BASF and NAS containerised batteries

EXPLORATION AND MINING COMPANY IGO’S NOVA SITE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA’S FRASER RANGE WILL BE THE LOCATION FOR THE FIRST INSTALLATION OF THE NAS® BATTERIES IN AUSTRALIA

NAS® batteries are a containerised solution with each container able to provide 250kW of power and an energy capacity of 1,450kWh. The IGO Nova nickel-copper-cobalt operation is powered by a 26MW PV/diesel hybrid microgrid power station operated by Zenith Energy and is currently adding another 10MW of solar in keeping with IGO’s mission to discover, develop and deliver products critical to clean energy.

National Business Manager for Energy Storage at BASF Australia Ross Sang told Smart Energy “The 250kW BESS will demonstrate the ability of the NAS® batteries to operate without air-conditioning in the extreme temperatures often seen in remote areas like this mine site.”

The IGO Nova Operation, which in FY22 produced 26,675 tonnes of nickel, 11,483 tonnes of copper, and 982 tonnes of cobalt is projected to be capable of 100% renewable operation during daylight hours this summer.

The new battery will be connected into this local grid to demonstrate the capabilities of the technology to the Australian market and will be delivered by the EPC Allset Energy for the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre, as part of the QUT operated National Battery Testing Centre.

“The design of the NAS® battery suits large scale long duration (≥ 6 hour) applications and allows easy scale up from single container 250kW/1,450kWh systems up to GWh size systems. BASF Australia is in discussion with a number of developers, end users, gen-tailers and utilities to provide batteries to support decarbonisation, electrification, grid stability and large-scale renewable energy integration,” Sang explained.

NAS® batteries are manufactured by NGK INSULATORS, LTD in Japan and distributed globally by BASF.

IGO Nova’s BESS will add to the 200 existing installed and operational NAS® battery sites across the world, with total power exceeding 680MW and a storage capacity of approximately 5.0GWh.

The containerised format allows a reduced installation time compared with conventional format systems and in 2016 NGK demonstrated this when constructing the then-world’s largest storage battery facility in about six months, the 50MW/300MWh NAS® battery facility at the Buzen substation in Japan. More tech specs: NAS® batteries have a fully commercialised track record of 20 years and a 20-year operational lifetime (equivalent to 7,300 cycles). They also boast 100% depth of discharge and a low degradation based on energy throughput making it easier to assess the NAS® battery performance over its lifetime. www.nasbatteries.basf.com

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Stationary Energy Storage

High-energy, long-duration sodium-sulfur battery

NAS® batteries are high-energy, long-duration sodium-sulfur batteries that operate across a broad temperature range and arduous environments without active cooling. NAS® batteries are well-suited to various operational applications, including renewable energy integration, grid support, and microgrid power supply.

Contact us to learn more

BASF Australia Ltd

ABN 62 008 437 867 Level 12, 28 Freshwater Place Southbank VIC 3006 Australia nasbatteries@basf.com www.nasbatteries.basf.com