to start up for a prolonged spike. Lithium ion batteries are used for many ES projects despite their cost, why do you think this is the case? The feedback we have received from all types of end-customers is that people are very comfortable with lead-acid technology and far prefer it to li-ion. Their major concern about lead-acid stems from the belief that lead-acid cells are not well suited to partial state of charge cycling. Therefore when we are able to demonstrate that UltraBattery cycles at least as effectively as most li-ion chemistries the reaction — particularly from installers — is one of pure joy! (Note we use the word “most” because there are vast numbers of li-ion types and we haven’t seen enough like-for-like comparisons to speak with certainty about the entire range.) The major benefits that we see for UltraBattery over lithium ion occur in four major areas.

Lan Lam, the inventor of the UltraBattery with his creation. The UltraBattery can charge faster than many other chemistries. Furthermore charge and discharge can be symmetrical — so while charge and discharge are independent and can each occur at any rate, if required the battery can match high charge and high discharge rates. Other technologies are generally asymmetrical

Performance The UltraBattery will last as long and cycle as effectively as li-ion. In fact there is some evidence that UltraBattery will outlast li-ion in cycling applications, although not enough testing has been done on the two technologies side-by-

side to say with confidence. It was clear that in 2008 ( see figure 1 below) that the UltraBattery — which has improved markedly since that time — was at least equal to lithium-iron-phosphate chemistry in a regulation-services simulation carried out at Sandia National Laboratories.

Figure 1: Ultrabattery® Regulation Services PSoC Throughput Testing

Figure 1: Energy throughput testing showing Sandia National Laboratories results from 2008 (lower three traces) for VRLA, UltraBattery (UB12) and Li-Ion test results. The Sandia results are compared against internal testing carried out by Ecoult and East Penn Manufacturing (top three traces) performed in mid-2013. There is a clear trend toward increasing throughput as the UltraBattery cells are improved over time.

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Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 39

THE VIEW FROM EAST PENN/ECOULT

We are soon to launch plug-and-play products in the Australian market to suit domestic, commercial, agricultural and remote users preliminary to release in North America and other markets. We will release details soon of a diesel-microgrid project where an Ecoult system using UltraBattery technology has reduced the diesel load by more than 50% for an installed system in a remote location Safety The UltraBattery is a non-flammable technology. Li-ion control software is tasked with preventing the cells moving into dangerous overcharge or undercharge modes where overheating, ignition, explosion and toxic release can occur. The feedback from end users is that they are not all convinced that liion batteries are safe for large-scale installation in homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. However, lead-acid, is a well known and well understood technology. The fire hazards are very low and there is low toxicity associated with even a catastrophic failure. Lead, while toxic, exists in solid form inside UltraBattery and does not carry the risk of inhalation or ingestion (as it did when used in petrol or paint for instance).

Sustainability The li-ion industry has yet to develop a reuse programme and virgin materials (particularly lithium) are used in manufacture. This creates a one-way flow from lithium deposits — which exist only in fragile environments such as salt flats — to waste product. Generally li-ion cells are not recovered and go directly to land fill. At the end of life, lithium ion batteries are classified as dangerous goods at least for international travel. Hence, costly additional steps prior to relatively expensive transport include depowering/deactivation of the batteries and then proper and expensive packaging of the batteries. Those that are recovered are overwhelmingly ground up for sludge additives in the construction industry. Of the recovered cells, only a small amount of genuine reuse generally takes place and then only to recover the most expensive metals in the cells. It is not clear (and it is certainly not publicized by the industry) that any lithium at all is recovered despite the massive quantities of lithium feeding

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the li-ion manufacturing industry. Recovery is complicated not only by the sandwiching used in li-ion manufacture (where composite materials are tightly packed together in layers) but also by the multitude of different li-ion chemistries, which are not necessarily able to be processed together but which are difficult and dangerous to sort into types (dangerous because used li-ion cells are not always chemically stable and will often suffer rough handling in the recovery process increasing the likelihood of leakage and potential fire). The result is that recovery is technically highly challenging and, even if possible, economically prohibitive. We believe this makes it even less likely that li-ion costs will drop in the future, since the free pass given to liion technology for its environmental footprint — no regulated recovery, few regulations preventing wholesale disposal in land fill (despite toxicity concerns) — will not last, particularly if the chemical release into landfill and the damage done to the world’s salt flats by lithium mining begins to become a concern to the world’s environmentalist movements. By contrast, lead-acid technology has a fully developed recycling programme that sees an almost perfect closed-loop in the manufacturing process. Of the batteries returned, 96% of their constituent parts (plastic, liquid and metal) are recycled. The reclaimed parts are used in the manufacture of new lead-acid batteries. The UltraBattery is manufactured by East Penn Manufacturing, which is considered a world leader in sustainability in an already highly sustainable industry. East Penn pioneered the process of electrolyte recovery for lead-acid batteries, and reprocesses around 30,000 used batteries every day in its on-site recovery facility. The low toxicity, simple manufacture, and solid metal componentry of lead-

acid cells makes this recovery process far less involved than for li-ion cells, and it is the case that any lead-acid cell, including the UltraBattery, can drop into the same recycling process — the cells don’t have to be sorted into families (which is a difficult step when the reality is considered of truckfuls of jumbled batteries rolling in from collection depots).

Fast charge and discharge The UltraBattery can charge faster than many other chemistries. Furthermore charge and discharge can be symmetrical — so while charge and discharge are independent and can each occur at any rate, if required the battery can match high charge and high discharge rates. Other technologies are generally asymmetrical due to limitations in their charge rate. That is, they can deliver energy quite quickly but only accept it at low rates relative to the discharge. There are several benefits to fast charging, the examples in the diesel cycling graphs above showing the brief period of generator run-time required to recharge the cells is one. Perhaps the most important benefit though is that a battery bank with fast and symmetrical charging can be smaller (and hence cheaper) than one with asymmetrical charge and discharge – particularly in applications chiefly concerned with power smoothing and fast cycling. If a battery cannot charge as quickly as the incoming current (from a PV or wind unit for instance) then available energy may need to be curtailed or wasted. The only way to get around this is to install more batteries so that the charge can be shared between them, each accepting a proportionally smaller rate of energy. Although a bigger battery bank gives more reserve, it is also more expensive. So while UltraBattery monoblocs are priced above traditional lead-acid units, in a cycling application the UltraBattery has a lower levellised cost of energy due to long life and significantly smaller installed size. This lower cost often extends to energy shifting applications too, depending on the specific application. Although li-ion charges faster than traditional lead-acid it generally can’t charge as fast as the UltraBattery, so the same relationship also holds between liion and the UltraBattery. UltraBattery, then, as well as performing better, is often less expensive as a cycling battery than most of its competitors. ■

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THE CEO INTERVIEW: ANIL SRIVASTAVA Europe’s oldest battery maker, Leclanché, is about to execute the ﬁnal stage of a turnaround plan focused on energy storage and mass transport markets. Anil Srivastava, the company’s new chief executive, thinks it is a risk worth taking.

Making the leap from battery producer to energy storage systems supplier

“No one really has the attention span to appreciate that grid storage economics depend on the use proﬁle of the battery and the amount of time it is expected to operate for.” On paper, manufacturing lithium ion batteries on European soil doesn’t work. Not when Asian firms — South Korean and especially the Chinese — have turned it into a volumes game, leveraging on economies of scale to drive down unit price. “So why get into grid storage integration and energy storage management?” says Leclanché’s chief executive Anil Srivastava. “It’s expensive, it’s nascent. It’s highrisk. No one needs to tell me that. I spent six months looking at this market and thinking hard about if this is something that Leclanché wanted to be doing. It is so hyped right now. Our investors thought long and hard too.” Over its 100-year history Leclanché,

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headquartered in Yverdon-les-Bains in Switzerland, has produced the gamut of chemistries, from iron and cadmiumnickel, to lead acid, to mercury button cells, to making battery subsystems and customizing battery systems for the defence and medical markets. It’s even dabbled in solar photovoltaics. Then, in 2006 the company bought Bullith Batteries, spun out from Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology, to develop and commercialize lithium titanate cells. When Srivastava joined Leclanché as its chief executive last June, the company was making battery cells and modules, as well as controllers, for linking lithium ion batteries to inverters, but not all of the AC-side components

needed to supply complete turnkey battery energy storage systems. “Cells — the biggest portion of cost in a battery system — have the smallest margin, of about 35%,” he says. “The margin on electronics and BMS can be about 40%, while the software platform and controls needed to be able to integrate the system with the grid, have a margin of about 45% or more. “So by turning into a vertically integrated provider of energy storage management systems the underlying margins are raised by 10-15 percentage points.” But Leclanché cannot do everything from within. The company is finalizing an acquisition that will provide it with battery management systems and the software technology that wraps around batteries and turns them into something more akin to computers, dispensing instructions for the batteries to feed in and absorb power from the grid. The deal should be announced in the second quarter of 2015, subject to board approvals. Leclanché energy storage systems will use two lithium ion batteries, determined by how the system will be used on grid. The company’s titanate anode lithium cells make batteries for power intensive requirements, great for zipping up and down to meet fast frequency regulation signals and achieving long life cycles. It’s the thoroughbred horse of energy storage batteries, achieving up to 15,000 cycles — this is long — a 20year calendar lifespan, and all of its installed capacity is usable, in other words 100% depth of discharge (DOD). But some grid applications also need more of a workhorse battery, so Leclanché also makes lithium ion batteries with graphite anodes for bulk storage and weight-critical projects and applications, such as electric buses or solar

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THE CEO INTERVIEW: ANIL SRIVASTAVA

“There are a few examples of storage projects that use different battery technologies, such as lithium ion for power intensive demands and ﬂow batteries for energy intensive tasks.” integration, where 6000 cycles at 80% DOD will suffice and the calendar life can be 10 years. “It’s all about the blending. The customer’s requirements for the storage system determine the chemistry, whether it needs to be graphite, titanate or a hybrid battery,” says Srivastava. To have these two chemistries optimized to work with the battery energy storage system electronics and software Leclanché is acquiring will provide customers with a better return on investment. “It’s not helpful to display energy storage costs expressed in terms of dollars per kilowatt hour. That’s when the hype occurs.” But it’s a necessary evil, surely? Companies need to throw costs out that end-users, the media and market researchers, can all get their head around easily. “No one really has the attention span to appreciate that grid storage economics depend on the use profile of the battery and the amount of time it is expected to operate for. Total cost of ownership, dependent on end-use application, cannot be so neatly communicated as, say, $250/kWh.

Investment levels “Working out the storage system cost at the investment level, such as in euros or dollars per kWh, does not account for the operation cost or the TCO, which is defined by the chemistry operating under a load profile. Many business cases can be optimized by using a chemistry blend,” he says. This hybrid concept of storage is gaining interest. Leclanché is doing it using two different lithium chemistries but there are a few examples of storage projects that use different battery technologies, such as lithium ion for power intensive demands and flow batteries for energy intensive tasks. Such a project has been installed in northern Germany. With some of the highest levels of re-

newables — wind and solar — plugged into the grid of any market worldwide, the effects of these intermittent sources are making themselves felt. For frequency control Germany’s transmission system operators procure power either as positive reserve, to balance out deficits or negative reserve to balance out surplus. Trading is done through primary, secondary and tertiary control markets, with primary control having to occur within 30 seconds and secondary, which is at 15 minute intervals. When demand is low, but the supply of renewables is high, instead of running the excess power to ground or using curtailment measures, storage operators are paid to act as a sink, absorbing the surplus, as well as for releasing the power back into the grid to balance out deficits. “It is completely market based. There is no subsidy,” says Srivastava. Germany’s market for control reserves allows for energy storage systems to be designed to address different frequency regulation signals rather than just one, opening up more revenue streams. But to achieve this in the most costefficient manner over the lifetime of an energy storage system, cells sufficient for energy-intensive demands would also be included, whereas a system made up completely of power-intensive cells would be excessive and overly expensive. This is where Leclanché’s software and BMS acquisition is beneficial — it allows the company to produce virtual batteries based on the user profile provided by the utility or other customer. Srivastava’s past experience includes running the renewables business of French nuclear firm Areva. “I’ve seen the impact on T&D that the growth in renewables has had. Transmission needs to keep pace or renewable generation can never be fully utilized,

“Every single industry that has been hyped has crashed. What this industry needs less of is companies trying to sell their chemistry or battery as the one that is the best for every application.” 42 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

because when there is too much, the excess power has to be run to ground, or curtailed, or it destabilizes the grid when there’s too little,” he says. “When governments, in Europe and elsewhere, introduced renewables-friendly policies and subsidies, the effect that the growth in renewables, like wind and solar, would have on the whole T&D system was not considered.” But this can be turned to Leclanché’s advantage. The company has been talking about stationary storage for some time, albeit before Srivastava joined. In 2011 the company announced a tie-up with Talesun for supplying residential solar and storage systems, projects with wind and solar plants and then the installation and ramping or a production plant with an annual capacity of up to 1 million lithium ion cells, equivalent to 76MWh.

Sizing it right “We started off making smaller sized cells — A5 size — and are now producing larger — A4 — cells. Getting the production process right takes time, but we have a throughput of about 85%, which is pretty good for this industry,” he says. “Since 2012 we’ve been working on grid integration projects, but these have been to validate the technology, rather than being commercial installations. And we’ve made headway with our residential storage systems, selling numerous units in Switzerland and Germany. But we’re starting to promote it across Europe, expanding operations in the UK, for example.” This summer Leclanché’s first utility storage project will also be grid-connected. “It’s a 500kWh system, on the site of Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, for providing frequency regulation and will also be used for integrating solar generation from a nearby solar farm at the university.” he says. The local utility Romande Energie owns both the 2MW photovoltaic plant — Switzerland’s largest — and the storage asset and finances research and demonstration projects at the Ecole in the field of solar energy. Leclanché also has projects with utilities both in the primary and secondary control reserve markets. Italy looks promising too. “We’ve been working with the utility Enel to qualify our system, so we are tested and fully compliant with Italy’s grid code,” he says. “Like Germany, in Italy, a lot of renewable generation capacity is in the south while demand is in the north. Colossal amounts of wind power are

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THE CEO INTERVIEW: ANIL SRIVASTAVA lost through curtailment because there is not the grid infrastructure in place to get it to where the demand is. Storage is an option.” And then there’s the US market. Last year US-based Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, which licenses solidstate battery technology for industrial, government and medical applications, signed a binding letter of intent to acquire a controlling interest in Leclanché, from Precept Fund Management SPC, which is also a major shareholder of Oakridge. The 11,000,000 shares of Leclanché equate to $45 million. Oakridge signed a joint development and marketing agreement with Leclanché in April 2014. Press releases issued at the time stated: “Leclanché can now move forward to drive its commercial and technological development and strengthen its presence in North America through further collaboration with Oakridge.” They also said that Leclanché will consolidate all of its strategic lithium ion battery manufacturing investments under Oakridge . “This is not happening,” he says. “Both companies are evolving. Our joint development agreement with Oakridge is a non-exclusive relationship. In Precept, we each have a common shareholder. Oakridge is not obligated to use our technology in Europe and if solid-state is not the right chemistry for a particular application our lithium ion chemistry is an option, if relevant.”

Testing Leclanché has been testing its storage devices with one of the national research laboratories. “We’ll be able to announce this in a few months. It means that we’ll have a product certified in the US. Texas and the PJM Interconnection area, on the east coast, are areas of strategic focus. Right now, California is a gold rush, creating hype and shifting it outwards.” Srivastava’s earned his spurs when it comes to judging a sector bubble. “I was around in the Hewlett Packard days and AT&T. There’s very few of those companies at the time around now. Every single industry that has been hyped has crashed. What this industry needs less of is companies trying to sell their chemistry or battery as the one that is the best for every application — and can cure world hunger while it’s at it.” That’s why Leclanché is going after other application-driven markets, in-

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“Right now, California is a gold rush, creating hype and shifting it outwards.” cluding electrified mass transportation, such as buses and trains, and industrial machines, like as forklifts, cranes and mining machinery. “Grid energy storage has such a lot of potential but you have to de-risk the strategy by focusing on unregulated markets that are not so dependent on politics and economics. Take public transportation. Once you are certified for electric buses in a city like London then you are good for seven years. In the five biggest cities in Europe there are probably about 100,000 buses. Less than 5% are hybrid.” This is, again, where he thinks the company’s portfolio of power and energy-intensive lithium ion batteries and the software controls that make them all work together in one system, confers an advantage over the competition. “Hybrid buses need both. Every time they pull up at a bus stop or they open and close doors, using at least one gauge, that’s a cycle in battery language. But you also need a system that contains energy-intensive storage for when they are on the road.” According to McKinsey Insight electrified mass transportation is an addressable worldwide market, set to grow from half a billion dollars in

2014 to over $10 billion in 2020. “We expect this business to really get started from 2017 onwards,” says Srivastava. To compare, estimates for grid storage predict the market to grow to $8 billion by 2020.

Specialty batteries too Then there is Leclanché’s third market — specialty battery systems — expected to grow from over $7 billion in 2013 to $20 billion in 2020. This is one of the few existing businesses of Leclanché’s that Srivastava has kept on. “It’s a big potential market but it’s extremely fragmented. We’re talking Segways to satellites, but we have kept this business focused on defence — customers include the Swiss and French armies — street lighting, telecoms and medical applications.” This is also the only part of Leclanché’s business where it has to be battery agnostic. “I’d love it if we could use our batteries in everything, but there are other technologies more suited to the job. But, we are making progress.” In off-grid solar-powered street lighting this has been the case. “It’s better than sending a guy out on a camel every other week to dig up a hole and replace the battery.” ■

LECLANCHÉ — THE BASICS • • • •

Founded by Georges Leclanché in 1909 Headquartered in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland Lithium ion mass production plant in Willstätt, Germany More than 100 patents in lithium ion titanate development and production processes • Market capitalization: Sfr100 million • Key investors: Precept Fund Management SPC (48.11%), Bruellan Corporate Action Fund (18.5%), Recharge ApS (9.9%), others (23.4%)

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 43

SOLARUNITED

SolarUnited pursues new strategic direction with key committee appointments SolarUnited, the solar technology and energy storage association, made a series of appointments in January to provide leadership for its new strategic committees in business, technology and marketing, which also includes communications. “In essence this is an anticipatory move,” says Bryan Ekus, the executive director of SolarUnited. “It’s a question of being in a position both to lead and consolidate the entire solar value chain for the years ahead. “Issues such as reinforcing dialogue, encouraging collaboration in anticipating the regulatory and technological environment that lies ahead, are the basic building blocks needed at this time when we have a fragmented industry that needs to coalesce for the future.” The strategic committees

and their co-chairs were announced at SolarUnited’s latest board meeting held in January in Basel, Switzerland. The strategic committees report to SolarUnited’s main board. The business committee will deal with market issues as well as energy storage and new stakeholders. Its co-chairs are Alex Levran, who manages ABB’s solar industry initiative segment, and Dean Solon, chief executive of Shoals Technologies Group. Jan Grimberg, global business director at DSM, and Rob Steeman, vice president of REC’s technology strategy, are co-chairing SolarUnited’s strategic committee on technology. Arturo Herrero, who oversees Jinko Solar’s emerging markets business and is chief strategy officer, and Holger Meyer, global director of Hellmann

Renewable Logistics, are co-chairing the mar-coms strategic committee. The strategic committees’ key tasks include unifying and encouraging more communication and dialogue between the most important players within the different steps of the solar value chain as well as related industries including energy storage, grid and electric vehicles. The technology strategic committee is tasked with helping the solar industry to make the next leap towards mature credible PV technology. This includes creating a solar quality and reliability awareness campaign, cooperating with existing organizations on specific technology topics and working more closely with quality and certification agencies. Marketing and communications tasks include

determining and coordinating partnerships with other events organizers and media outlets as well as disseminating information on solar emerging markets and proposing new business activities. It was also decided the association will align itself more closely with the promotion campaign SolarFUTURE. Each committee will meet at least two times a year to address progress in meeting their tasks and responsibilities. In addition Tomasz Slusarz, of SolarPV.TV, a partner and member of SolarUnited, has been appointed as the association’s strategy adviser. Since 2014, SolarUnited — which has rebranded itself from IPVEA — has put in place efforts to reorganize and raise its profile in the global solar industry. The association continues to expand its membership base, from previously representing only photovoltaic tooling and equipment makers, to attract companies from across the PV supply chain. Its newest members are drawn from panel producers, and include JinkoSolar, REC Solar, CSUN and Aleo Solar, while inverter maker LTi, Shoals and Multi-Contact are representative of the downstream part of the PV supply chain, dealing in the balance of system components for PV farms. EVASA, Coveme and DSM are from the materials sector.

One voice The need for one unifying solar photovoltaic group is arguably becoming more important, as the industry

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SOLARUNITED

A challenge for the global solar industry has been to unify many of the disparate industry associations representing its various factions and segments, which include regional and national solar and renewables associations but also various technology-focused groups. prepares to make the transition from niche renewables technology to a mainstream source of electricity generation in more markets worldwide. New business models are emerging — such as solar and storage — and some

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big technology players are entering the industry, including Solarcity, Tesla and Google. Utilities, too, are becoming more prevalent in the solar sector. This is creating new challenges for the photovoltaic industry, such as an

increasing focus on quality. In addition, the tapering off of subsidies also places the industry under greater pressure to deliver solar projects at a competitive cost and this is making itself felt along the entire value chain —from BOS

component suppliers, to inverter makers as well as solar cell and module producers. However, a challenge for the global solar industry has been to unify many of the disparate industry associations representing its various factions and segments, which include regional and national solar and renewables associations but also various technology-focused groups, resulting in over 90 national associations all focused on local lobbying. This has made it difficult for the solar industry to organize a single, cohesive international business platform, something that the wind industry, for instance, has managed to achieve through its own Global Wind Energy Council. At the board meeting, it was decided that SolarUnited would host the Global Solar PV Council, comprising national and regional associations seeking to develop their own platform, following GWEC’s example. ■

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SOLARUNITED MEMBER NEWS

Meyer Burger technology to be integral part of pioneering CO2 free Swiss housing development Meyer Burger, the multinational technology group, announced in February that its hybrid collector technology will reduce the use of non-renewable energy sources in combination with other system components in a pioneering residential housing project known as Suurstoffi in Rotkreuz-Risch in central Switzerland. The local energy is harvested on the roof, stored in the ground and raised to the temperatures needed with the aid of heat pumps. This provides the development, which is being built by the Zug Estates Group, with an emission-free supply of electricity and heat. The entire Suurstoffi development is based on a CO2-free energy concept. As part of this, all building roofs in the second phase are to be fitted with hybrid collectors from Meyer Burger. The Swiss-made hybrid collectors from Thun are capable of increasing the development’s degree of self-sufficiency from 67% to 80%. This level of self-sufficiency will be further increased in the planned third building stage. The energy concept works through the use of geothermal and solar energy. In winter, energy is extracted from the geothermal probe array made up of 220 probes; in summer, the excess heat from the roof or from the office and residential spaces is gathered and stored. A system of pipes linking all the buildings (energy network) enables heat to be exchanged between the buildings. For example, waste heat from an office building can be used to produce hot water in the residential buildings. Photovoltaic modules and hybrid collectors generate the energy required to operate the plant, in particular the heat pumps, on site. The balancing of the current between the imported and produced electricity takes place via the public grid. The efficiency of the system is achieved thanks to the low operating costs

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and the freely available cooling. By 2018 an integrated, traffic-free district in which living, working and leisure activities are combined will have been built on the Suurstoffi site. When complete, the development will provide space for 1,500 residents and around 2,500 jobs. The initial building stage was completed in spring 2013. The residential concept offers a diversity of floor plans and high quality materials. In the first phase with some 230 apartments, there are some 160 different floor plans. In a second building phase, with an investment volume of around Sfr100 million ($107 million), Zug Estates is erecting an office building and a residential development with nine buildings. “The high degree of energy selfsufficiency can only be achieved by making the maximum possible use of the sunlight,” says a Meyer Burger statement. “With this in mind, the maximum number of hybrid collectors was fitted. The architects and energy specialists developed a solution in which the hybrid collectors were arranged horizontally over the entire roof area of the buildings in the second construction phase. The resulting southerly inclination increased the energy yield of each collector while the spacing required between the horizontal module rows reduced the number of collectors installed by at least 30%. “This roof layout enabled the highest possible energy yield per square meter of roof space as well as the most aesthetically pleasing appearance. The level-equalizing solar module fastening system was conceived specifically for the development by Meyer Burger in collaboration with the local specialist, Bosshard. The design enables the modules to be fitted flush with the edge of the roof. The hybrid systems on all of the roofs have safety guards parallel with the roof edge that cast no shadows on the collectors.

Singulus starts production of CIGS process machines for €20 million order German solar PV equipment maker Singulus Technologies, announced in February, that it was about to start the assembly of its CIGS — copper indium gallium selenide solar cells — process machines as well as the TENUIS II production machines for the wet-chemical application of buffer layers for a €20 million ($23 million) order. The bulk of the equipment delivery takes place in the current business year.

Aleo Solar wins orders for mobile solar containers from German military Aleo Solar announced in February it had sold mobile solar containers equipped with high-power modules for German armed forces. The PV modules are built into Multicon Solar containers, which act as mobile power plants to generate power for the armed forces’ military camps and bivouacs. They are intended to complement or replace diesel generators. “Our forces need a reliable energy supply, which is why we depend on our own diesel generators in conflict areas. “Procuring fuel for the generators is often dangerous. By reducing our fossil fuel consumption, we therefore protect human lives and increase our troops’ resilience,” says Michael Schulz, a German armed forces official. “Solar containers provide us with a secure power supply, no matter where we are based. This is absolutely invaluable for our work.” Multicon delivers its solar containers as turnkey solar installations with built-in battery storage solutions and intelligent energy management systems. Once the containers arrive on site, the wired photovoltaic modules can be set up, or dismantled again, in less than an hour. The containers keep the modules safe from potential hazards, such as sandstorms, storms and vandalism. “We wanted to equip our Multicontainers with as much solar capacity as possible, thus providing our customers with reliable and durable solar modules at a fair price.” says Sven Leinardi, executive manager of the Multicon Solar Group, which manu-

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SOLARUNITED MEMBER NEWS factures the solar containers. “Conventional 60-cell modules would not allow our containers to generate anywhere near as much electricity.” Aleo Solar’s high-power modules have an efficiency value of up to 18.3%. In addition to the special cell connectors (LHS = light harvesting string), anti-reflection coated front glass and a highly transparent EVA film enable more light to reach the cells. Each solar container has a capacity of up to 27kWp and can store up to 150kWh of solar power. As any number of containers can be connected, they can cover electricity demands equating to several megawatts, which is enough energy to power hospitals, refugee camps or water desalination plants, for example. Manufactured in Duisburg, Germany, the patented solar containers come in four different output levels ranging from 5.4kWp to 27kWp with a storage capacity of between 15kWh and 15 kWh. They can produce single-phase as well as three-phase electricity from 13 cents per kWh. Each container can be easily transported on a four-wheel truck.

Bosch Automotive awards status of preferred supplier to Oerlikon Balzers Bosch Automotive Technology, the largest division of the Bosch Group, has conferred the status of preferred supplier to Oerlikon Balzers, a precision component supplier. In this step, Bosch has recognized Oerlikon Balzers’ outstanding services over the past years and has inducted the enterprise into the ranks of its strategically most important suppliers. “For over 20 years, Oerlikon Balzers has supported the Bosch Group with innovative surface treatment solutions for the optimization of engine components, such as injection systems or piston pins,” says an Oerlikon official. “Special hard-material and anti-friction coatings have enabled reductions in fuel consumption and emissions in internal combustion engines of up to 15%.” Bosch’s preferred supplier award is characterized by strict criteria, such as quality certification according to ISO/TS 16949 or ISO 9001 or the environmental certification according to ISO 14001.

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ROFIN releases StarCut Tube SL cutting system ROFIN, the laser technology specialist group, released its new StarCut Tube SL cutting system in January. “The newly designed system combines maximum productivity with the smallest footprint on the market,” says the firm. “Powered by ROFIN’s StarFiber 180/320 FC fiber lasers, specifically optimized for fine-cutting, the StarCut Tube SL comes as an ultra-compact tube cutting system for high productivity. It cuts delicate structures with kerf widths of 15μm and below into a wide variety of established materials (including Nitinol). “With dimensions of only 1340mm by 700mm, including all components and ancillary parts, the StarCut Tube SL sets the new standard for space optimization,” says the firm. “Several applications require the tube to be flushed with liquid during the cutting process. “It is with this process that the machine sets a new standard in its water management. The cast mineral setup with no joints provides an absolutely water-tight working chamber with an integrated sink. Circulating pump and filter unit are accommodated within the housing. The flow rate is computer-controlled and monitored and can be logged for process validation. “The StarCut Tube SL can be equipped with ROFIN’s new Human Machine Interface Pro, which allows for a customized configuration.”

Solar Systems, SCHMID and Pekintas agree to 200MWp turnkey PV cell and module manufacturing facility in Russia Solar Systems from Russia, Germany’s SCHMID Group and Pekintas Group from Turkey signed an agreement in December to establish a new cell and module manufacturing line in the special economic zone of Alabuga, Russia, with an annual capacity of 200MWp. This will be commissioned in two phases. SCHMID and Pekintas will act as the general contractor for setting up the manufacturing lines, building and facilities. Production should start in the second quarter of 2016. In 2013, a new Russian governmental programme for renewable energy development support was set up,

providing for capacity supply agreements, the right of which is traded every year via a special auction. Solar Systems — established by Chinese shareholder Amur-Sirius in 2014 specifically for the development of the renewable energy market in Russia — managed to win the biggest amount of capacity supply agreement quotes in the May-June 2014 tender. This entails commissioning of 175 MW of solar parks by 2016-2018). Solar Systems says it also plans to participate in upcoming tenders to be held in 2015 and 2016 and to offer solar modules to other market players in Russia together with the plans to export the production. With this project SCHMID and Pekintas are extending their existing collaboration in PV manufacturing, started with SCHMID-Pekintas in 2012, a Turkey-based joint venture, according to an offical statement. Christian Schmid, chief executive at the SCHMID Group, said this agreement was another milestone for SCHMID in maintaining its position as the leading supplier of turnkey manufacturing solutions in the emerging PV markets. Özhan Olcay, president at the Pekintas Group, said: “this project will be setting new standards in turnkey integration and will put Solar Systems into an undisputed leadership in quality and efficiency in Russia.”

Lawsuit ends against insolvency administrator of the Conergy Solar Module Meyer Burger Technology announced on December 23 that the longstanding lawsuit of its subsidiary Roth & Rau against Conergy Solar Module GmbH, or rather against the insolvency administrator of the Conergy Solar Module assets, was to be closed with an amount paid in settlement. A Meyer Burger statement said: “In 2006 Roth & Rau AG entered into an agreement with Conergy Solar Module GmbH & Co. KG to supply and install four cell manufacturing lines. Roth & Rau AG considered that it was still entitled to receive payments under this agreement, which Conergy Solar Module GmbH & Co. KG consistently refused to pay and who for their part claimed damages that represented a multiple of Roth & Rau AG’s receivables. Roth & Rau AG had already written off these re-

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 47

SOLARUNITED MEMBER NEWS ceivables in the past years and made a provision for the costs of this lawsuit in fiscal year 2010. “Under the achieved agreement, Roth & Rau will pay an amount of €2.5 million in settlement. These expenses including the legal costs are covered by far by the provision set aside in 2010. For the income statement 2014, the release of the remaining provision that is not used anymore in this respect will lead to a positive effect of about €3 million on the results.” The settlement agreement and the cessation of the claims were determined by the Hamburg local court (Landgericht Hamburg).

ERDM Solar, SCHMID Group reach supply agreement for setting up GEMINUS line in Mexico ERDM Solar and SCHMID Group concluded a contract in December for establishing a new cell and module manufacturing line in San Andrés Tuxtla, in Mexico. The line will expand the existing module manufacturing capacity from 60MW to 170MW annual output of cells and modules. Alejandro Caballero Robles, chief executive of ERDM Solar, said the project with its scheduled start of production in Q3 2015 was perfectly timed to meet Mexico’s growing need for new sources of energy. “The local electricity demand has exploded during the last years and PV is the only fast and sustainable solution for a quick decentralized grid expansion,” he said. “The highest energy harvest at the lowest cost and space requirements is crucial for developing the country into a major player in affordable renewable energy supply. The SCHMID bifacial multi bus bar technology is the perfect solution due to the much higher energy harvest as in comparison to standard modules.” Established in 2007, ERDM Solar was the first module manufacturer in South America. The new combined cell and module facility, says the firm, will be also the world’s first zero carbon footprint plant combining solar power and SCHMID’s vanadium redox flow battery technology. SCHMID Group, a global supplier of integrated solutions for the entire PV value chain from Silicon to mod-

48 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

ules, is very pleased about this first order for a GEMINUS bifacial cell and multi bus bar module production line with an annual capacity of 110MW including the new multi bus bar module technology. “SCHMID’s GEMINUS bifacial cell technology enables low cost manufacturing of multi and mono bifacial cells featuring over 30% higher energy yield (kWh/kWp),” the firm said in a statement. “It combines outstanding manufacturing simplicity based on standard tools with the highest efficiencies on all common p-type base material. The resulting multi crystalline based bifacial module operates at efficiency equivalents of over 18% and hence has a 7-10USc/Wp BOS advantage in comparison to conventional multi modules. Christian Schmid, chief executive at the SCHMID Group, said: “In the past years efficiency improvement in PV industry has been steady, but in the order of 0.2% annually. “Now the GEMINUS technology boosts the efficiency by more than 1% without adding additional costs and hence will be for sure a game changer in the PV industry.”

Meyer Burger appoints Gerber as new general manager of technology and product centre Meyer Burger Technology appointed Bernhard Gerber in December as the new general manager of its Technology and Product Centre in Thun/Umkirch, a prime centre of R&D for the firm. With over 425 employees, the centre is the largest organizational unit with the broadest product portfolio in the Meyer Burger Group. The firm said: “Gerber is taking over a key function within operational management and he will play a significant role in further developing and strengthening these technologies within the group.” Gerber has held an impressive number of senior management roles within the Meyer Burger Group. He started in the new position in December and at the end of the year stepped down as chief operating officer and as member of the executive board of Meyer Burger Technology. For the moment he continues to be responsible for global supply chain management and the production location in China which he will expand further.

PECVD vacuum coating equipment from Manz Manz, the high tech production firm, said in mid-February that its product portfolio includes newly developed vertical and horizontal inline and batch systems for three deposition processes: PECVD, sputtering and vaporization. PECVD stands for plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, a technology used for front and rear side passivation of crystalline solar cells, for example. Manz’s VCS1200 vertical coating system and the PECVD technology allow cell efficiency above 20%, costeffectively in mass-production. The patented vertical process increases the coating’s quality and consistency, because it creates no shading, such as pin marks from mechanical attachment of the wafer. This leads to a clear increase in efficiency. A silicon nitride layer on the front of the solar cells functions as an antireflex layer and ensures better absorption of sunlight. The back of the cell is covered with a further silicon nitride and aluminum oxide coating. This causes the sunlight to be reflected back into the cell, and prevents recombination of the charge carriers. It increases energy yield, and with it the cell’s efficiency. During development of the PECVD systems, the focus was on high quality for the isolated layers and on the greatest possible productivity. The VCS 1200 can put out 1200 silicon wafers an hour. An electrostatic transport system also newly developed ensures low mechanical load on the wafer with simultaneous full-surface coating. The VCS 1200 is the result of collaboration between Manz and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) with a German cell manufacturer. It was part of a project called FeinPass which was supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) and which dealt with passivation of crystalline silicon solar cells. However, the composition and properties of the coating can vary greatly. Because of their modular structure, Manz’s PECVD coating systems are suitable for still other applications. These include coating cover glass for smartphones and tablet computers to increase for example, their scratch resistance. ■

www.energystoragejournal.com

EVENT REVIEW Energy Storage India December 3-5, 2014 • New Delhi, India

Ever mounting energy demand, cheap renewables, turns India on to storage

India is booming. Even though the headlines have been crowing about it’s recent slump — for the last two years its growth has plummeted (!) to below 5% a year — it is the world’s third largest economy. Moreover, it’s set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by 2030 — demanding more than twice the energy as it uses today. India’s rapid industrialization and a growing population mean coal and other conventional fuels alone cannot meet the country’s energy demand. It has some advantages though. In India some of the lowest development costs for renewable technologies worldwide can be found. Average installed prices for onshore wind in

India are between $1,250-1,400/kW and average installed costs for largescale solar PV have also fallen dramatically to $1,650/kW. Contrast these prices with those in Europe where average total installed wind costs are $2,000/kW and those for large-scale solar PV are $2,300/kW. These falling costs are driving renewable energy investment in India, which is expected to surpass $10 billion dollars by the end of this year, according to IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency. But a yawning chasm between demand and supply is opening up. Building a grid — a transmission and distribution network able to deliver electricity to people throughout

India not only its vast cities but its rural towns and villages — would be so cost-prohibitive as to be nothing more than a pipedream. It calls for approaches very different to the centralized grids found across the west. This is good news for the energy storage industry, where falling costs of renewables and rising costs of diesel fuel, are paving the way for the use of energy storage, sometimes just with solar, or to reduce consumption of diesel generation. And thanks to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by prime minister Narendra Modi, renewables and clean energy are back on the agenda. India has one of the most ambitious renewable energy programmes in the

Building a grid — transmission and distribution network able to deliver electricity to people throughout India not only its vast cities but its rural towns and villages — would be so cost-prohibitive as to be nothing more than a pipedream. It calls for approaches very different to the centralized grids found across the west.

www.energystoragejournal.com

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 49

EVENT REVIEW world and many of the opportunities and challenges these present were discussed during Energy Storage India held this December in Delhi. Rahul Walawalkar, executive director of India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), which hosted the event, said during the show’s opening presentations, “We expect the next five years will see a dramatic transformation towards decentralized energy solutions in India. Energy Storage India 2014 demonstrated the progress India has made over the past 12 months in creating a solid ecosystem for advanced energy storage, with the country poised to become a global hub for technology deployment as well as manufacturing.” During the conference a broad cross-section of industry stakeholders agreed on the need for storage to meet various development goals for India. Walawalker said, “We also heard commitments from policy makers to develop policy frameworks, from R&D groups on the potential for cutting-edge research and from companies on setting up everything from incubation centres to full-scale manufacturing plants for advanced storage.” The conference began on December 3 with workshops covering key topics (Energy Storage 101, Power Quality, Micro-grids), and a parallel “IRENA International Energy Storage Policy and Regulators” workshop. Subjects covered here and also in the conference programme included the full range of battery technologies, as well as other forms of energy storage including pumped hydro, compressed air and thermal. In addition, the event focused on opportunities for advanced storage in India, including renewable integration, rural electrification, microgrids, smart cities, utility and industrial applications, and transportation. Other sessions covered financing models, project development, incentives and subsidies, and man-

ufacturing options, with special panels on “Make in India” and “International Perspectives on Energy Storage” that attracted delegates’ interest. The conference and exhibition was attended by utilities, developers, energy storage integrators and suppliers, India ministries, regulatory and policy officials, commercial/industrial end users, and other industry stakeholders. Karen Hampton, publisher of Energy Storage Journal, said, “Energy Storage India 2014 may only be in its second year but it shows immense promise and a huge potential to continue to grow into the leading confer-

ence and exhibition for storage players and those in related sectors. “I enjoyed my time in the conference not just from the quality and content of the presentations but also from the quality of the attendees — we were there not just to discuss what the future might bring but discuss investment and collaboration opportunities in India.” The conference organizers told Energy Storage Journal that the event attracted 532 industry professionals with 65 speakers from over 15 countries and was the largest such gathering ever held in India.” ■

ENERGY STORAGE INDIA — HIGHLIGHTS • India’s energy storage market is expected to grow to an aggregate capacity of 15GW-20GW by 2020. • Massive expansion of renewable energy installations over the next ﬁve years in India will drive the need for energy storage to manage variations in renewable energy and maintain grid stability. • India’s “100 Smart Cities” initiative is a smart grid deployment programme aimed at increasing urban grid reliability and accessibility and that can be supported by energy storage. • Actions being taken by the Modi government should provide a stimulus for the growth of the country’s energy storage industry. • Ongoing innovations in energy storage technologies will lead to cost reductions over the next ﬁve to 10 years.

ENERGY STORAGE AROUND THE WORLD The next conference and exhibition — Energy Storage India 2015 — will be held in Delhi for December 8 and 9, with a preconference workshop to be held the day before. This is part of a worldwide rolling series of conferences organized by Messe Düsseldorf. The next event will be held between March 9 and 11 in Germany. “We expect to attract an audience of some 1500 industry experts, with over 100 speakers, more than 100 exhibitors,” says a Messe Düsseldorf ofﬁcial. “We should have some 30 media partners and anticipate having over 40 supporting partners and related associations. This is going to be a fantastic event!”

50 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

www.energystoragejournal.com

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Energy Storage, Europe/9th International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES 2015)

ICLB 2015: 13th International Conference on Lithium Batteries

Düsseldorf, Germany • March 9-11

The ICLB 2015: XIII International Conference on Lithium Batteries aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of lithium batteries. It also provides the premier interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary forum for researchers, practitioners and educators to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns, practical challenges encountered and the solutions adopted in the field of lithium batteries.

In 2015 the International Renewable Energy Storage Conference (IRES) will take place for the first time in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf and OTTI. Running in Düsseldorf for the first time, IRES 2015 is being held as a concurrent event with ENERGY STORAGE EUROPE (Conference & Expo) and the 4th Power-to-Gas Conference (OTTI). A related trade show will feature some 100 exhibitors. Because of the enormous successes of past IRES conferences EUROSOLAR and the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) will continue the IRES series in 2015. The series of IRES conferences has emerged as the leading forum for the discussion of the pressing problems with renewable energy storage by drawing together one of the largest gatherings of scientific and economic experts worldwide. As of 2015 the participants can choose from even more extensive options. The three conferences and the exhibition will take place March 9-11 in the professional surroundings of Messe Düsseldorf (Trade Fair Düsseldorf), Germany. Combining their events, the organizers, thereby, will establish the most important energy storage meeting worldwide. Contact Tel: +49 228 362 373 Fax: +49 228 361 279 info@eurosolar.org

www.energystoragejournal.com

Miami, USA • March 9-10

Contact www.waset.org/conference/2015/03/miami/ ICLB

The 32nd International Battery Seminar & Exhibition Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA March 9-12 In its 32nd year, this seminar is the leader in providing key industry speakers to discuss the state of the art of worldwide energy storage technology developments for portable, automotive and stationary power applications. This meeting provides not only broad perspectives, but also informed insights into significant advances in materials, product development and application for all battery systems and enabling technologies. In addition, this meeting is renowned for offering broad networking and exhibiting opportunities

to the international battery community. As the longest running battery industry event in the world, this meeting has always been the preferred venue to announce significant new developments and showcase the most advanced battery technology. Areas of focus include: • In-depth worldwide analysis of battery markets and technologies • Government battery program developments • Battery safety enhancement and regulatory status • Consumer and large format batteries • Thermal and power management systems for consumer and electric, plugin and hybrid vehicles • Battery development for the grid • Advances in new and improved materials for anode, cathode, electrolyte, separators • Advances in battery packs, charging and testing • Battery recycling for regulatory and resource recovery purposes • Status and future outlook for other energy storage technologies Contact Tel: +1 561 367 0193 Tel: info@powersources.net (this has pic, from version in BI)

Solar Energy East Africa Nairobi, Kenya • March 10-11 Stepping away from small-scale donorled schemes - Solar Energy East Africa brings together domestic and international solar players with East African commercial and industrial power users to explore grid-tied and off-grid commercially viable opportunities for PV

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 51

FORTHCOMING EVENTS deployment. Serving as forum to connect local developers with international partners and investors the conference aims to create well capitalized and experienced partnerships who can deliver high quality PV systems in a timely manner to the East African region. The event will cover: • NEW focus session for commercial and industrial power users exploring PV • New business models to improve attractiveness of rural electrification • 1-to-1 meetings: local developers with international partners & investors • Diesel gensets, storage & micro-grids: partnerships to strengthen the value proposition • Accessing competitive sources of private finance • Government & grid operator Q&A: Tariff changes, land control issues, grid access, & standardized PPA documentation Contact http://eastafrica.solarenergyevents.com/

NY-BEST Annual Meeting and Conference Troy, New York, USA • March 11-12 The two-day event, organized by the New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium, will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy, New York. NY-BEST was created in 2010 to position the state of New York as a global leader in energy storage technology, including applications in transportation, grid storage, and power electronics. The consortium has more than 130 members. Membership is diverse and includes manufacturers, academic institutions, utilities, technology and materials developers, start-ups, government entities, engineering firms, systems integrators, and end-users. The majority are New York based.

flexibility and versatility in energy production and distribution that is truly needed to propel the industry forward. Hybrid energy is changing the energy equation. Hybrid Energy Innovations 2015 provides a unique platform for participants to: • Gain special insights into the innovative tools, techniques and strategies that are revolutionizing the energy industry • Learn more about successful and farreaching examples of hybrid energy products, projects and technologies • Network with a wide range of key players in hybrid energy • Help shape the future of this dynamic market Contact www.hybridenergyinnovations.com/ attendee-registration/ Michael Mascioni, conference director, Hybrid Energy Innovations, (212) 688-4781, mmascioni@HybridEnergyInnovations.com Bill O’Connor, Sponsor and Exhibit Sales, (203) 262-4670, ext. 235, oconnor@ HybridEnergyInnovations.com

Next Generation Batteries 2015 San Diego, USA • April 21-22 The Knowledge Foundation’s NextGeneration Materials, Chemistries & Technologies conference track showcases several of the more promising chemistries and materials that are hoped to be in production and commercially viable in coming years. We discuss optimal alignment of these technologies with application and address challenges such as cell to system, supply chain and manufacturing that need to be met as we proceed. Choose from three concurrent tracks, or register for all Access and “track hop” between talks: • Next-generation materials, chemistries and technologies • Lithium battery safety • Grid-scale energy storage Contact Jay Mulhern, business development manager Tel: +1 781-972-1359 jmulhern@healthtech.com https://chidb.com/register/ KnowledgeFoundation/15/ngb/reg.asp

8th Energy Storage World Forum Rome, Italy • April 27-30

Contact www.ny-best.org

Hybrid Energy Innovations 2015 New York, USA • April 8-9 Hybrid Energy Innovations 2015 gives you the big picture on the dramatic transformation sweeping the energy industry. Historically, different segments of the energy market have been warring with each other. Now, a better and more compelling energy model has started to gain favour – hybrid energy, which offers greater benefits by blending together the attributes of many diverse renewable energy sources and fossil fuels, as well as combining energy storage. Essentially, hybrid energy affords a

52 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Returning to Rome, the 8th Energy Storage World Forum will allow you to meet the industry’s movers and shakers in person and benefit from their extensive connections — an incredible networking experience. This year’s forum will feature speakers from over 25 utilities/TSOs/ DSOs from around the world. Our forums are carefully tailored to attract all stakeholders of the industry. You will rub hands with figures from utilities, DSOs, government regulators, manufacturers, operators, EPCs, and many more. The four conference days include the 2nd Residential Energy Storage Forum.

We believe in dialogue and partnerships, and our precisely manicured program reflects that. Our forum is designed to facilitate communication through coffee breaks, luncheons, visits to exhibitions, drinks reception, and interactive group discussions, resulting in no less than 10 hours of contact time for attendees to meet and greet. Contact Singapore + 65 6243 0050 London: +44 20 8090 1613 USA: +1 978 263 9931 www.energystorageforum.com/europe/ register-now

www.energystoragejournal.com

EUROPE’S LARGEST ENERGY STORAGE EVENT CONNECTS WITH THE WORLD’S LEADING SOLAR EVENT IN MUNICH! 290 ENERGY STORAGE EXHIBITORS | 40,000 VISITORS | 150 NATIONS

EES EUROPE | INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION FOR BATTERIES, ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION

JUNE 10–12, 2015 MESSE MÜNCHEN

EXCERPT OF THE EXHIBITOR LIST STATUS FEBRUARY 12, 2015.

MEET THE LEADING ENERGY STORAGE COMPANIES

Supporters

Organizers

www.ees-europe.com

FORTHCOMING EVENTS Battery Conference 2015 Aachen, Germany • April, 27-29 The 7th Advanced Battery Power Conference with the proceeding Battery day NRW which takes place in the Eurogress in Aachen will be three days packed full of insights into battery competence. Advanced Battery Power has developed into one of the leading events in the battery technology sector. Its significance to the trade extends well beyond just the use of batteries in automobiles, making advanced battery power a must for all engineers, researchers and developers involved in energy storage devices in general, new materials, grid integration or battery recycling. Contact www.battery-power.eu/en/registration.html

Large-scale Solar UK Bristol, UK • April 28-30 More than just a solar event, LargeScale Solar UK kicks off with our sellout Planners’ Workshop, designed to highlight the broader socio-economic benefits of solar programmes and discuss best practice planning. New for 2015 is our closed-door Energy Managers’ Forum, designed to show large energy users how their businesses can benefit from lowercost power through solar. Also new for 2015 are several discussion topics. They include: Grid - Capacity remains and the cost to upgrade is being brought down; hear what the DNOs are doing to incorporate increasing DG Storage - The best and brightest in storage; a timeline of when will storage become economically viable and a discussion of how can you prepare in advance

Shenzhen, home to 4th China International Energy Storage Station Congress

tion, safety issues, transportation, use and disposal. Topics include military batteries, thermal & reserve batteries, lithium rechargeable cell manufacturing process, grid storage, EV batteries, fuel cells and metal air systems and EV charging infrastructure. Contact Shmuel De-Leon Energy, Ltd Email: shmuel@sdle.co.il Marnix Ten Kortenaar Marnix@drten.nl Tel: +31-06-20619140

4th China International Energy Storage Station Congress (ESSC 2015) Shenzhen, China • May 10-12 To catch up with the pace of development of the Chinese energy storage industry as well as the opportunities and challenges this entails, the 4th China International Energy Storage Station Congress (ESSC 2015) will be held in Shenzhen. As the most prestigious energy storage conference in the domestic industry, the organizer is inviting experts

BCI’s 127th Convention and Power Mart Expo Savannah, Georgia, USA • May 3-6

Contact http://largescale.solarenergyevents.com/

Batteries, Super Capacitors, Fuel Cells & EVs Seminar Wezep, The Netherlands • April 30-May 1 The seminar program focuses on present and future needs of portable and stationary electrochemical energy sources and highlights the latest technological developments designed to satisfy application requirements. Primary, rechargeable, reserve batteries, fuel cells, ultra-capacitors systems and their accessories are covered. The seminar program reviews typical cycle life aspects of designing and manufacturing energy source solutions: from application energy requirements, power source electrical and mechanical design, cells selection, cells evaluation tests, battery prototype, acceptance tests, design and manufacturing techniques, testing, mass produc-

54 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Members of the battery industry are recharging their business energy at Battery Council International’s 127th Convention and Power Mart Expo. Join us on May 3-5 in Savannah, Georgia as we discuss topics in the foreground of energy storage today. At the 127th Convention and Power Mart Expo, you can expect to gather in-depth knowledge on the latest technologies and environmental issues, learn about the impact of global economy on the battery marketplace, network with renowned industry experts, share experiences and challenges with your peers, hear about worldwide regulatory and leg-

islative issues affecting the manufacturing and distribution of batteries, and so much more. The Power Mart Expo provides a complete display of the battery industry’s newest technologies, products and services. This premier forum is specifically designed so attendees can see product demonstrations and pose questions to company experts, allowing you to get the knowledge you need to stay ahead of your competition. Contact http://batterycouncil.org/?127Convention +1 (312) 644-6610 info@batterycouncil.org

www.energystoragejournal.com

5th Annual Knowledge Foundation

April 21-22, 2015 | San Diego, CA KEYNOTE PRESENTERS

■ Next-Generation Materials,

Chemistries & Technologies

Jeffrey P. Chamberlain, Ph.D. Argonne National Laboratory

■ Lithium Battery Safety

Yi Cui, Ph.D.

■ Grid-Scale Energy Storage

P ng Pi g Liu iu u, Ph h.D D.

Stanford Universityy

U.S. U. S. Dep S. par artm ttm men entt off Ene o nerg rg gy

M. Sta M. tan tanl nlley ey Wh W hit itttiing gha ham, ham, m, Ph. h.D D. SU S UNY NY, Bi Bing ngha gha hamt mton o on

KnowledgeFoundation.com/Next-Generation-Batteries

FORTHCOMING EVENTS in the energy storage field including the National Energy Administration, Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission Energy Research Institute, State Grid Corporation of China, China Southern Power Grid and other relevant enterprises. The event is expected to gather over 800 professionals of authority in energy storage to attend and share views on relevant policies and standards, market trends and investment advice, technical bottlenecks and solutions, project demonstration and experience sharing across hot topics. Join ESSC 2015, you can enjoy the workshop, keynote speech, thematic interactive discussion, case study, cocktail party and one-to-one meetings. We are looking forward to meet with you on ESSC 2015! Contact www.cdmc.org.cn Timd@cdmc.org.cn

Renewables & Mining Summit and Exhibition Santiago, Chile • May 6-7 2015 Chilean mines are seeking new energy solutions to reduce and secure energy costs for grid-connected and off-grid operations. With energy accounting for 20-40% of operating costs, reducing electricity expenditure is a now a major operational and strategic goal for the Chile’s mining leaders and renewables is set to play a significant role in meeting this aim for remote and grid-tied mines. Following sell-out events in Toronto and Johannesburg, the 4th Renewables and Mining Summit & Exhibition will showcase the latest renewables-mining projects from Chile and address the key challenges for additional projects including innovative finance solutions. The Summit marks the first time Chile’s mining leaders will gather with global renewable energy solutions providers and project finance experts to discuss solutions that directly address the energy challenges affecting the competitiveness and growth of the sector.

and overseas exhibitors, visitors and media, and the collaboration of the organizer, “The Guangzhou International Lithium Battery New Energy Fair ” was successfully held in Guangzhou in June 2014. According to the requirements of exhibitors, “The Guangzhou International Lithium Battery New Energy Fair 2015” (BNEF CHINA 2015) will be held at Guangzhou Pazhou Poly World Trade Expo Center in China from between May 16-18. The organizing committee will continue to provide exhibitors with a highquality international trading platform where they can expand business, conduct technology exchange, display new products and find cooperative partners, and will provide more cooperation opportunities for global Lithium Battery The exhibition has an exhibition area of 67,000m2 and over 3,000 standard booths. Contact Miss Li Tel: +86-20-8922 0050 / 8922 0105 E-mail: info@fce.cn

gagement and advancement, and the annual conference has drawn rapidly increasing attendance in recent years. Due to this growing interest, ESA’s 25th Annual Conference and Technology Expo is set to be on May 27-29, in Dallas, TX at the Hyatt Regency — opening up more space for the expanding exhibition hall and even more room for keynote sessions and panels. Oncor Electric Delivery Company will be the host utility for this year’s event, giving attendees the added benefit of visiting sites to see energy storage systems in action and learn about the company’s bold proposal for as much as 5GW of energy storage to be deployed across the state. Contact http://annual-conference.energystorage.org/ about

2015 Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition Sydney, Australia • June 3-4

ESA’s 25th Annual Conference and Expo Dallas, Texas, USA • May 27-29 For more than two decades, the ESA has hosted the forum for industry en-

Changes in the clean energy industry and the growing importance of NSW to the market have prompted Exhibitions & Trade Fairs (ETF) to bring the event to Sydney. The event will focus on the energy storage industry at all levels — for utilities, energy businesses, building

Contact Delegate and general questions: Iria. heredia@energyandmines.com, +1 613 627 2787 Speaker questions: MichelleDeAnda@ energyandmines.com, +1 613 680 2482Sponsorship and exhibition questions: adrienne.baker@energyandmines. com, +1 613 680 2483

The Guangzhou International Lithium Battery New Energy Fair 2015 Guangzhou, China • May 16-18 With the strong support of domestic

56 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Sydney, home to 2015 Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition

www.energystoragejournal.com

SEPTEMBER 15 – 17, 2015 THE EXPO FOR ADVANCED BATTERIES RETURNS TO NOVI, MI, USA IN 2015

JOIN THE INDUSTRY’S LEADING EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE!

4 EXH 50+ IB AND ITORS ATT 5000+ E EXP NDEES ECT ED!

“There was constant traffic and bandwidth from both the domestic and international customers at our booth. I found this an excellent platform for networking, evaluating options and gaining a sound insight for future development. And…yes we are committed with a larger booth and additional staff next year!”

Peter J. Gunia, BD & Sales Manager - Americas, Saft Batteries, Vehicle Business Unit

Co-located with

Watch us - TheBatteryShow

WWW.THEBATTERYSHOW.COM

INFO@THEBATTERYSHOW.COM

FORTHCOMING EVENTS management and the emerging electric vehicle markets. Following the successful 2014 event in Melbourne, Australian Energy Storage Exhibition will continue its focus on the latest state-ofthe-art energy storage technologies, but also expand to incorporate ‘Lighting & Building Automation’ and ‘Emergent Business Technologies’ zones to offer trade visitors the most comprehensive energy solutions for their businesses. We are pleased to confirm our association with the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA), which is a group committed to advancing the role of energy storage through policy, education, and research. Although Australia shares many traits with California, we are being left behind by technology, so there are many things we can learn from California’s experiences and the progress and knowledge of the CESA. The two day conference will feature over 40 speakers who will discuss the most recent trends and developments in energy storage. This is the only event of its kind in Australia and we invite everyone involved in the energy storage and allied industries to attend.

Energy Storage China 2015 Beijing, China • June 2-5

Energy Storage China 2015 will be the unique energy storage conference and expos in China not only to motivate and influence policy makers, experts, decision makers and a and manufacturers in the renewable energy and energy storage industry in China, but also serve as a deal making and business development platform. Energy Storage China will be the top class networking event to synchronize the energy storage business in China with a global reach. The event will focus on applications, solutions and projects for renewable energy integration, power transmission and distributions, smart grids, microgrids, off grid and decentralized energy, cost efficiency and bankability etc Face-to-face networking to explore your demands on advanced technology from China will be your key to localize the business with onsite Chinese solution providers. Energy Storage China 2015 will welcome more than 700 visitors enjoying presentations from over 60 speakers from home and abroad.

• NETWORK– the Energy Storage China provides the perfect platform to network during the conference, the accompanying trade fair and the exclusive networking dinner • LEARN from the key stakeholders how your company can gain competitive advantage from recent industry and market developments in China and globally • MEET top decision makers from the energy storage and renewable energy industries, policy makers and other key stakeholders including leading research institutions • DISCUSS the important issues related to the advancement of energy storage in China and globally

Key reasons to attend • Get INSIGHTS into all relevant areas of energy storage: Applications including grid integration of renewable energy, energy storage solutions including chemical, thermal, mechanical and power to gas, political scenarios, future energy supply, global energy storage market trends and issues concerning the financial and economical framework

Contact Ted He, Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Unit 1209, Landmark Tower I 8 North Dongsanhuan Road, Beijing 100026, People’s Republic of China

58 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Energy Storage China 2015 will think globally and break industry boundaries to exploit the commercial potential of energy storage applications. We will invite leading experts in energy storage from home and abroad in a bid to present a fantastic Energy Storage China 2015 for you!

Tel: +86-10-6590-7101 Mobile: +86-18500-288-499 Email: energystorage@mds.cn/ted.he@ mds.cn www.mds.cn

Contact www.australianenergystorage.com.au/ conference

EES — International Exhibition for Batteries, Energy Storage Systems and Innovative Production (colocated with Intersolar 2015) Munich, Germany • June 10-12 Electrical Energy Storage, the international exhibition for batteries, energy storage systems and innovative production, is the industry hotspot for suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and users of stationary and mobile electrical energy storage solutions. It takes place annually with Intersolar Europe, the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry, in Munich, Germany. Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies — from components and production to specific user applications — EES is the ideal platform for all kinds of stakeholders in the rapidly growing energy storage market. The focus at EES is on energy storage solutions suited to energy systems with increasing shares of renewable energy sources. A conference track of several days, co-organized with Intersolar Europe Conference, is accompanying EES 2015. The energy storage sessions cover the entire spectrum of energy storage related aspects stretching from global market analysis, to technologies, from small and large-scale applications, to second-hand use concepts and the recycling of batteries. In addition, issues re-

www.energystoragejournal.com

FORTHCOMING EVENTS lated to safety and battery production technologies are presented. Contact Sabine Kloos Tel: +49 7231 58598-13 kloos@ees-europe.com

Advanced Automotive & Industrial/Stationary Battery Conference Glasgow, next meeting point for the International Flow Battery Forum

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Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 59

HEROES OF THE GRID: FURUKAWA Although CSIRO’s Lan Lam can be credited with a great deal of the R&D in the development of the UltraBattery, he could not have achieved it without the innovative assistance of Jun Furukawa of Japan, holder of more than 100 patents for alkaline and lead acid storage batteries. His UltraBattery is now key to deployment of lead acid in many smart grids.

Jun Furukawa — taking lead acid to new heights

A recent photo of Furukuwa in front of his laboratory

60 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

It was an unusual background for an unusually gifted man. Jun Furukawa, Japan’s battery research giant, was born on April 14, 1957 into an international context. His father, Kiyoji Furukawa, worked for a US bank in Yokohama, while his mother Chieko and two aunts were fervent Catholics. The result was that the entire family was raised as Christians, uncommon in Japan. His education was also very different from the norm. During the 1970s, Furukawa was schooled at The Eiko Gakuen, a prestigious Catholic preparatory and High School in Kamakura City in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Although many Eiko Gakuen graduates enter Japan’s top universities, his all-consuming passion for tennis led to his neglecting his studies entailing his entering the Chemistry Department at Aoyama Gakuin University’s Faculty of Science and Engineering in April 1976. “In my university days, I spent too much time doing part-time jobs, which led to my having trouble graduating without doing another year,” he says. “However, an encounter with professor Osamu Matsumoto, in charge of graduation work through my senior year, completely changed my attitude. He was a prominent scholar for his studies into electrochemistry and plasma-chemistry, and also known for his educational enthusiasm and sternness. To get a passing grade for his graduation work, Furukawa could hardly take time off during his senior year. “I needed to devote all my time doing research.” His work paid off, and on Matsumoto’s recommendation, Furukawa obtained a job in the R&D department of the Furukawa Battery Co — a coincidence of fate since Jun Furukawa is entirely unrelated to the family that ran the company.

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HEROES OF THE GRID: FURUKAWA

We had continued the test with a doubled target of 100,000 miles and also achieved this target in January 2008.” This was a ﬁrst in the history of lead-acid batteries. His duties were varied when he started in the spring of 1980 — his first task was the research and development of lead acid batteries for electric buses of the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau. The following year, he researched a method of manufacturing a Pb-Ca-Sn alloy strip for lead acid batteries through continuous cast rolling and its application to batteries. But life didn’t consist of just work and in May 1982 he married Ranko Miyoshi, at his regular church, the Yamate Sacred Heart Cathedral in Yokohama. His first child, a son, Yuki was born in 1985 and his daughter Saki was born in 1988. But early on in Furukawa’s career it was clear that his research would be played out on a larger more international stage. In April 1983, Furukawa was assigned to the Space Technology Department, where he was involved in the fabrication of a flight model in the development of the space Ni-Cd battery (commissioned by the National Space Development Agency of Japan) and in its qualification tests at NASDA’s Tsukuba Space Center. The developed batteries were loaded on satellites such as the MOS-1 and the ETS-5. Just over a year later, he worked on the R&D of a ceramic seal terminal by the Active Metal method (Ti-Ni alloy) for space alkaline batteries such as Ni-Cd and Ni-H2 (commissioned by NASDA). This was a joint development with Toshiba’s Metallic Material Division and, afterward, put into practical use by Toshiba. The next challenge was to occupy three years of Furukawa’s investigative mind: the development of the space high-capacity Ni-Cd battery (also commissioned by NASDA) and the research and performance improvement of a Ni slurry sintered plaque for NiCd batteries, as well as the development of manufacturing processes and equipment. “Our achievements were applied to consumer batteries and are still used,” he says. From April 1988 to March 1993, Furukawa, now based at his company’s R&D centre in Iwaki city, led a Ni-MH Battery Development Group.

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Having developed a mischmetal-Ni hydrogen storage battery, with its negative electrode being a modification of spherical nickel hydroxide, a positive electrode, and a separator, the Japanese team developed sealed NiMH batteries integrating these components and processes for manufacturing electrodes and batteries. Having succeeded in putting small consumer Ni-MH batteries into production, Furukawa was transferred to a commercialization team. During this period, Furukawa and his associates had co-developed Laves phase alloy with professor Wakao at Tokai University’s Faculty of Science. He also had to deal with the response to domestic and international problems concerning intellectual property rights. From April 1993 to March 1999, Furukawa stayed with nickel metal hydride. These were frustrating years as solid improvements were made during a deteriorating commercial environment. “As a development director for performance improvement of Ni-MH batteries, I’d been working to improve the positive and negative electrodes and the battery structure, and successfully achieved, for example, an increase in the capacity of double A-sized batteries by about 30% from 1100mAh to 1400mAh. “However, we decided to withdraw from the business because our competitors had increased production and Li-ion batteries, made smaller and

In May 1982 he married Ranko Miyoshi, at his regular church, the Yamate Sacred Heart Cathedral in Yokohama

Much of his early research work was involved in designing better battery support for Japan’s space programme.

His ﬁrst work was the research and development of lead-acid batteries for electric buses of the Kyoto Municipal Transportation Bureau

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 61

HEROES OF THE GRID: FURUKAWA “The in-vehicle test had started at the end 2006 and gone smoothly to achieve our original target of 50,000 miles in just a half year. We had continued the test with a doubled target of 100,000 miles lighter than Ni-MH, had led to a drop in prices. “It was bitter for me to step away from the Ni-MH battery business in which I had been engaged between 1988 and 1999. We launched the development of new Ni-MH batteries in 1988 and I was in charge of the development. Sanyo, Matsushita (now Panasonic), and Toshiba had already started their development nearly five years earlier, but we also managed to commercialize our products two years after the commercialization by these three leading companies. “During our development, we spent a lot of time avoiding infringement of these leading company’s patents, but we could not bypass all of them and had to enter into licensing agreements. Payment of these licensing fees imposed a heavy burden on our business.” Indeed for a while after the commercialization, the firm’s Ni-MH battery business had been successfully growing and, at one time, it had even produced

Since 2004, in collaboration with CSIRO, in Australia Jun Furukawa has been part of the team questing for that Holy Grail: the UltraBattery. Here pictured with Lan Lam, the guiding force behind the project

four million batteries per month and a market share of nearly 10%. “Our business then focused on moving into the black, which was not long before the big three, Sanyo — Matsushita, and Toshiba — boosted their production several times,” he says. “In addition, Li-ion batteries began to be produced on a commercial basis. This resulted in the market price o Ni-MH batteries dropping to alof m most half and hence our business bec coming unprofitable rapidly. “In March 1999, we finally had to withdraw from the Ni-MH batte business. As it turns out, I was tery b both creator of our Ni-MH batteries an also witness to the demise of our and

Ni-MH battery business. We managed to overcome this difficulty but it took years to recover from this.” With the growth in demand for Liion batteries, all battery manufacturers except Sanyo and Matsushita were forced to withdraw from their Ni-MH battery businesses. At this point, arguably, some of his most important research work was to happen by his switch away from Ni-MH. “While most of researchers and developers who had been engaged in their Ni-MH battery businesses moved into the research and development of Li-ion batteries, I was charged with the research and development of lead acid batteries, which were at the

“In March 1999, we ﬁnally had to withdraw from the Ni-MH battery business. As it turns out, I was both creator of our Ni-MH batteries and also witness to the demise of our Ni-MH battery business. We managed to overcome this difﬁculty but it took years to recover from this.” 62 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

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HEROES OF THE GRID: FURUKAWA opposite extreme of state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries, though one of our key businesses, where I had a chance to encounter the UltraBattery.” The next few years, until 2006 saw the Japanese battery innovator turn his mind to the challenge of the day: valve regulated lead acid batteries. He was assigned to the Technology

Development Department and appointed the leader of MV Team and Iwaki Development Centre’s Second Group. The challenge was the improvement of 36V VRLA for nextgeneration 42V-system automobiles, which meant examining positive and negative electrodes, battery structure, evaluation test methods, and heat

dissipation mechanisms. “With a view to enhancing the hightemperature durability, we had also co-researched and developed Pb-CaSn-Ba alloy for positive electrode substrates with Toho Zinc and successfully achieved 1.5 times longer life than before and put it into practical use.” Next in this glittering chain of re-

JUN FURUKAWA’S ROLE IN THE ULTRABATTERY’S DEVELOPMENT • Over a period of several years to 2006, Furukawa switches research efforts and attention from Ni-MH to lead acid, initially VRLA technology, improving 36V valve-regulated lead-acid batteries for next-generation 42V-system automobiles. • Work during this period includes focusing on strengthening mechanisms for a Pb-Ca-SnBa alloy, in collaboration with Iwaki Meisei University, as well as a method of suppressing sulfation of lead-acid batteries and BCM, a lead-acid battery and supercapacitor module. • In 2004, in collaboration with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Furukawa joins the team behind the UltraBattery, in which an ultracapacitor-based electrode is incorporated in a negative electrode of a lead-acid storage battery to achieve a much higher operational durability under PSOC conditions, previously considered to be difficult with conventional lead-acid storage batteries. • In mid-2006, in collaboration with CSIRO’s Lan Lam, the UltraBattery’s inventor, Furukawa completes a prototype of the battery for motorcycles. • At the end of 2006 the UltraBattery participates in the ALABC’s in-vehicle test project on a Honda HEV, achieving the original target of 50,000 miles in just a half year, and going on to achieve 100,000 miles, early 2008, a first in the history of leadacid storage batteries. • In 2008 East Penn Manufacturing, one of the top lead-acid battery companies in the US, licenses the UltraBattery.

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• In March 2009, Furukawa and Lan Lam win the 2009 Technical Development Award of the Electrochemical Society of Japan for the Development of the UltraBattery. • During this period, Furukawa is appointed the leader of 1st and 2nd Groups, Technology Development Department in April 2006 and, afterwards, of Development Department 1 in 2009.

• Today, Furukawa is engaged as a director in the development of lead-acid storage batteries for automobiles and industrial applications as well as development of the UltraBattery for next-generation automobiles and smart grids. At the same time, he has led the UltraBattery commercialization project team from 2011, negotiating with automakers and energy-related companies.

Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015 • 63

HEROES OF THE GRID: FURUKAWA search achievements, Furukawa concentrated on strengthening mechanisms for Pb-Ca-Sn-Ba alloy (collaborating with the Iwaki Meisei University) as well as a method of suppressing sulfation of lead acid batteries and BCM, a lead acid battery and super capacitor module. Since 2004, in collaboration with CSIRO — Australia’s national science agency (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Furukawa has been part of the team questing for that Holy Grail: the UltraBattery. The UltraBattery is a revolutionary technology invented by Lan Lam from CSIRO, in which an ultracapacitor-based electrode is incorporated in a negative electrode of a lead acid storage battery to achieve a much higher operational durability under the PSOC conditions, which had been considered to be difficult with conventional lead acid storage batteries. This technology paved the way for the practical realization of storage batteries for next-generation hybrid automobiles and smart grids. “CSIRO’s Lan Lam and I had started our collaborative development and completed a prototype UltraBattery FTZ12-UB with a size of lead acid battery for motorcycles in mid-2006, just a little more than one and a half year into the collaboration,” he says. “We then participated in the ALABC’s in-vehicle test project on a Honda HEV known as the Insight. “The in-vehicle test had started at the end 2006 and gone smoothly to achieve our original target of 50,000 miles in just a half year. “We had continued the test with a doubled target of 100,000 miles and also achieved this target in January 2008.” This was a first in the history of lead acid batteries. In March 2009, Furukawa and Lan Lam won the 2009 Technical Development Award of the Electrochemical Society of Japan for the Development of the UltraBattery. In 2008 the UltraBattery was licensed to East Penn Manufacturing one of the top lead acid battery companies in the US. During this period, Furukawa was appointed the leader of 1st and 2nd Groups, Technology Development Department in April 2006 and, afterwards, of Development Department 1 in 2009. Furukawa is engaged as a director in the development of lead acid storage batteries for automobiles and indus-

64 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015

Next in this glittering chain of research achievements, Furukawa concentrated on strengthening mechanisms for Pb-Ca-Sn-Ba alloy (collaborative with the Iwaki Meisei University) as well as a method of suppressing sulfation of lead-acid batteries and BCM, a lead-acid battery and super capacitor module. trial applications as well as development of the UltraBattery for next-generation automobiles and smart grids. At the same time, he has been the leader of the UltraBattery commercialization project team from 2011, negotiating with automakers and energy-related companies. Now in his late 50s, Jun and his wife Ranko live in Iwaki City, Fukushima prefecture. In March 2011, Fukushima made world headlines because of

the huge Tohoku earthquake, Tsunami and nuclear power plants accident. It was a worrying moment for Furukawa as the R&D centre is only 30 miles from the nuclear power plants. The Furukawas continue to worship at the Catholic Church in Iwaki City. Jun is still a member of the Iwaki Veteran Tennis Club and Iwaki Chuou Tennis Club, after 40+ years, he plays every Saturday and Sunday for about three hours. ■

“As a development director for performance improvement of Ni-MH batteries, I’d been working to improve the positive and negative electrodes and the battery structure, and successfully achieved, for example, an increase in the capacity of double A-sized batteries by about 30% from 1100mAh to 1400mAh.”

The antidote to too much work — Furukawa is a gifted and committed tennis player