the electrical energy storage magazine€¦ · market forecast next generation solar inte- ... 2015...

ww

w.e

es-m

agaz

ine.

com

INTERNATIONALTHE ELECTRICAL ENERGY STORAGE MAGAZINE

ees 02 2016ISSUE 09

MARKET FORECASTNext Generation Solar Inte- grated with Storage » Page 28

EES EUROPE 2016 ees AWARD 2016 ”And the Finalists are...” » Page 53

FOCUS ON SAFETY Principles that Maximise Performance » Page 39

New E.ON Aura Storage Device » 0

NEWS

MARKETS Global Landscape of Residential Energy Storage » Page 18

TECHNOLOGY Supporting the Growth in the Energy Storage Market » Page 33

PRODUCTION Next Generation of Grid Energy Storage Systems » Page 43

APPLICATION Storage Vendors and Integrators» Page 45

INTERVIEW The Evolution of the Asia-Pacific Smart Grid Market » Page 12

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION SERIES

FOR BATTERIES AND

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

EUROPE’S LARGEST

EXHIBITION FOR

BATTERIES AND ENERGY

STORAGE SYSTEMS

ENERGY STORAGE

MEETS NORTH AMERICA'S

MOST-ATTENDED

SOLAR EVENT!

JUNE 22–24, 2016MUNICHGERMANY

JULY 12–14, 2016SAN FRANCISCOUSA

INDIA’S LARGEST SOLAR

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

ENERGY STORAGE

INNOVATIONS

OCT 19–21, 2016MUMBAIINDIA

CHARGING THE FUTURE

www.ees-events.com

AZeesGlobal2016_Sun&Wind Energy_210x297_EN_V1 21.01.16 11:36 Seite 1

EDITORIAL

3EDITORIAL

ees International | 02 | 2016

Sabine Kloos – Editor-in-chiefees International

As storage energy is playing a central role in the energy transition, storage growth is spurred by steadily diminishing investment costs. Here, the fast-growing share of solar energy worldwide is one of the main drivers. Altogether, the global photovoltaic market reached a total of 257 gigawatts (GW) in 2015 (GTM Research). Researchers have pre-dicted a further 64 GW to be added in 2016. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly impor-tant to use and manage solar energy effec-tively. While the lion’s share lies in the area of battery storage systems for e-mobility, single home storage systems and storage devices for commercial application and balancing re-serves are also on a promising path.

More than ever before, companies around the globe have recognized the chances and opportunities that lie in the field of energy storage. Not only has the German Daimler AG taken the plunge by entering the business of stationary energy storage plants and resi-dential ESS, but also Kreisel Electric, the Aus-trian developer and manufacturer of high-performance battery packs, and the German battery manufacturer BMZ have expanded their production capacities. Saft has opened a new facility in Zhuhai in order to double its production capacity. TESLA’s gigafactory is set to start production at the end of July, and LG Chem and Samsung are looking for battery production sites in Europe. However, not only are companies expanding, but se-veral acquisitions are also planned. Total, for instance, one of the biggest oil enterprises worldwide, has filed a friendly tender offer on all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Saft. Another great example is the cooperation of Nissan and Eaton in order to deliver a home energy storage system that provides a back-up solution.

The number of large scale applications is ri-sing steadily. In the United States, several Sta-tes have stand-alone storage or solar-plus-storage incentive programs. Sonnedix Solar Puerto Rico LLC (Sonnedix) has announced the commissioning of its first grid-scale, base-load shifting, energy storage project. And the U.K. is now set to test Renewable Energy Systems’ (RES) new energy storage systems to provide frequency response. As the examples above show, global competiti-on is becoming bigger; therefore, companies need to gain a competitive edge at the glo-bal level. In recent years, the ees Europe in Munich has become the perfect platform for companies to show their innovative storage and battery technologies. Leading battery producers along with companies specializing in intelligent systems integration will present products, solutions and services in the field of energy storage at this year’s ees Europe 2016. We are already curious about the cur-rent prices for systems announced by the producers at the beginning of the fair.

If you want to be brought up to speed about new materials, production, systems techno-logy, applications, second-use concepts and recycling, visit the ees (electrical energy sto-rage) in Munich and San Francisco. Find out what the ees AWARD finalists have in stock and visit the exhibition stands to see what companies worldwide have to offer.

We are happy to be part of the renewable energy movement and are pleased to present multi-perspective information in this issue of ees International – The Electrical Energy Storage Magazine. Looking forward to seeing you at the ees events in Munich and San Francisco at our booth!

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION SERIES

FOR BATTERIES AND

ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

EUROPE’S LARGEST

EXHIBITION FOR

BATTERIES AND ENERGY

STORAGE SYSTEMS

ENERGY STORAGE

MEETS NORTH AMERICA'S

MOST-ATTENDED

SOLAR EVENT!

JUNE 22–24, 2016MUNICHGERMANY

JULY 12–14, 2016SAN FRANCISCOUSA

INDIA’S LARGEST SOLAR

EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

ENERGY STORAGE

INNOVATIONS

OCT 19–21, 2016MUMBAIINDIA

CHARGING THE FUTURE

www.ees-events.com

AZeesGlobal2016_Sun&Wind Energy_210x297_EN_V1 21.01.16 11:36 Seite 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

4ees International | 02 | 2016

Editorial 3

NEWSNEC Supplies Energy Storage System to COLON 8 New 1.2 MWh energy storage solutions reduce solar power

New Home Storage Solution 8 Automotive manufacturer Nissan and power management company Eaton teamed up

New E.ON Aura Storage Device 10 E.ON has begun selling new electricity storage system in Germany

Fully Integrated Energy Storage System 10 New product using various types of batteries

First Self Sustainable Community in Canada 10 Sunvault Energy Inc. and Aboriginal Power Corp. realize self sustainable project

Staff News 11 Dr Andreas Gutsch Joins SOLARWATT GmbH Pasquale Abruzzese Joins ABB New Executive Chairman for SEC Group

Product News 11 Daimler Delivers Energy Storage Units for Private Homes New SunDial Solar PV String Inverter SMA Solar Technology AG Collaborates with TESVOLT

MARKETSThe Evolution of the Asia-Pacific Smart Grid Market 12 By Janika Schneider

ees North America – the Growth Continues 16 By Lisa Forens

Global Landscape of Residential Energy Storage 18 By Angeline Rast

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

5 ees International | 02 | 2016

TECHNOLOGY100% Renewable Energy System for Finnland in 2050 22 By Michael Child, Christian Breyer, Jarmo Partanen

Next Generation Solar Integrated with Storage 28 By Ravi Manghani, Shayle Kann

Supporting the Growth in the Energy Storage Market 33 By Alejandro Schnakofsky

PRODUCTIONPrinciples that Maximise Performance 39 By James Barry

Next Generation of Grid Energy Storage Systems 43 By Simona Vrabiescu

APPLICATIONStorage Vendors and Integrators 45 By Samuel Portebos

Solving Stationary Storage Needs 49 By Dr Collin Mui, Daniel Moomaw

ees AWARD 2016 ”And the Finalists are...” 53 By Lisa Forens

SERVICEConferences & Exhibitions 56

Business Directory 56

Publishing 58

CHINA – THE LAND OF UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITIES

» With soaring sales figures that more than quadrupled in 2015, China has now reached the position of the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, surpassing the USA. The success of e-mobility in China is everything but a coincidence. Both, government and indus-try alike have high hopes for the paradigm shift in mobility towards electric cars. In fact, the deve-lopment of electric vehicles is a key to combatting the country’s extreme pollution fostered by huge levels of urbanization and economic growth. Having recognized numerous related econo-mic and ecological chances, the government has set a target of 5 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales by 2020 and has implemented numerous measures. In order to limit the regist-ration of petrol-engine cars within major Chinese cities, the country's administration imposes raff-les of registration plates, with minimal chances of winning one. As a consequence many urba-nists are drawn to electric vehicles – not out of environmental consciousness but out of lack of alternatives besides public transportation. Furthermore, the government supports the mo-vement with attractive benefits. Amongst others, electric vehicles are exempt from the weekly driving ban and profit from important financial support mechanisms until 2020 making up for 20 to 40 percent of the total vehicle price as a rule.

© Kichigin19 | fotolia.com


NEC Supplies Energy Storage System to COLON

New 1.2 MWh energy storage solu-tions reduce solar power

The large-scale energy storage system is one of the key influences regarding the adjustment and stabilization of the supply and demand of energy for the power grid. Depending on the amount of access to direct sunlight, power ge-nerated by photovoltaic solar plants underlies constant variation. Against this background, storage systems redu-ce these fluctuations in order to deliver consistent energy levels.

Over the past few years, Japan has fos-tered renewable energy to improve its energy self-sufficiency rate and to re-duce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, the government’s Feed-in Tariff Scheme for Renewable Energy was implemented, which has lead to a distinct growth of operators gene-rating and trading in electricity from solar energy. Nevertheless, the fluc-tuation of power output from these

photovoltaic systems is still significant. Generating a large amount of electrici-ty from renewable energy and connec-ting it to the power grid affects the ca-pability of adjusting the power supply and demand resulting in an inadequate outcome.

The NEC 1.2 MWh energy storage sys-tem solves this issue. Bud Collins, CEO, NEC Energy Solution Inc., assures: “As a leader in energy storage systems,

NEC is committed to providing stable power supply systems to power com-panies around the world.”

Regarding the conjunction with CO-LON, he affirms that “NEC has de-ployed more than 120 MW of these systems to over nineteen sites across eleven countries and we are proud to bring our expertise to our work with COLON.”

New Home Storage Solution

Automotive manufacturer Nissan and power management company Eaton teamed up

The “xStorage” solution is a home energy storage system solution that provides a back-up solution for customers, ensuring that the lights never go out – ideal at a time when energy grids are coming un-der enormous strain. Furthermore, it allows the customer to generate additional revenues by selling stored energy back to the grid when demand and costs are high.

The battery-backed UPS system will provide a fully integrated energy sto-rage solution for homeowners and ensures safety and performance when storing and distributing clean power to consumers. Once set-up by a certified installer, it is ready to go, giving consu-mers the ability to plug in and power up easily. Additionally, it has smart- phone connectivity to allow consumers

to flick between energy sources at the touch of a button. Beyond its high spe-cification functionality, the xStorage system has also been designed with aesthetics and usability in mind to en-sure it fits seamlessly into the home environment.

Providing a sustainable ‘second life’ for Nissan’s electric vehicle (EV) batteries after their first life in cars is over, the new unit is powered by twelve Nissan EV battery modules and has the po-

tential to revolutionise the way people manage energy usage in their own home, providing added flexibility and multiple cost savings. Cyrille Brisson, Vice President Marketing, Eaton Elec-trical EMEA said: “The collaborative development between Eaton and Nis-san enabled us to optimize develop-ment and production costs and deliver a well-integrated offer to consumers.” Available to pre-order from September 2016, the starting price lies at €4,000 (£3,200) for 4.2KWh nominal.

Source: NEC Energy Solution Inc.

© Malcolm Griffiths | Source: Nissan

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS

01Scientists of the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) ma-naged to raise the efficiency of thin-film solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (CIGS) to 22 percent by optimizing vari-ous manufacturing processes. The cell made has a surface area of 0.5 square centimeters, a standard size for test cells, and was produced in a laboratory coating machine using the co-evaporation method. With the new cell the ZSW is now only 0.3 percentage points behind the current world record.

02 Energy storage provider Ale-vo Group is deploying an 8MW/4 MWh energy storage system in Le-wes, Delaware. By using its Grid-Bank technology, the company will be able to sell ancillary services into the PJM regulation market, while providing the city with improved po-wer quality, a more reliable electric grid system and the ability to shave peak demand for its customers. The project on which Alevo has worked closely with the City of Lewes and the Lewes Board of Public Works (BPW) is the first official deployment of Alevo´s GridBanks.

03Sonnedix Solar Puerto Rico LLC announced the commissioning of its first grid-scale, base-load shifting energy storage project. The project, which consists of a 1.25MWh Aqui-on Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI™) Bat-tery array, is powered by a separate 250kWp solar PV array. It provides 100% of the overnight operational energy requirements of the 16MW Horizon Energy solar power plant in Salinas, Puerto Rico. The almost grid-independent project is the first in a series of planned projects to de-monstrate the viability of “Base-Load and On-Demand Solar” utilizing ad-vanced energy storage technologies.

04Mitsubishi Electric Corporation produced 40,000th Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) units in February 2016. The Japanese domestic ma-nufacturer has been producing UPS since 1964. UPS units charge batte-ries from an AC power source during normal operations and then supply the charged electricity in the event of a power interruption. The com-pany intends to contribute to the electricity infrastructure worldwide through further improvements.

05Sunverge Energy, provider of in-telligent energy storage systems for residential buildings and small businesses, announced that its Solar Integration System equipped with Schneider XW6848 and XW5548 inverters meets Hawaiian Electric Company’s (HECO) strict technical specifications for solar installations. The systems add high-capacity sto-rage to solar rooftop installations, allowing customers to capture the power they generate and, thanks to built-in intelligence, automatically use it when demand and energy prices are at their highest. Further- more, the technology helps by ta-king advantage of the Customer Self Supply tariff approved by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

06The privately-held Silicon Val-ley company JuiceBox Energy has rebranded itself as Adara Pow-er. During the last three years, the company has installed its advanced 8.6kWh and 17.2kWh Energy Sto-rage Systems across the U.S. “The rebranding to Adara Power signi-fies the growth we’ve achieved as a company, as well as an acknow-ledgement that building an intelli-gent and sustainable energy source is more than just designing a box with good batteries,” stated Neil Maguire, Founder and Chief Execu-tive Officer of Adara Power.

EES FORUM

EXPERTS SHARING EXPERIENCES@EES EUROPE MUNICH, GERMANY JUNE 22-24, HALL B1 BOOTH NUMBER B1.151

TO LISTEN TO THE PRESENTATIONS AN EXHIBITION PASS IS REQUIRED.

Co-Organizer

www.ees-europe.com


New E.ON Aura Storage Device

E.ON has begun selling new electricity storage system in Germany

With E.ON Aura, E.ON has developed one of the most efficient storage sys-tems on the German market. Consis-ting of a storage device, the E.ON Aura app, and, if desired, an E.ON Aura PV system and the E.ON Aura electrici-ty tariff, the all-in-one solution is ai-med to meet homeowners’ individual needs.

With a charge efficiency of 93%, E.ON Aura can increase a home’s energy self-sufficiency rate from about one third to around 70%. “With a storage capacity of 4.4 kilowatt-hours, E.ON Aura can meet the entire electricity needs of a three- to four-person family during the evening and night hours,”

explains Robert Hienz, Managing Di-rector of E.ON Energie Deutschland. Beyond that, additional battery modules allow to expand the system’s sto-rage capacity up to 11 kilowatt-hours.

Developed in partnership with SOLAR-WATT, E.ON Aura is primarily aimed at environmentally conscious homeow-ners, who wish to achieve greater energy autonomy and reduce their energy costs. The E.ON Aura app al-lows customers to monitor their home energy production and consumption.

Along with the storage system, homeowners can opt for the E.ON Aura tariff, which provides electricity service from 100% renewable sources, making the electricity storage solution a compatible package consisting of a PV system, storage device, app and green electricity tariff.

Fully Integrated Energy Storage System

New product using various types of batteries

The renewable energy technology company Northern Power System Corp. releases with its Northern Power ESS (Energy Storage Solution) a storage solution that enables developers and end-users to acquire a fully integrated energy storage system tailored to their needs in terms of power and energy.The Northern Power ESS is able to be

effective with Flow, Lithium, Lead Acid or any other chemical battery, as well as mechanical storage options such as flywheels. It features the advanced FP2000 FlexPhase power conversion system and has a wide range of DC voltage optimization. The system can be packaged into containers, shelters, trailers, or buildings with an output power range of 125 kVA – 2,000 kVA. The duration of rated power can be configured from 15 minutes to 4 hours.

Diego M. Tebaldi, VP of Global Busi-ness Development for Northern Power Systems, thinks that this is a great step

forward and states that the company is proud to partner with key providers across the spectrum of the main com-ponents.

First Self sustainable Community in Canada

Sunvault Energy Inc. and Aboriginal Power Corp. realize self sustainable project

Sunvault Energy Inc. and Aboriginal Power Corp. agreed on acquiring a 25% stake in Slatchinum Develop-ment Corporation (SDC). In this con-text, they plan to build Canada’s first self sustainable community and Bri-tish Columbia’s largest solar park. On 48 acres within the City of Kelowna, BC, nearby Winfield, BC on Okanagan

Band Land, SDC has started to build a 200 home subdivision. In each home, Sunvault Energy will be installing the new Edison “Always On Energy Bank” storage system, solar arrays as well as an Anaerobic Digester facility which will turn the organic waste of the com-munity into energy to power the ho-mes. The community’s homes will be sold to the owners while the land will be leased for 49 years, with the option for a second 49 years. This ownership and lease structure, which is quite com-mon, allows for a much lower cost of entry point for home owners as there are no large up front land costs. As far as Gary Monaghan, CEO of Sunvault

Energy, is concerned, “this community will set the standard for self sustainabi-lity in Canada.” In this regard, Sunvault Energy and Aboriginal Power have ag-reed on building another 80-acre site with a further 480 homes.

Source: Sunvault Energy Inc.

Source: Northern Power Systems Corp.

Source: E.ON Aura

NEWS


Dr Andreas Gutsch Joins SOLARWATT GmbH

The lithium-ion battery technology specialist Dr Andreas Gutsch changed from the Karlsruhe Institute of Techno-logy (KIT) to the German photovoltaic company SOLARWATT GmbH, which took over battery specialist e-Wolf in Frechen in April and established the technology center “SOLARWATT In-novation” on site, of which Dr Gutsch is now the Managing Director. Detlef Neuhaus, CEO of SOLARWATT GmbH, is of the opinion that Dr. Gutsch will bring SOLARWATT a decisive step for-ward in the advancement of the MyRe-serve energy storage device.

Pasquale Abruzzese Joins ABB

Pasquale Abruzzese will become head of Group Quality and Operational Ex-cellence at ABB. Mr Abruzzese, who is currently Chief of Operations for Philips International, will succeed Bill Black who is retiring. He has more than 20 ye-ars experience in the areas of business transformation, operations and quality management and is on the Board of Di-rectors of the European Foundation for Quality Management. “Mr Abruzzese will be an asset to ABB in the continued roll out of the Next Level strategy,” so Tarak Mehta, president of the Electrifi-cation Products division.

New Executive Chairman for SEC Group

Jerry Stokes is the new Executive Chair-man of the industrial battery, solar and energy solutions company SEC Group. Mr Stokes, who has years of experi-ence in the energy industry, is taking the reins from co-founder and outgo-ing chairwoman, Heather Harper. Mr Stokes is excited to be working with a brand so highly regarded by its partners for performance, reliability and econo-mic lifetime costs. His focus over the next two years will be to improve ener-gy access and reliability through com-bining storage with solar PV and other renewables.

Daimler Delivers Energy Sto-rage Units for Private Homes

After embarking on the development and production of stationary storage systems last year, Daimler AG and its subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE are now starting home storage unit deliveries. The lithium-ion batteries are being manufactured by the Daim-ler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE and meet the very highest safety and quality standards. Up to eight battery modules with an energy content of 2.5 kWh each can be combined to produce an energy storage unit with a capaci-ty of up to 20 kWh. The units are sold through a nationwide network.

New SunDial Solar PV String Inverter

The developer of innovative power con-version technologies, Ideal Power Inc., has introduced its new SunDial™ solar photovoltaic (PV) string inverter. The SunDial™ is a compact, efficient, and fully isolated PV string inverter with an integrated PV combiner, disconnects, and a built-in Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT). Furthermore, the inver-ter includes an optional bi-directional 3rd port for direct integration of solar with energy storage during initial instal-lation or any time in the future and also features an optional, low-cost ”plug and play” bi-directional DC port kit.

SMA Solar Technology AG Collaborates with TESVOLT

SMA Solar Technology AG (SMA) has qualified commercial storage system manufacturer TESVOLT’s lithium sto-rage system for use with the SMA Sunny Island battery inverter. The combined system of battery and bat-tery inverter can be used in PV systems and combined heat and power plants as well as in wind power plants and in hydroelectric power plants. It enables companies in the commercial sector to sustainably and cost-effectively reduce their energy costs. Furthermore, the combination also offers unlimited use in off-grid applications.

Source: Daimler AG Source: Ideal Power Inc. Source: SMA Solar Technology AG

» The Evolution of the Asia-Pacific Smart Grid Market

The Asian-Pacific smart grid market has had a jump start and while utilities in Asia-Pacific are seeking new ways to deal with the escalating demand for electricity, smart grid deployment has moved into the spotlight. In an Inter-view Avanthika Satheesh, Industry Analyst, Energy & Environment at Frost & Sullivan, Asia-Pacific discussed with ees International the challenges and potentials of the market. ees: Mrs Satheesh, Asia will emerge as dominant region for energy storage, concludes the Frost & Sullivan analysis “Asia-Pa-cific Smart Grid Market 2015 Update”. What are the key driving forces to this evolution?

Energy storage is a fast growing segment in the Asia-Pacific region. Battery energy storage is the major technology after Pumped Hydro Stor- age. The key regional drivers for the demand of battery energy storage are discussed below:

Japan: Fast adoption of renewable energy po-wer in residential and commercial sector and favorable government regulations drive energy storage growth in the country.

» The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has rolled out US$779 million incentive scheme for battery installa-tions and energy efficient technologies. The incentive scheme will be allocated to both residential and commercial storage, along with energy storage systems at PV power plants and grid substations. The incentive is intended to strengthen electricity grids to facilitate growing levels of renewable energy penetration.

» In 2014, METI also launched a US$100 million subsidy program to incentivise the commercial and residential update of Lithium-ion batteries. Under the terms of the subsidy, METI will subsidise up to two thirds of the capital costs of battery instal-lations above 1kWh, providing a maximum of US$10,000 to residential recipients and

By Janika Schneider ees International

© f

9pho

tos

| fot

olia

.com

MARKETS


US$1 million to commercial recipients. The subsidy forms part of the country’s demand side management initiative to manage peak load following the shutdown of the country’s nuclear capacity after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Further support is provided for stand-alone renewable energy generation with associated battery storage. The total program, however, is worth just under US$300,000.

Australia: The country has the vastest residen-tial solar penetration in the world, which is at 13%. Increasing electricity tariff rates has made more residential customers to dependent on solar and energy storage systems. In New South Wales, where solar penetration is very high, FIT expires in 2016. This is a motive for the instal-lation of energy storage: to offset peak hours. This trend will result in substantial growth for BES till 2020.

Microgrids: The adoption of Microgrids for rural and remote electrification has been popular in the region, especially in Indonesia, the Philip- pines, the Sarawak region in Malaysia, and Aus-tralia. Energy storage is becoming an integral part of the Microgrids. The Microgrid market in the Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at 24% CAGR during 2016-2020.

China: Grid regulations are increasingly being implemented in the country that supports the installation of grid-scale energy storage. The CCP Central Committee and the State Council recently issued the “Guiding Opinions on Dee-pening Electricity System Reforms”. This repre-sents the biggest reform in China’s energy sec-tor in the past 10 years. ESS has been written into China’s Energy Development Strategy Ac-tion Plan (2014-2020) for the first time. The new reform is expected to open up the Chinese elec-tricity markets to competition and new capital, and promote independent trading structures,

promoting demand response, ancillary servi-ces, and distributed energy, within all of which energy storage can play a major role. This has spurred intense activity in developing and de-ploying new energy and advanced energy sto-rage technology and has been a major boost for the industry.

South Korea is next in line for its energy storage significance. The country’s focus on ener-gy storage was strengthened during the Jeju Island smart grid test bed project between 2009-2011. Currently, Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) is developing the largest battery energy storage system for a frequency regulation at 56MW, 20MWh. In 2016, Kokam Power has installed two nickel-based batteries 24MW/9MWh and 16MW/6MWh in this pro-ject. Kepco is planning to reduce the usage of spinning reserves and compensate using energy storage with an addition of 500MW of storage into the grid by 2017.

ees: What growth rate and revenue poten-tials do you expect until 2020 within the Asian-Pacific smart grid market?

The total smart grid market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a fast pace of 9.1% CAGR during 2015-2020. The expected revenue will rise from US$9.21 billion in 2015 to US$14.25 billion in 2020. The focus on RE projects emphasises the need for a smart grid as it ensures advanced control and power distri-bution to the customers. With the initiation of deregulation in the electricity markets in coun-tries like Japan, smart meters and a smart grid are becoming inevitable. The smart meter de-ployments will be strengthened in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan as they are planning for a na-tional rollout completion by 2022-2024.

» While the East Asian and Southeast-Asian market is expected to grow until 2020, the ANZ market will witness a downhill as meter

Source: Frost & Sullivan


rollout plans were completed in several states and there has been a curb on T&D grid investments in the country.

» Demand response systems are becoming popular in countries such as Japan, Singa-pore, and Australia, which are known for reducing power consumption at residences.

ees: What are the key technological and fi-nancial factors promoting the growth of the renewable energy sector within the region?

Technical delays of centralized generation: In the Asia-Pacific region, countries such as In-donesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have an electricity deficit. Prolonged delays in com- pleting base load centralized power generation plants create vast opportunities for renewable energy that can be quickly deployed to meet soaring electricity demand. The renewable energy sector continues to remain buoyant due to slow investments in centralized power addi-tion. Due to regulatory uncertainty, financial is-sues, environmental objections, prolonged land acquisition processes, and overall construction

delays associated with it, renewable genera-tion is found to be the better solution. All these issues are indirectly beneficial to DPG solution providers.

FiT Policy and Tax Incentives: FiT policy and tax incentives play a significant role in renewable energy adoption in the region. Currently, FiT and tax incentives are applicable in most coun-tries in the region, except for Singapore and New Zealand. FiT is most favorable in Thailand and Australia, while tax incentives are stron-gest in India (10-year exemption for wind) and the Philippines (7-year exemption). Besides, the strong RE target by the government will drive market growth.

Price of Solar PV and Batteries: Prices of solar PV panels and batteries will continue to drop till 2018 and will result in an increase in solar PV projects in the Asia-Pacific region. Prices of solar panels have dropped from US$1.3/kWh to US$0.9/kWh between 2011 and 2015. The battery prices have also fallen significantly since 2011. Currently, Lithium-ion batteries are available

Hotspots in terms of deployment and grid investment within the wide and multi-faceted Asian-Pacific energy storage landscape Source: Frost & Sullivan

Source: REN21, Frost & Sullivan

MARKETS


for US$500/kWh. Though companies such as Tesla have introduced residential scale batteries at US$300/kWh, they are yet to become popu-lar in the Asia-Pacific region. The battery cost is expected to drop to 100/kWh. These pricing factors will encourage the adoption of rene-wable power in the residential and commercial sector as well.

ees: And what are the main dynamics hin-dering the deployment pace?

» Increasing trends of low and negative pool prices, especially in Australia, are discour-sing the RE projects in the country.

» Lack of the grid infrastructure’s transmission capability to transfer renewable power from generation center to load center hinders project approvals.

» Integration of RE requires the effort of con-vincing various stakeholders to build better transmission lines for handling higher load power.

» In Japan, 5 utilities suspended RE feed into the grid. Besides, the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry leans more towards nuclear and fossil fuels than renewable power.

» Increasing shares of renewables (wind and solar) will lead to a significant fall in electri-city prices as power from thermal generation declines, financially burdening utilities.

ees: How will the evolution of energy sto-rage in Asia-Pacific influence the local poli-tical and industrial situation?

» The Asia-Pacific region has a strong battery storage industry. Global battery manufac-turers such as LG Chem, Panasonic, NGK Insulators, BYD are based in the region. Governments in China and Japan are supportive of the industry growth and they

have extended customer incentives and project financial supports.

» Factories/manufacturing plants are expec-ted to adopt energy storage for demand charge reduction. Battery storage is the most commonly used technology. As the price drops further, the adoption rate is expected to increase further.

ees: What impact will the Asian-Pacific energy storage upswing have on its Euro-pean counterpart?

Asian energy storage market participants are entering into partnerships with European com-panies with support infrastructure or from com-plementary streams to enhance their product offering and provide complete solutions. These initiatives open up opportunities for the Asian giants to supply their products in the European market. Two such partnerships, which were signed in the recent past, are listed below:

» In 2015, Samsung SDI and Sharp signed an agreement to expand its complete battery solution package in the UK market.

» Power grid company ABB and Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI entered at MOU to develop Microgrids utilizing Samsung’s Lithium-ion batteries in the developed markets.

ees: Thank you for the interview. «

Janika Schneider ees International

Source: Frost & Sullivan

© S

olar

Pro

mot

ion

Inte

rnat

iona

l Gm

bH

» ees North America – the Growth Continues

By Lisa Forensees International

In 2015 the US storage market grew about 243 percent. GTM researchers estimate the storage market to have a magnitude of 1.7 gigawatts.

The US American energy storage market con-tinues to grow and is set to be the largest ener-gy storage market worldwide, with California as the world’s new hub of energy storage in-novation and progressive policies. According to a recent analysis by GTM Research, about 221 megawatts have been installed to store energy in the U.S., of which only 112MW were built in the last quarter of 2015. Across 2015, the US storage market grew by 243%. The annual U.S. solar-plus-storage market will reach 769 me-gawatts (MW) by 2020, with a US$3.1 billion valuation. By that time, the Californian market will reach 422MW, and account for 54% of the total U.S. market. The consumer market for behind-the-meter storage will account for 50% of the total U.S. energy storage market by 2017. Though utility and commercial-scale installations are expected to make up the majority of new

solar, the residential market will also experience strong growth throughout the year due in part to the continued popularity of third-party finan-cing programs.

A number of states and utilities are working on policies aimed at helping distributed storage. California is developing clearer market rules that allow companies to aggregate behind-the-meter batteries. Political incentives like the New York NY-SUN Initiative or the NYC REV strategy have a strong impact: the installation figures for New York alone are estimated to reach 3,000 MW by 2022.

In January 2016, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced further programs to achieve the very ambitious goal of 50% of electricity in New York being generated from renewable energy sources by 2030: The New York State Public Service Commission has approved a 10-year, US$5 billion Clean Energy Fund. The industry is also placing its hope in international incentives like the Paris Agreement reached at the UN

MARKETS


Climate Change Conference in December 2015. Colorado, Massachusetts and New Jersey have all established incentive programs for distributed batteries. Furthermore, the multi-year extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) has fa-vored the growth of the industry. The extension, which is seen as the most important part of the passing of the colossal US$1.1 trillion spending bill for the US solar industry, means that as a re-sult solar, wind and bioenergy can now enjoy fe-deral backing until 2021. Developers are taking advantage of the credit for solar-plus-storage projects on a case-by-case basis.

ees North America

For the second consecutive year, the ees (elec-trical energy storage) North America, North America's most-attended solar-plus-storage event, will take place along with the Inter-solar North America in San Francisco. The or-ganizers record an increased demand for ex-hibition space at the ees exhibition floor. The exhibitions and accompanying conferences are focused on storage solutions for renew-

able energy, from residential and commercial applications to large-scale storage systems for stabilizing the grids. ees also features energy management, electric transportation and unin-terruptible power supply (UPS). Manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service providers, system integrators, research institutes and many more will showcase their new products and techno-logies and cover the entire value chain of inno-vative battery and energy storage technologies.

What is new this year is an expanded program on smart renewable energy technologies, which includes the devices and communication tech-nology that help integrate decentralized photo-voltaic installations and energy storage systems into the grid.

With 100 expected energy storage exhibitors and 18,000 visitors at the co-located events, it will be the best-attended solar-plus-storage event in the U.S. «

Lisa Forens ees International

LIST OF ENERGY STORAGE EXHIBITORS AT EES AND INTERSOLAR NORTH AMERICA (AS OF MAY 2016) Adara Power | Altech Corp | Aquion Energy, Inc. | Battery Systems Inc. | BizLink Technology Inc. | Chint Power Systems | Clean Energy Storage Inc. and EPC Power | Curb Inc. | Dynapower Company LLC | Eaton | Electrovaya | Elite Power Solu-tions | Energy Storage Journal | Energy Toolbase LLC | EnerSys | Ensto USA LLC | EnSync Energy Systems | Fujian Minhua Power Source Co., Ltd | Fullriver Battery USA | GEXPRO | Gildemeister Energy Solutions | Greensmith Energy Storage Management Systems | GS Battery (USA) Inc. | Hirose Electric | Humless | Ideal Power Inc. | International Power Supply AD | JEMA ENERGY USA LLC | Magnum-Dimensions (Magnum Energy) | MidNite Solar Inc. | MK Battery | NH Research, Inc. | Octillion Power Systems | OutBack Power | Pacific Gas and Electric Company | Parker Hannifin - Energy Grid Tie Di-vision | Princeton Power Systems, Inc. | Reis Robotics USA Inc. | S&C Electric Company | Shenzhen Hello Tech Energy Co. Ltd. (Jackery Inc.) | Shenzhen Herewin Technology Co., Ltd. | Shenzhen Leoch Battery Technology Co., Ltd. | Shindengen America, Inc. | Steca Elektronik GmbH | Stone Edge Farm MicroGrid Project | Sunxtender Batteries | Suzhou Shoot Power Equipment Co., Ltd. | Tenergy Corporation | Trojan Battery Co., LLC | Valence Technology | VARTA Storage GmbH

The choice is yours!

Nijverheidslaan +50/56, B-8540 Deerlijk, Belgium- T +32 (0) 56 61 79 77 - F +32 (0) 56 61 79 55 8 [email protected] - www.batterysupplies.be

GEL

LITHIUM PURE LEAD DEEP CYCLE

AGM NiFe OpzV OpzS

ees_international_adv.indd 1 18/04/2016 14:27:01

© L

G C

hem

» Global Landscape of Residential Energy Storageees International met Dr Sung Hoon Jang, Senior Vice President of LG Chem ESS Battery Division, to talk about the status of the global energy market, governmental policies, interesting mar-kets for residential energy storage as well as the Asian storage market.

ees: Dr Jang, what is the current status of the global energy market and what makes it gather momentum? What effect will it have on the energy storage industry?

As public interest on climate change is rising and the importance of clean energy escalating, the transition to renewable energy that is to sub-stitute fossil fuels is expected to be accelerated. The UN Climate Change Conference, held in Paris at the end of 2015, will also catalyze this global movement.

As the energy storage industry grows, it will gain momentum to revitalise the renewable energy industry and will play a key role in the shift to re-newable energy sources. The renewable energy

industry and the shift to renewables have been mostly driven by government policies in coun-tries such as Germany, Japan and the U.S.. But these support schemes will not last forever and are expected to decrease in the coming years. To replace the role of fossil fuels and to act as the main type of energy generation, renewable energy such as PV and wind essentially needs energy storage to overcome the fluctuating ge-neration characteristics. It is almost 100% cer-tain that the energy storage industry will see a huge growth in the coming years: not only on a utility-scale basis, but also in the residential area.

ees: What are the major global and local trends affecting the residential energy storage landscape and how are they transfor-ming the markets?

1. Governmental policies have huge impacts on market changes: The residential PV market has seen a huge growth in the past few years, main-ly thanks to government policies such as Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) and net metering. But as these sup-port schemes begin to shrink or end, because

By Angeline Rastees International

MARKETS


the budgetary burden for governments has be-come too great, the growth rate has declined significantly. The instability of the electrical grid at midday when the sun is at its peak together with the rise of costs for stabilizing the grid have led to residential ESS becoming the silver bullet for solving these problems. Also, as li-ion battery prices fall, the economics of residential ESS will increase their attractiveness.

2. Change of customers’ needs and percepti-on: The needs and consciousness of customers have changed. In the past, the residential area was driven mainly by government policies such as FiT. But recently, people’s perception has changed in a positive way, and many people are more willing to participate in the renewable and storage market. And as FiTs are decreasing, most of the benefits from PV-generated elec-tricity will come from self-consumption rather than selling it back to the grid. Energy storage is the only solution that can increase the self-consumption rate significantly and also work as back-up powers in the case of blackouts. Espe-

cially in markets such as Germany, where the FiT is lower than the average electricity price, households can economically benefit from storage systems.

ees: We also agree with the idea that the governmental policy is the critical factor which affects the residential energy storage market. Then, would the German sub-sidy program be applicable to other mar-kets to promote growth of the storage in-dustry?

I believe that the subsidy program in Germany has contributed significantly to the expansion of the residential storage market. The market is still in its early stages, and customers aren’t familiar enough with residential storage products. Due to the characteristics of an experience good, it is often hard to decide, whether or not to invest in a storage system. Therefore, government pro-grams that decrease the initial investment for customers will be a crucial aspect of accelera-ting market growth.

Energy Storage Market Forecast | Source: SNE Research

FiT and Electricty Price Trends of Germany | Source: BDEW (Bundesverband der Energie und Wasserwirtschaft)


But since government policies and programs have to consider local market characteristics such as market size, maturity, growth rate, etc., it is hard to say whether the same subsidy sche-me will be applicable to other countries.

The li-ion battery has been experiencing a rapid decrease in price level and even though the re-duction rate is shrinking this trend is expected to continue. In this respect, the KfW’s 275 sub-sidy program, in which the subsidy portion is decreased every six months, is reasonable.

ees: So far, we’ve mainly focused on the driving forces in terms of governmental policies and market demands. Could you mention technical triggers which affect the residential energy storage market?

Initially, when first residential battery storage systems were installed, most of them were lead acid battery systems. I believe the shift of bat-tery technology from lead acid to li-ion played a crucial role in the residential storage market development. Lead acid batteries have a long history and are seen as a mature technology that is very cheap which results in very low ini-tial investment costs. The problem is that these batteries are heavy, large in volume, and have a low life cycle compared to li-ion batteries. When more and more li-ion battery systems were launched in the market, customers quickly noticed the attractiveness of li-ion batteries. And LG Chem has quickly gained reputation being a leader in the global storage market due to its state-of-the-art li-ion battery technology.

ees: Throughout the past few months, LG Chem has positioned itself as one of the main players in various energy storage markets. What are your key strengths and how do you distinguish yourself from the other players in the market?

As one of the leading companies in the li-ion battery business, LG Chem has a quite unique business background. Unlike the ordinary bat-tery manufacturers in the electric sectors, our company has its origin in chemicals. Since our foundation as the basic material and chemical manufacturer in 1947, we have been accumula-ting advanced technologies and the know-how in chemicals while building up valuable global partnerships as a trusted chemical supplier. We are confident that our in-depth understanding of the key material for li-ion batteries and the long years of experience and success in the au-tomotive and mobile battery sector is a compe-titive advantage that cannot be easily followed.

Three years ago LG Chem started mass produc-tion of li-ion battery cells specifically designed for ESS to achieve technological advantages in important characteristics such as life, energy density and costs. With the battery cells espe-cially developed for ESS, LG Chem was able to accumulate huge reference and gain experience globally. LG Chem very quickly became the lea-der in the ESS business through technological advancement. And LG Chem has recognized the importance of the automotive and ESS bat-tery business and is intensively investing in R&D,

Dr Sung Hoon Jang | Source: LG Chem

Technical Comparison of Battery Materials | Source: IEC, International Electrotechnical Commision

MARKETS


marketing and production. LG Chem’s vision is to fulfill “Innovation For a Better Life” for its customers through the li-ion battery business.

ees: What are currently the most interes-ting markets for residential energy storage and what is your strategy of expansion?

Currently, the most interesting markets for re-sidential storage are Germany and Japan and promising markets in the near future are Aus-tralia and the U.S. Last year in April, LG Chem launched the RESU6.4EX which received a posi-tive feedback from the market. The RESU6.4EX is the smallest residential storage system in the market providing benefits to installers and cus-tomers. Because of its remarkable performance and features, LG Chem was able to set up part-nerships with new customers in the market. Through close relations with our partners, we can find out customers’ needs very quickly and act proactively in the market, which is one of the main success factors of LG Chem’s ESS business.

In a few weeks, we are going to launch a new program for our distribution partners and instal-lers that include incentive programs and marke-ting support. Through the program, LG Chem intends to support local installers financially and technically.

ees: How does the Asian storage market differentiate itself from the rest of the world?

It is hard to see the Asian market as a whole, since there are differences between major coun-tries in terms of the characteristics of their ener-gy industry, infrastructure, tariffs and policies.

First, in case of South Korea, after the UN Cli-mate Change Conference held in Paris last year, the government is expected to implement re-newable and storage related policies more ac-tively. The Korean government is planning to invest heavily in the energy sector until 2030. Japan, one of the leading countries in terms of integration of renewable energy, has a huge market potential. Not only has the storage demand for renewable integration increased drastically, but the need for back-up power of

households is also increasing due to a range of natural disasters that have occurred in recent years. LG Chem introduced RESU6.4OMR, spe-cifically designed for the Japanese market, and will expand its activities in the future as well. In case of China, the government-driven renewa-ble energy business will lead to the growth of the storage business and to the enhancement of the integration of renewable energy, because China has adopted an enormous amount of PV and wind energy into the grid in recent years.

Lastly, in case of India and Southeast Asia, the unstable electricity grid will lead to the adoption of large-scale storage systems, and the demand for long-lasting li-ion batteries is growing.

ees: LG Chem will be presenting product novelties at the ees Europe in June 2016. Could you, really briefly, tell us something about your new residential line-up?

Thank you for your interest in LG Chem’s new products. We have received a lot of positive feedback from the market since we launched the most compact residential storage unit: the RESU6.4EX. But we have also learned our less-ons, especially getting to know installers’ and customers’ needs when installing and using the RESU6.4EX. From this, we tried to reflect on all the feedbacks and needs when developing the new product.

First of all, LG Chem has developed a new li-ion battery cell specifically designed for energy sto-rage. We have increased its energy density; it is even higher than that of the previous cell, which was already one of the most compact battery cells globally. We hope that the compact vol-ume of the new products meet our customers’ needs namely to install storage systems easily and to minimize spatial limitation. Customers can install the new products in a stand type or in a wall-mount type whichever suits their needs best.

Furthermore, we have increased the product line-up drastically to enable a variety of capa-city options to choose from. Not only capacity, but also the voltage option has been added to increase compatibility with even more inverters than the previous RESU6.4EX had. We have changed the design too.

The new products will be presented at ees Europe 2016 from 22nd to 24th of June at the LG Chem booth.

ees: Thank you for the interview. «

Dr Sung Hoon Jang Senior Vice President,

Head of ESS Battery Division, LG Chem

RESU 6.5 Silver | Source: LG Chem

© M

ax T

opch

ii | f

otol

ia.c

om

» 100% Renewable Energy System for Finland in 2050

After considering 9 future scenarios for the Finnish energy system in 2050, re-searchers at Lappeenranta University of Technology find that 100% renewable energy scenarios are preferable to those with increasing installed capacities of nuclear power and to a Business As Usu-al scenario. The cost competitiveness of scenarios with high amounts of inter-mittent renewable energy generation, particularly from wind turbines and so-lar photovoltaics, is assured through in-tegration of the power, heating/cooling and mobility sectors. A key ingredient in such scenarios is unlocking the versati-lity of the energy system through effec-tive usage of a variety of energy sto-rage options and flexible demands.

The Finnish energy system is at a crossroads due to an aging system of power generation, opinions about different modes of low-carbon energy generation, responsibilities to mitiga-

te climate change, and worries of fluctuating energy prices. At the same time, the Finnish society has goals regarding national energy se-curity and a wish to both retain a competitive industrial sector and meet the needs of a future society. This research envisioned and analysed a future, recarbonized energy system for Finland in 2050 whereby current sources of carbon in the energy system, traditionally based on fossil fuels, are replaced by those that are derived sus-tainably. The research includes an examination of the components of a fully-integrated energy system, the roles of energy storage technolo-gies and the effects of varied levels of nuclear power and forest-based biomass in the system.

An important aspect of the future costs of ener-gy systems will be the effect of learning rates on key technologies. In particular, certain tech-nologies have demonstrated a positive learning rate, meaning that prices will fall as installed global capacity increases. This has already been demonstrated for solar photovoltaics (PV) and wind turbines, and the same is poised to occur

By Michael Child, Christian Breyer, Jarmo Partanen

Lappeenranta University of Technology

TECHNOLOGY


for storage technologies, such as Lithium-ion batteries (as described in issue 01/2016 of ees International). Alternatively, other technologies have shown negative learning rates, resulting in an overall increase in prices over time. Such is the case for nuclear power in many areas of the world, and Finland is no exception.

The future scenarios are outlined in Figure 1. In total, 8 future test scenarios were devised, with four designated as Low Biomass scenarios which take into account that levels of biomass availability in the future may be lower if stric-ter sustainability criteria are employed. The two groups of four scenarios also differ in the amount of nuclear power that is installed, from no capacity to 4 GWe. The main constraints on the scenarios included targets of zero carbon emissions from the energy system (some emis-sions were accounted due to the incineration of waste), and the fact that Finland was treated as an energy island where full independence was maintained.

Findings suggest that a recarbonized energy system is possible for Finland in 2050 based on the assumptions in this study. High shares of

variable renewable energy (RE) were deemed feasible when supported by flexibility harnessed from other aspects of the energy system. A 100% RE system corresponds to a highly com-petitive cost solution for Finland, as total system costs decrease through interaction between the power, heating/cooling and mobility sectors.

These sectors were incorporated on an hourly resolution using historical data and the Ener-gyPLAN modelling tool. For 2050, a 100% RE scenario had the lowest annual costs, at 24.1 bn€/a. This is followed by several scenarios that featured increasing levels of nuclear power, amounting to 26.4 bn€/a in annual costs. Scenarios were also modelled with varying levels of forest-based biomass. Results suggest that annual costs do not increase dramatically with reduced levels of forest-based biomass fuel use (Figure 2).

The energy generation mix envisioned in the study is quite different from the current one. Storable biomass, solar PV, hydro power and wind energy play major roles in a system that utilizes natural complements (between solar PV, wind, and combined heat and power (CHP) pro-

fig. 1: Main scenario design features for the Finnish energy system

fig. 2: Total annual costs of the Finnish energy system for each scenario given the assumptions of the study

100% RE system corresponds to a highly competitive cost solution


duction) and that is facilitated by various forms of energy storage (stationary batteries, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) connections for battery electric vehicles (BEV), thermal energy storage, Power-to-Gas (PtG) technology, and grid gas storage). Figure 3 shows an example energy flow dia-gram for the Basic 100% RE scenario.

The need for storage

Finland represents a challenge to high levels of solar PV and wind power in an energy system. While there are high amounts of solar irradiation during the summer, the opposite is true during winter. Moreover, there is noticeable seasonal variation for both onshore and offshore wind power, with more wind energy produced in the winter. Furthermore, there is also a seasonal element to hydro power, as the Finnish system is dominated by run-of-river hydro power with limited reservoir capacity of approximately 5.5 TWhe.

On the demand side, the need for energy ser-vices in the form of heat and electricity is natu-rally higher during long, dark Finnish winters. So, finding the flexibility in the Finnish energy system has always been a significant task.

In a future energy system based on high sha-res of variable RE, the need for energy storage solutions on a daily, weekly and seasonal ba-

sis seems obvious. This extreme situation could then serve as a model for other countries at high latitudes, both close to the north and south pole, by showing how variable RE generation can play a role in a highly developed and indus-trious society.

The role of storage in a 100% RE systemIn the Basic 100% RE scenario, solar PV and wind power contribute roughly 60% to final energy consumption and account for 70% of total elec-tricity generation, but that contribution is quite variable throughout the year. In addition, that contribution is at times concentrated during daytime, necessitating both short and long-term storage. Approximately 47% of variable RE is utilized directly, with the biggest share going to storage (51%) and a small amount being cur-tailed (2.5%). Electric storage discharge totalled 22.2 TWhe, or 21%, of end-user consumption. On a daily basis, V2G batteries play a much greater role (87%) than stationary batteries, raising the question of whether stationary batteries may be necessary at all in the context of higher V2G participation. The potential evolution of V2G services and technical capacity seems rather straightforward, but cannot be assumed without a clear demonstration of technical feasi-bility and net benefits to the society. On a dai-ly, weekly and seasonal basis, PtG technology

fig. 3: Energy flows in the Basic 100% RE scenario. Storable biomass and variable energy from solar PV and wind power (onshore and offshore) play major roles in the energy system, which is complemented by a range of energy storage solutions

Finland represents a challenge to high levels of solar PV &

wind power in an energy system

TECHNOLOGY


bridges the gaps between demand and supply at times when generation is most intermittent.At the same time, this technology is available to provide base loads of electricity, heating, cooling

and mobility when they are needed. Gas storage arising from PtG, biomass gasification and bio-gas generation amount to 14 TWhgas, or 26%, of annual gas usage. Thermal energy storage in

fig. 4: Supply of electricity in the energy system of the Basic 100% RE scenario from hour 4104 to hour 4272. Solar PV genera-tion is at a maximum during the summer solstice and wind power increases noticeably towards the week’s end

fig. 5: Demand of electricity in the energy system of the Basic 100% RE scenario from hour 4104 to hour 4272. V2G connec-tions with BEVs are utilized for daily storage throughout the week while PtG has a greater association with the increased wind

power production


Finland is rather plentiful, but utilization is rather minimal when annual numbers are examined. Research found that thermal energy thermal storage discharge amounted to 2.8 TWhth, which represented only 4% of end-user heat demand. However, the role of thermal storage was rather significant during some periods of the year (autumn and winter), and would be ex-pected to be boomingin urban areas compared to rural areas.

How it could work

During the research, several weeks of interest were examined in detail to determine a more precise impression of the workings of the ener-gy system. One such week is shown in Figures

4-7. In this week, solar PV production is at its highest, with rather low wind power at the be-ginning of the week. Excess electricity from so-lar PV flows to V2G battery storage during the day and is then discharged during the evening, showing a nice pairing of production and storage technologies. At the same time, some ex-cess electricity is available for PtG technologies, with similar daily charging and discharging cycles early in the week.

As the week progresses, wind power produc-tion increases, and PtG takes on a more domi-nant role after BEVs are quickly filled. Towards the end of the week, gas storage approaches its maximum capacity, enabling storage of energy for a much longer term.

fig. 6: Storage levels (in MWh) of battery storage options in the Basic 100% RE scenario from hour 4104 to hour 4272. Cycles of daily charging and discharging are clearly visible early in the week

fig. 7: Storage levels (in MWh) of gas storage in the Basic 100% RE scenario from hour 4104 to hour 4272. Cycles of daily charging and discharging are clearly visible throughout the week, and storage approaches maximum capacity in response to an

increase in wind power later in the week

TECHNOLOGY


Highly independent Finnish energy system based entirely on RE is possible

Conclusions

The intermittency of solar PV and wind power production appears manageable by the storage technologies utilized in this study. In total, 25.3 TWh of heat and electricity are discharged from storage, representing 15% of total end-user consumption. One must also remember the im-portant role of hydro power in Finland. Up to 20% of end-user electricity consumption can be supplied by hydro power. This study, however, does not fully explore the full potential of hydro storage available in Finland. Indeed, there is no full accounting of the potential to utilize hyd-ro storage in Finland. Harnessing further flexibility in hydro power production could lessen the need for other storage capacities, such as batteries or PtG production. Alternatively, there may be less need for thermal energy generati-on. Each of these reductions may result in a de-crease of overall costs. The integration of high shares of renewable energy sources in future energy systems will require a variety of com-plementary storage solutions. Currently, there is a long list of energy system flexibility measures available to support high levels of inter-mittent RE. Developing a 100% RE scenario for a nation requires careful consideration of the right mix of these measures for each context. In turn, these measures should be suited to and

complemented by the energy generation tech-nologies that make up the energy system. Such is the case for variable RE and the energy storage technologies investigated in this work. Vari- able RE and energy storage solutions can play a significant role in a future energy system for Finland based on 100% RE generation.

This study concludes that future discourse and research concerning energy system planning in Finland needs to involve the vision of energy fu-tures based on 100% renewable energy. It has been demonstrated that a future, highly inde-pendent Finnish energy system based entirely on RE is possible, while still fulfilling the primary requirements of the nation. What is more, re-sults indicate that this could be a highly compe-titive cost option for Finland in 2050. The next step in such work is to determine roadmaps which chart the courses from the existing sys-tem towards several possible future scenarios while taking into account the wide range of so-cial, environmental and economic implications of a fully sustainable future energy system for Finland. « «

Michael Child, Christian Breyer, Jarmo Partanen

Lappeenranta University of Technology

© L

umpp

ini |

fot

olia

.com

» Next Generation Solar Integrated with Storage

By Shayle KannGreentech Media

Solar PV has experienced growth in the U.S. market every year since the turn of 21st century, going from a few MWs of installations in 2000 to over 7 GWs deployed in 2015. Just this past quarter (around the end of February 2016), the U.S. saw the millionth solar installation come online. For the first time, solar PV accounted for more generation capaci-ty to come online than natural gas in 2015.

While this is a great landmark, solar has only recently been given a spot at the grown-ups table. The key reason for this delayed recogni-tion for solar is apparent if we step back and look at solar generation as a percentage of total electricity generation in the U.S., that number is still under one percent in 2015. Getting solar to the next order of magnitude, a lofty but at-tainable goal, involves all the factors that have brought solar this far, but more importantly it needs newer business models, integration of

peripheral, complementary technologies, and market structures that uncap the real value of solar. As it stands today, the solar industry in the U.S. is primarily focused on the near-term, and for good reason. Every quarter brings a new spate of business models, regulatory skirmishes, financing innovations (or woes), and overall change. The solar market moves fast, and there is little time to invest resources beyond the next few years.

The near-term focus of the industry is driven by a few market and policy drivers, namely, extension of renewable tax credits, continuous improvement in technology and business mo-dels across the system value chain with plenty of headroom for cost reductions, and potential role of the Paris Agreement in decarbonizing the U.S. economy (with or without the Clean Pow- er Plan). This anticipated and unprecedented growth in solar PV adoption will have its share of downsides. And in addressing these down-sides lies yet another opportunity for the solar industry to frame solar not as a price-taking and

By Ravi Manghani GTM Research

TECHNOLOGY


We found 20 states currently at “grid parity” given all available incentives

non-dispatchable renewable energy resource, but rather as a smart, value-adding and dispat-chable resource that leads decarbonization and modernization of the U.S. electricity grid. Solar Promotion and CALSEIA, in partnership with GTM Research, will be publishing a white paper on the future of solar called “Smart Solar: Inte-gration of Storage and Energy Management.”

Value of solar to end-customers and gridGrowing solar and wind penetration has been argued to present challenges to existing utili-ty business models and maintenance of a reli- ably balanced grid. Solar, in particular due to its distributed nature, continues to face several net energy metering (NEM) battles from state re-gulators and electric utilities. Over the past few years, NEM has been at the center of regulatory disputes across more than 20 states. Utilities of-ten argue that NEM customers do not pay their fair share of grid costs, resulting in a cost shift to non-solar ratepayers. Solar advocates coun-ter that distributed solar has value to the grid for which utilities are not fully accounting, such as capacity value, transmission and distribution (T&D) deferral, and T&D line loss savings.

This has a significant impact on the economics of residential solar, in particular. Using the GTM Research PV Economic Model, which incorpo-rates real hourly load profiles, rate structures, state incentives and region-specific solar costs, we modeled the economics of residential solar today in all 50 states. We found 20 states cur-rently at “grid parity” given all available incen-tives, where customers can be offered savings from day one on new residential installations. And fourteen states have exceeded the “tipping point” of 10% year-one savings.

But if every state were to change its NEM rules in a similar fashion to Hawaii, where exported generation were credited at 50% of the retail

rate, only Hawaii would remain at grid parity and every other state would become immedia-tely unattractive for residential solar. Now, while GTM Research does not anticipate solar export tariffs to become 50% of the retail rate across the country in the foreseeable future, it is none- theless an important way of looking at the va-lue of solar to the end-customer in a worst-case scenario sense.

A parallel, but more widely agreeable theory can be applied to value of solar to the grid. As solar grows as a share of the total generati-on mix, its value to the electricity system (and thus the revenue it can generate) begins to decrease. Solar is a zero marginal-cost resource, which means it will bid into wholesale power markets at zero dollars and take any price it can receive. Add an increasing amount of solar to that market and prices decline overall, leading to lower revenue for each solar project. Since solar is non-dispatchable, project operators cannot strategically sell into the market at higher priced times – solar is purely a price taker (unless paired with energy storage, discussed below). In fact, the more solar is placed on the grid, the less the grid needs power when solar production is highest – causing solar’s value to decline as its penetration increases.

Researchers first identified the value deflation effect in the 1990s, and it has continued to in-form planning studies for increased renewable penetration (for example by the National Rene-wable Energy Laboratory). But over the last two years, a number of high profile studies using wholesale price predictions as proxies for the future value of solar have quantified a similar effect with increasing precision in disparate geographical contexts. One relevant example comes from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs (LBNL), which modelled a proxy for the Califor-nia grid and estimated solar value to be 38% lower when solar is at 10% penetration than at zero penetration.

fig. 1: Cumulative Solar Capacity – The Next Order of Magnitude | Source: GTM Research

Solar continues to face several net energy metering (NEM) battles


California’s high electricity prices may make so-lar attractive even if it becomes subject to this effect – at least for the next decade or so – but imagine the value deflation impact in states that begin with lower wholesale costs. Can so-lar compete in 15 years if it is compensated at US$30/MWh or less?

The fundamental insight that the value of solar declines as solar’s penetration on the grid in-creases holds true for distributed solar as well as large scale solar. This effect can be masked by the rate structure – for example, net energy metering that compensates distributed solar at a constant retail electricity rate will not reflect solar’s value deflation. But one study of resi-dential systems in California found that under a rate structure that compensates customers who own distributed solar for power exports to the grid at time-varying wholesale prices, customers lose 35% of their bill savings from solar at 15% solar penetration on the grid, compared with zero solar penetration and net energy metering.

Put another way, grid parity for solar is a moving target. As solar penetration increases, the value new projects can extract from the grid may fall, which will put further downward pressure on the cost of solar in order to remain competitive. We do expect solar costs to continue falling through 2030, but at a far more tempered rate than we have seen over the past decade (for ex-ample, our forecast calls for just 11% reduction in utility-scale system costs from 2020-2030). Will it be enough, or will economic competitive-ness escape solar’s grasp as the market grows?

Enter Smart Solar

One consistent theme in the value of solar and prospects of solar becoming mainstream discus-sions is linked to dispatchability of solar (or lack thereof). This non-dispatchable nature of solar has and is projected to give rise to many curvy problems, including but not limited to duck cur-ve in California, and Loch Ness “Nessie” curve in Hawaii. And yet, these are also the states that have put forward aggressive renewable goals – 50% by 2030 for California, and 100% by 2045 for Hawaii. As a result, the solar indus-try will have to cope with changing net energy metering regimes and solar value deflation, in addition to other ongoing industry challenges. Various viable and not-so-viable solutions have been proposed and tested that broadly fall un-der three categories – Market design (expand the grid, implement rate design solutions), De-mand management (manage load to align with solar output), and Energy storage (shift and firm output). Of course, each of these approaches is getting implemented across multiple markets at different timescales, and will continue to get adopted as technologies and market struc-tures mature. From a behind-the-meter end-

customer’s point of view, dispatchability of solar can be achieved primarily through two techno-logies – load management and energy storage. Both these technologies have been enabled by distinct advancements in hardware (advanced metering, batteries) and software (customer analytics). A confluence of these technology advancements along with appropriate market structures that value services offered by solar-plus-storage, or solar-plus-energy-management are the stepping stones for taking solar to the next level and enhancing solar as a smart rene-wable energy resource.

Energy storage can make solar a bet-ter long-term citizen of the gridEnergy storage has enormous promise on its own, but it can also serve the needs of a growing solar market. First, energy storage can help distributed solar owners navigate changing rate structures by maximizing self-consumption (and decreasing potentially lower-valued grid ex-ports), optimizing consumption vs. time-of-use rates and mitigating demand charges. Second, at the system level, energy storage may be the factor that eases solar’s value deflation effect before it truly takes hold.

Pairing energy storage with renewables can en-hance the value of underlying renewable asset. As renewable penetration on the grid increases, storage can be used to facilitate renewables smoothing through ramp rate control and fir-ming instantaneous output. In remote islands such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico, these are im-portant technical requirements to enable reliable grid operations while onboarding more re-newables on the grid. Even in markets that are not grid constrained, storage addition can allow consistent use of firmer renewable capacity to meet capacity and electricity needs. SolarCity’s recent foray into utility-scale solar-plus-storage based Capacity Services offering aims to tap into these value streams created by firm solar output.

If we shift to the viewpoint of the residential and non-residential end-customers, storage already has and will likely continue to play a growing role, as several utilities and public uti-lity commissions continue to evolve rate design structures for solar customers. In states like Hawaii and Nevada, with less than retail rate net energy metering (NEM) values, there are electri-city bill saving opportunities by increased self-consumption.

Though California has not significantly reduced the solar export value for future solar customers in its recent NEM 2.0 decision, the mandatory requirement to transition to TOU tariff creates an incentive to time shift excess solar to eve-ning peak hours. On top of these benefits to

Can solar compete in 15 years if it is compensated at

US$30/MWh or less?

Solar industry will have to cope with changing

net energy metering regimes

TECHNOLOGY


Load control can provi-de additional support on the demand side

different sides of the meter, storage improves the overall system resiliency in instance of pow-er outages, and improves grid reliability.

Load flexibility can balance solar supply with grid demandEnergy storage is not the only resource that can help mitigate value deflation and manage evol-ving rates. While energy storage serves its pur-pose on the supply side of the equation, load control can provide additional support on the demand side. As more devices in the building become controllable, smart and networked, customers and services providers will gain the ability to shift load away from traditional peak periods and further toward periods of higher solar production. Rocky Mountain Institute calls this “demand flexibility” or “flexiwatts” and has estimated that residential flexibility alone can

reduce grid costs by US$13 billion per year. In recent months, several solar companies have in-troduced home energy management programs and systems, while many others have estab-lished partnerships with energy management companies. Companies like Enphase Energy and SolarCity have in-house energy management systems targeting residential and non-residen-tial customers. SunPower on the other hand, has inked a deal with EnerNOC and invested in Tendril to enhance its energy management soft-ware offerings and capabilities.

Solar can play a vital role in new grid edge market structuresToday, behind-the-meter solar projects essenti-ally receive a single value stream – the reduc-tion of a customer’s bill via a combination of self-consumption of solar power and net energy

fig. 2: Renewables Plus Storage Benefits Across the Grid | Source: GTM Research Energy in the Connected Home 2015

fig. 3: The Digitization of the Home: The Customer Experience Is Everything Source: GTM Research Energy in the Connected Home 2015


metering for power fed back into the grid. But solar ultimately has greater value – specifically, value to the grid. Especially when paired with energy storage, load control and other distribu-ted energy resources (DERs), solar can be a cru-cial component of tomorrow’s grid-responsive building.

This may sound futuristic and theoretical, but it is beginning to happen today. The technology for DER aggregation is quickly arriving, as are the associated business models. And most im-portantly, the ground rules are being set by re-gulators and grid operators. At the independent system operator (ISO) level, there are at least three ongoing agendas that could open up mar-kets for DER aggregation. In California, the ISO has approved a proposal for distributed resour-ces (under the name Distributed Energy Resour-ce Providers, or DERPs) to bid into ISO markets under certain conditions. In New York, the Re-forming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative seeks to open a host of grid service value streams to distributed resources under the guidance of the state ISO and the newly formed Distribution System Platform (DSP) providers. Regulatory overhauls such as that being proposed in New York under the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative had grander ambitions. In the ideal REV future, customer premises become grid-responsive assets, participating in a varie-ty of new markets that reflect the true and full value of the customer’s costs and her services to the system. This customer of the future has all the trappings of the smart home – various controllable devices connected to high energy usa-ge appliances, all operating in concert through a simple interface. But in order to maximize va-lue, the customer needs some form of generati-on, and solar is often the best bet.

For the solar industry today, initiatives such as REV in New York or utility Distribution Re-source Plans (DRPs) in California, present small windows into the future of customer-sited so-lar. That future is hard to predict, but it almost certainly presents an array of new opportunities to extract value for customers and the grid from on-site solar.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the ascent of solar in the U.S. to the next order of magnitude depends on the industry’s ability to successfully transform solar into a reliable and dispatchable grid resource. The U.S. crossed one million solar PV installa-tions during the first quarter of 2016, but the path to get to ten million installations, undoub-tedly involves integrating solar with energy sto-rage, energy management, and other software solutions that are deployed to create a cleaner, resilient and responsive grid. «

Ravi Manghani, Director of Energy Storage, GTM Research

Shayle Kann, Senior Vice President,

Greentech Media

fig. 4: Near-Term Opportunities for DER Participation in ISO Markets Source: GTM Research DER Participation in Wholesale Markets

There are at least three ongoing agendas that

could open up markets for DER aggregation

© F

lex

Ener

gy

By Alejandro Schnakofsky Flex Energy

» Supporting the Growth in the Energy Storage Market

The utility-scale energy storage market is expected to reach 2.6 GW in the U.S. by 2020, according to GTM Research. To achieve such explosive growth, the energy storage industry will need to scale while continuing to drive costs down – standardization of system de-signs will be pivotal to get the industry there!

The energy storage industry is as exciting as it has ever been. This was evident during the Energy Storage Association conference in Char-lotte this past April. The number of companies entering the energy storage industry continues to grow, and the ones that have been around for a few years are clearly improving their pro-ducts and value propositions as well as reducing their costs. This is a good thing as the industry matures and gears up to support what is projec-ted to be substantial growth over the next few years. One key take-away from the discussions I had was the sophistication of cost models. As the industry has gained experience, this is clear-ly being leveraged to provide a more accurate

and tailored view of systems costs. Such mo-dels reveal a clear cost reduction path for bat-teries over the next 5 years. Generally speaking, this will be obtained through improvements in module energy density and manufacturing processes, and scale. However, the cost reduc-tion path for the balance of the system is not very clear at all. As we know, the specifications for utility-scale battery energy storage systems have varied significantly from project to project. While there is an impact on the batteries from a configuration perspective, the basic building block, i.e. the cells are mostly common, enables manufacturers to leverage volumes and scale despite a variability in specification at the sys-tem level – this is one of the reasons the cost reduction path in cells is so clearly based on the expected growth in the industry. In the balance of the system, the situation is not like this. Va-rying requirements affect the electrical, struc-tural, and thermal characteristics of the system which makes it difficult to standardize and which will ultimately drive volumes and repea-tability in integration, which in turn would bring costs down. The situation is not an easy one to


address since different end users may have dif-ferent requirements based on their experience, preference, and existing assets. This is the kind of challenge that attracts a company like Flex to enter the fray: We believe that by modularizing the overall system as building blocks, supported by a robust and flexible platform for containe-rized energy storage systems, standardization and repeatability can be achieved. This in turn enables larger volumes in material and efficien-cies in the manufacturing process which in turn will reduce the balance of system costs.

Energy Storage: an industry in transitionStandardization and harmonization of require-ments across markets is dependent on the ma-turity of the industry as a whole. Only through experience and proved performance, certain designs emerge as the norm. In the context of the energy storage industry, we can see that from a historical perspective we may be ente-ring this maturity phase.

Researching the Department of Energy’s Glo-bal Energy Storage database sheds some light on the state of the industry. We can see that

the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s were dominated by the deployment of pumped hydro plants. It was not until the ‘90s that the first electrochemical energy storage system deployment was recor-ded. Within the context of modern energy storage, this marks the beginning of what we see in the industry today. Significant research and de-velopment took place during this period as well as in the period 2000-2010. As it can be seen in Figure 1, deployments have really taken traction between 2010-today. While this is a relatively short amount of time to think that standardi-zation and harmonization of requirements is under way, some key trends have become clear.

It is clear from the database that the majority of systems deployed between 2010-today are electro-chemical systems. The footprint, mo-dularity, project execution risks and capex re-quirements of these systems are such that the market has reacted positively to a wide variety to chemistries. While there are other technolo-gies that are very promising and/or have clear advantages for certain use cases, batteries are here to stay. Figure 2 reveals another key trend, Lithium-ion batteries have dominated the de-ployment of battery energy storage systems. Also, based on recent project announcements

fig.1: Deployment of electrochemical energy storage projects in the US

fig. 2: Electro-chemical category of energy storage systems installed through 2015

Through experience and proved performance,

certain designs emerge as the norm

TECHNOLOGY


Lithium-ion continues to gain momentum and it is poised to be the most deployed technology over the next 3 to 5 years. This trend is resulting in the consolidation of opportunities and pro-jects around a technology. This, in turn, makes it possible to decrease costs by reusing designs from project to project as well as due to eco-nomies of scale. As a word of caution, Lithium-ion is not the perfect battery technology, but its mature in comparison to other chemistries. The intricacies of deploying systems, including si-zing, performance, fire suppression, permitting, etc., have been worked out by several project developers and the technology is starting to be recognized and understood. This is a huge ad-vantage as we expect the industry to grow as previously mentioned.

Figures 3 and 4 depict another trend where cer-tain use cases and value streams are becoming predominant. In the category of grid support services, bulk frequency and voltage regulation are two of the main use cases for battery energy storage systems. This has mainly been enabled by the market structure in PJM (regional trans-mission organization in the North East and mid-Atlantic of the U.S.). In PJM these grind support services are compensated at a rate in which not only the power capacity and provided kWhs are taken into consideration but performance too. The performance and flexibility of energy storage systems enables them to capture this market, making profitable deployments possible. This compensation structure is expected to roll out into other regional transmission organi-zations in the U.S., expanding the available mar-ket for these use cases. While there are many technologies that have gone into this market,

Lithium-ion is one that has gained significant traction for such use cases. From a technical re-quirements perspective, these systems need to provide fast discharge rates (provide high pow-er for seconds) and very precise reaction times to market signals. In addition, these systems will typically support multiple charge and discharge cyles per day. These items ultimately yield systems that have specific cells for the use case (higher C discharge rate), higher capaci-ty thermal management systems to deal with the heat disipated during high power dischar-ge cycles, larger conductors to support the re-quired currents and minimizing losses, as well as battery packs that are tailored to provide high amounts of power for short durations of time. This clarity allows manufacturers to aim their designs at catering to a very specific set of requirements enabling standardization and repeatibility.

Use cases related to bulk energy utilization are described in Figure 4. Time of use shifting and renewables capacity firming are the dominant use cases in this category. In contrast to the requirements of grid support services applica-tions, these systems store energy in bulk and their discharge rate is rather slow in the order of hours. Technical requirements in turn are dif-ferent, with battery packs engineered to sup-port 1 to 2 cycles per day, low C rates, and low current carrying capability when compared to systems engineered for grid-support services. Consequently, the thermal management sys-tem and power connectivity is engineered to deal with lower amounts of heat dissipation and current carrying capability respectively. Pro-viders supplying solutions, capturing these use

fig. 3: Grid tied energy storage system installations by grid support applications

fig. 4: Grid tied energy storage system installations by power plant support applications

Performance and flexibility of energy storage systems enables them to capture this market


cases, have the opportunity to standardize their designs thus driving repeatability and reducing overall costs. The volume projections in the in-dustry should provide enough motivation to invest in this optimization since significant cost reductions are expected which will be obtained through this standardization of designs in the balance of the system.

Cost structure of a containerized battery energy storage systemThe economic viability of an energy storage system is driven by the value it provides and its costs. As previously mentioned, battery manu-facturers have been working to obtain cost re-ductions in their cells and modules for several years now. The balance of system needs to go through the same process in order to reduce its costs.

Containerized energy storage systems are made up of several components tailored to the battery chemistry and performance requirements of the overall system. If we omit the inverter, we are left with the following components:

» Battery modules and mounting fixtures » Engineered and modified container » Fire detection and suppression » Thermal management system » DC power connectivity » DC cabinet » AC cabinet » Controls » Accessories

All of these subcomponents are closely interre-lated and are designed and engineered to sup-port the system requirements and intricacies of the battery chemistry selected. The mounting solution of the batteries is not trivial; it influ-ences structural integrity as well as the perfor-mance of the thermal management system. It also rules the layout of the batteries within the container which, in turn, limits the amount of kWhr one can fit. Major battery manufacturers typically provide their own solution, and standard EIA racks are used by several of them. These “racks” are then used as standard building blocks for the BESS. The batteries together with their mounting solution represent the largest cost driver. The market price of this portion of the scope ranges from 150 - 600 USD/kWhr with flow batteries being on the lower side of that range, Lithium-ion right in the middle, and specialized batteries offering better life expec-tancy, number of cycles, and performance at the upper end of the range. One item to take into consideration when evaluating costs is the fact that not all manufacturers package their product in the same manner, as a result not all USD/kWhr figures one comes across are di-rectly comparable. Some manufacturers include racking, battery monitoring system, cable con-

nections, and short circuit protection in their stated figure while others do not. Having a clear understanding of the scope of supply relative to the USD/kWhr figure of a particular manufactu-rer is very important when evaluating vendors since the items mentioned above are needed in the system.

The second largest cost driver in containerized solutions is the container itself. Based on the size, complexity, source of the structure and vo-lumes, costs range between 25k - 85k USD. Bey-ond materials, these structures are costly due to their engineering and labor content. However, there is typically significant cost reduction po-tential when driving up volumes. The two main reasons for this are: commodities utilized to build the structure can be purchased in bulk, and stocked and volumes make it possible to invest in a manufacturing environment where production line layout and automation work together to dramatically reduce the number of manual labor hours required to produce one unit – this is only possible with scale. Another element that should not be disregarded is logistics. Transportation and rigging of the unit can also be a surprisingly expensive item. Adhering to ISO standard container dimensions is critical in order to ensure cost-effective solutions for transportation and rigging. This becomes a sig-nificant challenge when designing manned en-closures due to NEC workspace requirements. With most manufacturers utilizing standard EIA racks, it becomes a challenge to fully utilize the space within the container. Space underutilisa-tion within the container will ultimately result in a less competitive solution from a USD/kWhr perspective.

The thermal management system is another in-tricate aspect of the design of these solutions. It ensures that the environment has the adequate temperature and humidity to maximize the life expectancy of the battery pack. The battery chemistry and use case determine the require-ments, the solutions range from passive venti-lation, force air (fans) to air conditioning. Costs vary greatly depending on the solution but overall they range from 2 to 7 USD/kWhr.

While most installations require fire detection, some battery chemistries have a risk of thermal runaway and may require a fire suppression sys-tem. The requirements are not 100% clear in the US and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and NFPA is expected to provide guidance and recommendations in the 2017 version of the NEC. In the meantime, most installations using chemistries with a risk of thermal runaway are being equipped with fire detection and sup-pression systems. In containerized solutions the costs of this system are in the range of 6-12 USD/kWhr. The rest of the components are summarized in Table 1 and 2. These tables pre-

The batteries together with their mounting

solution represent the largest cost driver

TECHNOLOGY


sent a high level reference point for 20’ and 40’ containerized battery energy storage systems based on 0.8 and 2 MWhr energy capacity res-pectively. Figure 5 and 6 illustrate the proporti-on of each component as a system cost driver. From this point, it can be seen that the balance of system costs in the DC building block is around approximately 20% for a 20’ BESS and 16% for a 40’ BESS. While the batteries account for the bulk of the costs in a system, it is clear

that the balance is not insignificant, as such, fin-ding a clear path for cost reduction in this area is critical to improve overall system costs.

Improving balance of system costs through modularizationWith the US utility-scale market expected to reach 2.4 GWhr by 2020, the industry is ex-pecting to ramp up to 600-1200 containerized

table 1: Sample costs of a 0.8 MWhr 20’ BESS containerized system

fig. 5: Sample costs of a 0.8 MWhr 20’ BESS containerized system

table 2: Sample costs of a 2 MWhr 40’ BESS containerized system


BESS per year. To achieve this while curbing the balance of system costs, system designs should be modularized and standardized. Flex has been following this approach by collaborating with technology providers and aggregating custo-mer, system, and performance requirements. Such requirements in combination with the different possibilities offered by vendors have enabled a standard platform that is versatile enough to accommodate a wide variety of elec-tro-chemistries yet common enough to leverage volumes across different project opportunities. This, in turn, is driving scale and resulting in cost reductions in several of the aforementioned components in the balance of the system. One example is the modified container. By having a platform approach, we are able to consolidate volumes around a single design which, in turn, can be manufactured at volume taking advan-tage of the cost reduction opportunities that we mentioned previously. This is similar to the automotive industry, were different and unique car models are built from the same common platform. An analysis of this effect reveals the great opportunity and perhaps a clearer road-map toward addressing the costs of the balance of the system as seen in Table 3. This particu-lar example is for a 40’ 2 MWhr battery energy

storage system. There is, for example, a dou-ble-digit cost reduction opportunity in all sub systems when reaching volumes of 50 units per year. Another item to note is lead times, today most systems require approximately 20-24 weeks to be built. With scale and standar-dization, system modules can be stocked, pre-assembled and staged reducing lead times and integration hours.

The energy storage industry has come a long way and we are starting to see the signs of con-solidation in use cases around particular tech-nologies which are driving volumes up for some vendors at the battery level. For those that are willing to invest the time and effort to harmo-nize their offering, there is great opportunity to achieve efficiencies and cost reductions in the balance of the system. We have some exciting times ahead of us as we rapidly transition from pilot and custom deployments to repeatable so-lutions. «

Alejandro Schnakofsky, Director of Applications Engineering,

Flex Energy

fig. 6: Sample costs of a 2 MWhr 40’ BESS containerized system

table 3: Impact of volumes on system costs

System designs should be modularized and

standardized

© K

arls

ruhe

Inst

itute

of

Tech

nolo

gy

By James Barry Karlsruhe Institute

of Technology

» Principles that Maximise Performance

The highly competitive market of per-sonal electronics has created a world in which affordable, high-performance electronic devices are at our fingertips and in our pockets. As the global ener-gy system moves into a new era, there is tangible excitement around energy storage and its potential for transfor-ming the way we produce, consume and distribute electricity. In order for ener-gy storage products to take their place alongside other “must-haves”, it is es-sential to move beyond the hype and understand the critical issues affecting cost and performance. Of course the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies, but how much should we be paying and what exactly should we expect to get?

Energy storage has long been recognised as the holy grail of the energy transition, the missing piece of the puzzle that will allow us to replace

fossil fuels with renewable energy sources. Following on from the rapid decline in photo-voltaic module prices, we are currently experi-encing a dramatic increase in the deployment of batteries as storage buffers throughout the energy system. For stationary storage applica-tions on time scales of minutes to hours, current trends show that high-performance Lithium-ion batteries are the benchmark for other technolo-gies on the market (Sauer 2016). In order for the market to successfully move from the “early-adopter” phase towards maturity, it is essential that affordable and high-performance products be developed.

Besides the basic costs of battery cells, there are numerous system-dependent aspects that affect the performance and profitability of battery systems. In this article we will attempt to distil this complex issue down to four basic principles, based on detailed studies of storage systems in the field. To this end several proto-type stationary storage systems with differing configurations have been in operation on the


Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) campus since 2013, as part of the “Competence E” project. In 2015, another KIT-developed system started operation at the Helmholtz Institute in Ulm. The experience gathered from these sys-tems forms the basis for what follows. In a nuts-hell, the critically important aspects are: design, longevity, efficiency and intelligence.

Design – customised solutions

Modern energy systems must be adapted to meet the customers‘ needs. As a starting point, a careful characterisation of the variability of both the renewable energy sources and the load requirements allows for optimal system design and ultimately a reduction in cost. For example, knowledge of the frequency and ma-gnitude of solar power fluctuations throughout the course of the year provides a basis for the overall system design. Detailed analysis of data collected at one second intervals over one year at KIT shows that extreme events of up to 60% of peak power per second are possible but rarely occur (a handful of times per year). Although it is well known (Marcos et al. 2011) that varia-tions over short time scales tend to cancel out,

the effect on the overall system depends on the context, i.e. whether the system is grid-connec-ted or not. By combining these data with per-formance tests on actual storage systems, the optimal configuration for a particular location can be found.

Another important aspect of design is the choice of orientation and inclination angle of the solar PV system. Significant cost savings can be achieved by synchronising energy generation and consumption: less surplus energy produc-tion requires less storage capacity. The example in the right panel of Figure 1 shows the energy production curve for a combined east/west orientation; the usual midday peak is shifted in time and reduced, which is advantageous from the system design perspective. The left panel of Figure 1 shows part of KIT’s 1MW PV field, with which this effect has been studied in more de-tail. Here 102 separate PV arrays with 54 diffe-rent orientation/inclination configurations, four inverter models and six PV module types gene-rate energy for the campus and simultaneously allow detailed studies of solar power generation to be carried out. In the coming months, a large Lithium-ion battery will be installed on site as

fig. 1: The 1MW PV field at KIT (left) is used to examine the effect of different orientation combinations on the resulting PV power generation. The example on the right shows how the combination of two orientations can correlate better with the

customer’s load profile.

fig. 2: Schematic representation of DC-coupled (left) and AC-coupled (right) PV-battery energy storage systems.

Cost savings can be achieved by synchroni-sing energy generation

and consumption

41PRODUCTION

ees International | 02 | 2016

part of the Energy Lab 2.0 research programme. The 1.5MWh battery will operate as a storage buffer for renewable energies providing ancillary grid services such as load frequency control.

System design encompasses the relative sizes of the components as well as the overall configu-ration (AC- or DC-coupled, see Figure 2). There are pros and cons to both configurations: for in-stance, retrofitting existing installations is often simpler with AC-coupling, whereas DC-coupling generally has benefits in terms of the costs of the electronic components. The overall system efficiency often depends on the correlation between the size of the power electronics com-ponents and the desired load profile. A careful consideration of the relationship between load profiles, potential supply of renewable energy, prevailing cost structure of the local power supply and customer expectations is therefore unavoidable. In the case of larger systems, it is usually always necessary to perform a detailed analysis, whereas for home storage systems it would be useful to develop several standard cases that can be used as a simple guideline for system design.

Longevity – high quality compo-nentsAt the heart of Lithium-ion storage systems lies the cell itself: high-quality cells improve perfor-mance and ultimately save costs. A recent re-search report (Robinson and Xie 2015) found that “the biggest growth in batteries will actu-ally come from gradually evolving Li-ion batte-ries, through incremental innovations like higher-voltage cathodes and electrolytes, paired with higher-capacity active materials like sili-con-containing composites.” Indeed, these im-provements have already started to happen and are being aggressively pushed forward by re-

search and development in both the stationary storage and electric vehicle sector.

Battery ageing plays a large role in the overall profitability of the system, and since the indus-try is so young there are not many systems that have stood for a total of 20 years in the field. A recent KIT study ranked the performance of 15 different cell manufacturers by cycling the cells several thousand times at charge and discharge rates of 1C for 100% depth of discharge (DOD). The required cycle performance for a 15-year system lifetime is at least 3500 to 5000 cycles: the results shown in Figure 3 reveal that only four of the commercially available Li-ion cell types under study lasted this long. The large spread in cycle performance shows that it makes sense to invest in higher quality cells that last longer, thus reducing the effective cost per kWh of electricity. Further cost optimization can be achieved by simulating the system as a whole, which makes it possible to determine how many equivalent full cycles the battery should be able to endure throughout the planned project time-span. At the same time, simulations show that in stationary energy storage applications it of-ten suffices to size the power electronics and battery so that maximal C-rates of 1C or even only 0.5C need be achieved. The strain placed on the battery over its lifetime can also be re-duced by intelligent control algorithms – these will be discussed in the section on software in-telligence.

Efficiency – optimised energy conversionFor the end user it is important to know how ef-fectively the system stores and provides energy. It is however difficult to define the efficiency of storage systems as a single quantity due to the variety of configurations with differing compo-

fig. 3: Results from cycle tests performed on cells from 15 different manufacturers at PCE's test facility.

High-quality cells im-prove performance and ultimately save costs

Battery ageing plays a large role in the overall profitability of the system


The internal control algorithms of each of the components and their interaction with each other need to be taken into account. If this is not done, unwanted effects could occur, which could in the end lead to system failure or da-mage to one of the system components. This in turn leads to higher maintenance costs and lower system availability.

System safety

A discussion of system performance would be incomplete without mentioning the important aspect of safety. The battery management sys-tem (BMS) and battery itself should contain redundant safety mechanisms, as described in the document “Safety Guidelines – Li-ion Home Battery Storage Systems” (Bundesverband Ener-giespeicher et al. 2014). Before Lithium-ion storage systems become ubiquitous, it is essential that comprehensive norms and standards are developed on the system level, so that objective and independent assessments can take place. In this context, KIT has begun work on the three-year research project “SafetyFirst” (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 2016), together with ISE Freiburg and ZSW Ulm. More than 20 com-mercially available home storage systems will be rigorously tested for safety, quality and per-formance. Each system will be evaluated based on the principles described above as well as on the degree to which they support and/or serve the local electricity grid. The project runs until September 2018 and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Ener-gy (BMWi).

Conclusion

Efficient, reliable and cost-effective energy storage systems are set to become a vital pillar in the future energy landscape. In order for the storage market to move beyond the early adop-ter phase, it is essential that costs come down, which goes hand in hand with better perfor-mance. The principles outlined here provide a blueprint for the achievement of these goals, and if thoroughly applied will most certainly lead to a breakthrough in the storage market in the years to come. «

James Barry, Research Scientist,

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)

nents and energy-flow possibilities. To this end various research institutes, industry organisa-tions and companies are currently developing a unified test procedure that will take these fac-tors into account. The goal is to introduce a Euro- pean norm for storage system performance, si-milar to that which already exists for PV inver-ters, for example. The overall system efficiency is not only determined by the losses due to indi-vidual efficiencies of the different components but also by those due to auxiliary loads. Exam- ples include the AC supply of the BMS as well as the energy consumption of the cooling system and/or the installed AC sensors. A long-term evaluation of these auxiliary loads is currently being carried out for the different KIT installations. An additional point that is often not ta-ken into account is the reduction in efficiency that results from operating the power electro-nics at partial load. In many cases this can either happen at night when consumption is low or during the day when consumption is just a little bit lower than the generated PV power. For the systems described above, the efficiency of the inverters at 10% of their rated power varies bet-ween 90% and 96% efficiency, without auxiliary consumption. This shows the importance of a closer examination of this issue and its rela-tion to load and PV generation.

Intelligence – self-learning and robust software algorithmsThe importance of accurate prognoses based on knowledge of load and generation profiles, weather conditions and cell chemistry cannot be emphasised more. The popular belief that high penetration of renewables will lead to grid instability no longer holds true in an intelligent system with the ability to accurately forecast supply and demand, coupled with fast com-munication and control infrastructure that can quickly provide the required energy flows with minimal losses. In order to optimise costs, the underlying algorithms must not only be able to predict both load and generation but must also ensure that battery life is maximised. One concrete example of this is that excess energy should not be stored in the battery right at the start of the day, but rather only after midday, since Lithium-ion batteries age faster when their state of charge (SOC) is high. Not only do all of these factors require extensive expertise but also serious brainpower in the control system, since one has to decide in advance when and with what power the battery should be charged or discharged in order to simultaneously maxi-mise self-supply and ensure a long battery life.

Since the overall system control originates from one of several suppliers or even a third party, robust software design necessitates a thorough knowledge of the different components as well as a unified communication protocol.

It is essential that costs come down, which

goes hand in hand with better performance

The goal is to introduce a European norm for

storage system performance

© M

axw

ell T

echn

olog

ies

SA

» Next Generation of Grid Energy Storage Systems

By Simona Vrabiescu Maxwell Technologies SA

The recent trend towards environmen-tally friendly energy generation, as wind and solar energy, shows the need to improve the efficiency and reliability of energy distribution and the need for interconnections between geographi-cal regions are some of the challenges faced by the grid.

To meet these challenges, innovative systems to create a Smart Grid are being developed. Ul- tracapacitors play a significant role and make it possible to overcome issues the grid faces today.

Scale energy storage is a rapidly growing mar-ket – from US$347 million in 2015 to over US$1 billion by 2020 in the USA, according to GTM Research1. A growing trend toward energy storage is also noticed in China and Europe.

An increasing number of demonstrators and commercial deployments are commissioned worldwide. Utilities and solution providers alike benefit from the value and practical use of

energy storage across a number of utility appli-cations. Some of the most important benefits include real-time solar and wind smoothing, stacked utility services, energy shifting, and fast response applications including instantaneous voltage sag and power quality remediation, transmission and distribution stabilization and frequency regulation.

Duke Energy recently deployed a hybrid battery-ultracapacitor energy storage system at Gaston County, N.C. distribution substation. This hybrid system leverages the ultracapacitors to perform solar smoothing at the distribution circuit in real-time – particularly when the solar power in the grid fluctuates due to cloud cover or other weather conditions. The batteries are simultaneously used to perform energy shifting of a large solar system on the distribution circuit. This sys-tem combines the high power, fast response ultracapacitors with energy dense batteries, provided by Aquion, to maximize utility system value by offering simultaneously occurring grid services at a lower system cost. The system is


Use of a hybrid battery-ultracapacitor solution

significantly reduces battery degradation

intelligently integrated by Win Inertia’s advanced power electronics and their management and control system to optimize the hybrid combina-tion of batteries and ultracapacitors.

The use of a hybrid battery-ultracapacitor so-lution significantly reduces battery degradation by using ultracapacitors for compensating most of the solar smoothing events in such a manner that the total energy throughput for batteries is reduced and the thermal stress is mitigated.

Specifically, the deployment of ultracapacitors in hybrid systems provides technical and eco-nomic benefits, including solar integration ser-vices, as the mitigation of short-term, rapidly occurring events of solar facility power output and perform extension of total energy storage system lifetime – by removing high peak power load.

Other benefits include reduced capital and operating expenditure resulting from the form factor of the system with ultracapacitors designed for over five hundred thousand cycles and with the added advantage of long operational life in a wide operating temperature window.

Overall, ultracapacitors are supporting battery performance, increasing the availability of the system to meet energy demand.

Maxwell Technologies is looking forward to supporting utilities in their priority to bring more renewable energy generation and stacked services to the grid in a reliable, cost-effective manner. «

Simona Vrabiescu, EMEA Marketing Communications

Manager, Maxwell Technologies SA

Migrogrid Stabilizer, Tallaght Smart Grid Test Bed, Ireland | Source: Maxwell Technologies SA

Maxwell Technologies Product Portfolio | Source: Maxwell Technologies SA

About Maxwell:

Maxwell is the global leader in the develop-ment and manufacture of innovative, cost-effective energy storage and power delivery solutions. Our ultracapacitor products pro-vide safe and reliable power solutions for applications in power industrial electronics, transportation, telecommunications and grid storage. Our high-voltage grading and coup-ling capacitors help to ensure the safety and reliability of electric utility infrastructure and other applications of high-voltage elec-trical energy.

The energy storage industry differs from others by the wide variety of pos-sibilities that the solutions offer. As a consequence, many different catego-ries of buyers coexist on the market, each with specific needs. This situation complicates business development for storage vendors who are faced with very heterogeneous demands. Here are five propositions to better match the needs of buyers and increase the ef-fectiveness of energy storage business development.

Engage in capacity building on the development of storage projectsSelling a storage system is rarely a simple “off-the shelf” sale but often requires a stronger in-volvement on behalf of the vendor. In a young and innovative industry such as storage, the so-lution provider must prove its capability to edu-cate its customer to the specificities of storage

projects. A first step for any storage vendor is to reach out to its potential customers and educate them to the services storage can render. Nu-merous players in the energy sector are still un- aware of the different value streams a storage asset can achieve besides self-consumption and arbitrage, which are the most obvious cases, but not necessarily the most relevant.

A better understanding of the use cases makes it more likely for potential buyers to actually consider the development of storage projects, and thus increase the vendor’s customer base. In the meantime, and especially for vendors of more innovative technologies, an extensive pre-sentation of the product, and specifically of its operational constraints (maintenance being on the top of the list) should also be provided in order to familiarize buyers with the technology.

Our reports also show that most projects devel-opers or utilities still have little to no experience in the actual deployment of storage systems. As a consequence, they are actively looking

© S

erge

y N

iven

s | f

otol

ia.c

om

» Storage Vendors and Integrators

By Samuel Portebos Clean Horizon


for advice from the technology provider based on past experiences. In particular, recommen-dations on what would be the specifications required by financiers in the technical phase of a due diligence process would be a real plus for buyers.

Propose the adequate product to the right customerEnergy storage encompasses numerous techno-logies, and even though Li-ion is now the in-cumbent technology, there is increasing room for other solutions, if the right user is targeted.

The figure above has been compiled from the latest three Market Segment Watch studies and shows that Li-ion batteries are recognized as almost the only technology considered by po-tential buyers for on-grid projects. Indeed, most applications in this market segment concern frequency regulation, for which Li-ion batteries are well suited. Off-grid players are on their side looking at different solutions, such as lead-acid, mostly due to its low initial costs, or flow-bat-teries, especially in applications that require long storage duration. Local utilities show less inclination to a specific technology, as they are keener to engage in demonstration projects. They are therefore closely following the deve-lopment of innovative technologies that have not yet reached full maturity and are already considering the installation of such systems.

The technology choice is of importance for storage buyers, but another concern is the integration of the system. Indeed, most buyers are looking for turnkey solutions with as little effort as possible on their behalf in the design phase. Indeed, they usually lack expertise in the system design, and want to ensure that all parts of the system work well together. As a consequence, if you are a vendor of DC systems, you should already have a set of integrators ready to pre-sent your product when approaching potential clients. Indeed, said clients will purchase your system if it fits their needs, but also if they are

convinced that it will not require strong tech-nical capabilities on their part to design a fully functional system. If you are an integrator, it is recommended to have different technological options in your portfolio, in order to be able to adapt to the specific needs of the different ty-pologies of customers.

Facilitate the evaluation of the business caseThe lack of vision on the profitability of a storage project is usually a huge impediment to its implementation. Projects developers and utilities are used to developing business mo-dels, but they often lack data on the systems they want to install, specifically data on prices of the complete system after installation and data regarding the costs over the lifetime of the project, such as maintenance and replacement

Energy storage en-compasses numerous

technologies

fig. 1: Main energy storage technology considered by storage buyers in the last months, sorted out per typology of buyer

Observations from the field (1/2) It is understandable that storage providers are often reluctant to disclose their prices, as they fear trade secrets to be unveiled to their competitors.

However understandable, this knee-jerk re-flex often proves counter-productive. The rule of thumb is that “everybody knows everyone’s prices”: indeed, if you are a sto-rage vendor, you probably know your com-petitors’ prices, so you should expect them to know yours... But in the meantime, cus-tomers are left in the blur and cannot prop- erly assess the profitability of a project. As a consequence, not providing price data to potential buyers early on prevents projects from ever being developed and widely hin-ders business and Clean Horizon has wit-nessed several projects not being developed because of this lack of communication bet-ween players.

APPLICATION


costs (if applicable). Installation costs are usually an important unknown, which is understandable as they vary a great deal depending on the project, its location and specificities. They are, however, far from being negligible in a storage project.

However, potential buyers do not want to en-gage in thorough consultations early on, while they are still verifying if a potential opportunity is worth pursuing. For this reason, they are eager to obtain accurate estimates that include all components. This data is yet rarely obtained.

Storage vendors should therefore provide rea-listic, non-binding estimates of their costs, so that their potential customers can get orders of magnitude of the global system price. With this data in hand, the developer or utility is then able to take high-level go or no-go decisions on a project. Further down the road, when the project is in a more advanced phase, the storage vendor can then adapt prices and pro-pose an offer in a formal consultation process, but if estimates are not provided beforehand, the consultation phase might never come up. By facilitating the work of their customers, storage vendors also ensure that the most relevant projects and end-customers are targeted by the buyer, hence leading to greater chances of ac-tual orders and limiting hard work to make a dedicated offer for a project that has eventually no chance of being implemented.

Provide strong guarantees that match the client needs and the technology’s specificities

As in every system, a reliable warranty is key in order to secure the business plan of a project. Such a contract indeed ensures that the project developer is covered in case of a system failure, consequences of which can be extremely cost-ly. But storage warranties are more complex than for your regular equipment, as in most cases the performances of a storage asset will diminish over time, and will diminish depen-ding on the usage of the system. In order to mitigate risks for the buyer, guarantees provi-ded to customers should therefore take these characteristics into account. This is achieved by providing performance guarantees in which the storage system manufacturer states the mini-mum performances of the system regarding, for instance, energy output, availability ratio, or maximum power output along the course of the project. These minimum performances are determined through the simulation of the ope-ration of the battery in the specific environment of the project. Strong synergies are therefore required between the seller and the buyer, es-pecially in the exchange of data, in order for this performance guarantee to be as precise as pos-

sible. This synergy is beneficial to both parties: buyers, for example, can reduce risks on their in-vestments, and can hence access better financing conditions and storage vendors can expect better chances to close deals.

Be proactive in securing the fi-nancing of the projectAll best practices mentioned beforehand help mitigate the one large difficulty of a storage project: securing financing.

Indeed, storage is still seen as a non-mature technology with a low track record and unpro-ven business models by most conventional in-vestors and has therefore difficulties accessing low-cost capital. As a consequence, storage projects will become more expensive than ori-ginally expected or, as it happens in most cases, they are simply not developed. The following figure presents the (simplified) differences in the typical financing structure of two projects – a regular renewable project and a storage project – assuming equal costs and revenues. Due to the higher perceived risk of the storage project, commercial banks get involved (if at all) to a lower extent than they would in case of a regular renewable project, which requires the project developer to either bring more equity or find additional financing partners. In both cases, this will increase the average capital costs of the project, hence lowering its profitability.Reducing the capital costs can only be achieved by mitigating the risks of the project. Storage vendors have a role to play, by proving and guar- anteeing the reliability of their system. It may, however, not be sufficient, either because the vendor has an innovative technology with a too limited track record, or because the project is considered too small or too risk-bearing to access conventional debt financing. A way for storage vendors to cope with these issues is to be proactive and propose financing options together with the system they are selling. By doing so, the storage buyer is no longer re-quired to find financing partners in its project, which obviously facilitates the development

Storage vendors should therefore provide realistic, non-binding estimates of their costs

Observations from the field (2/2) Storage vendors are at times reluctant to offer performance guarantees in addition to regular warranties on their systems.

New market entrants should be aware of this situation and prepare their offerings accor-dingly, keeping in mind that the better the guarantee, the better financing the buyer can obtain, hence increasing the chances of the project actually getting installed.

Reducing the capital costs can only be achieved by mitigating the risks of the project


Provide solutions to the main difficulties your

clients may experience

Utilities have specific requirements regarding

the storage system

phase. In some cases, providing some financing can also trigger the involvement of financing entities able to propose lower capital costs. This is especially true if the storage vendor participa-ting in the project (or its financing partner) has financial strength compared to the buyer, as this adds reliability to the project.

These recommendations are specifically true for projects developers, they are, however, not as crucial for utilities. Indeed, utilities do not ne-cessarily experience issues with the financing of their projects, as they will most likely finance them on their balance sheet and often do not experience bankability issues.

However, projects led by utilities are often de-monstration or semi-commercial projects partly financed by subsidies. In order to unlock these subsidies, utilities have specific requirements regarding the storage system, which should be met by the vendor in order to be selected. These criteria can include assessments of the societal or environmental impact of the project, which requires information on the logistics and manufacturing processes engaged by the vendor. Such projects are also likely to include an R&D component. Storage vendors should therefore commit to support this component by sharing operational data, thus allowing research entities to gain knowledge of the technology. Sharing this type of data only goes in the direction of building track record, as publications can then prove the reliability of the system, hence facili-tating future orders.

Thus, if the road to success for storage vendors were to be summarized in two recommenda-tions, these would be to:

» Be transparent on all your data for your potential customers in order to become a trustworthy partner.

» Provide solutions to the main difficulties your clients may experience, these issues being most likely linked to the financing of the project.

This quality of service, combined with a perfor-ming and cost-competitive product, can only build towards numerous orders.

However, recommendations presented here are very general, but should be fine-tuned depending on the targeted geography and customer, which requires a deep and specific understanding of the needs of the storage buyers. Entering a new market can therefore be difficult and time-consuming, which is why Clean Horizon issues the Market Segment Watch. It indeed provides precise facts and recommendations focused on a specific geography and a given customer type, which we believe is necessary to any vendor wil-ling to address a new market. «

Samuel Portebos, Senior Analyst, Clean Horizon

fig. 2: Financing structure differences between storage projects and regular renewables projects

SCALABLE ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

www.akasol.com/neeo

Visit us at

Intersolar / ees 2016!

Hall B1, Booth B1.140

© G

ridte

ntia

l Ene

rgy

Inc.

By Daniel MoomawGridtential Energy Inc.

By Dr Collin Mui Gridtential Energy Inc.

» Solving Stationary Storage Needs

The demand for stationary storage is growing as renewable energy sour-ces become mainstream. To meet this need, a low-cost and widely scalable solution is required. Lead batteries are cheap and widely deployed, but lack acceptable performance. By adopting a bipolar architecture, the well-known lead battery can meet the performance and economic needs of the burgeoning renewables industry.

The global energy infrastructure is shifting from fossil fuels to renewables. As a result, storage is positioned to become an essential element of the electric grid. The unique ability of batteries to supplement the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources is driving massive deploy-ment demands that are projected to double in the next two years (Figure 1). In order to meet this emerging market, technology innovations that can scale quickly are needed. These inno-vations must also have a global reach with de-ployment capability on all continents.

Of the storage technologies available today, none is more widely scaled than lead battery. Currently, lead battery manufacturers control a total market of approximately US$40 billion and have an estimated production capacity of 500GWh. The size of the industry has allowed the creation of a complex recycling infrastruc-ture that allows more than 98% of the material recovered from spent batteries to be reused in future products. This leaves the industry less

fig. 1: Grid energy storage market size and energy demands. The green line shows market size in billions USD and the

blue line shows the energy demand in GWh projected through 2017 | Source: Lux Research Inc.


dependent on raw materials than other ener-gy storage technologies. Traditional lead bat-teries are widely used for automotive, traction and standby applications, but deployment to renewable energy storage has been limited by accelerated aging under fast cycling and deep depth of discharge. Consequently, the overall levelized cost of energy has been prohibitively high, which has hindered widespread prolifera-tion for renewable energy integration.

These performance limitations are not inherent to the chemistry, but rather to the way the bat-teries have traditionally been constructed. The classic monopolar configuration (Figure 2, left) is named because each battery plate has either a positive or negative charge. These charged plates are combined together in parallel to form a cell and in series to create a battery, thus ne-cessitating many connection points.

An alternative to monopolar is the bipolar construction (Figure 2, right). It places a positive and negative active material layer on either side of a non-reactive partition, creating a bipole. These are then stacked in series to create a battery without connection points. The end result is a simple, low-resistance current path that creates highly uniform current density distribution. In monopolar batteries, current must flow paral-lel to the surface of the current collector before being collected and combined with the current

from other plates and cells at a tab. The fun- neling of current in this way leads to non-uniform lead reactivity and electrolyte stratification. In a bipolar battery, the current flows perpendicular to the current collectors, thus enabling the entire plate area to react evenly. This reduces sulfation and stratification effects, therefore making bi-polar batteries particularly well suited where deep depth-of-discharge cycling is required.

Gridtential Energy Inc. has developed a new, fully recyclable bipolar technology, Silicon JouleTM, which aims to provide a solution for these new renewable markets by leveraging hundreds of existing lead-acid gigafactories with an architecture well suited for deep cycle applications (Figure 3). Silicon Joule integrates silicon wafer current collectors into the bipolar configuration, yielding a higher performance battery than incumbent products. Silicon wafers are light and stiff, impervious to sulfuric acid, thermally conductive, and can be doped to low resistivity. This makes them an ideal candidate for the use as current collectors. Gridtential has applied proven semiconductor and solar proces-sing technologies to deposit thin films onto the silicon wafers, rendering them compatible with lead-acid electrochemistry (Figure 4, left).

Additionally, wafer-bonding processes from the semiconductor industry have been leveraged to seal the wafers into the batteries. These tech-

fig. 2: Traditional lead-batteries have been constructed in a monopolar configuration (left) that leverage parallel and series connections. A bipolar battery (right) connects all cells electrically in series.

fig. 3: (Left) Model of the Gridtential Silicon Joule TM Battery. (Right) Expanded view of a 12V bipolar battery

Traditional lead bat-teries are used for au-tomotive, traction and

standby applications

In monopolar batteries, current must flow paral-lel to the surface of the current collector before

being collected

APPLICATION


niques are trailing edge and keep overall battery costs at or below existing lead battery prices. These sealed silicon current collectors form the ends of each battery cell; composed of a posi-tive and negative active material layer as well as an absorbed glass mat separator taken from existing lead-acid batteries (Figure 4, right).

The bipolar architecture alone creates a num-ber of notable improvements over incumbent batteries. With current flowing uniformly across

the active material, sulfate crystals formed during discharge are smaller and more uniform. This makes those crystals easier to break down upon recharge, particularly at high recharge rates. It also ensures that electrolyte concent-rations remain consistent, allowing the batte-ries to sit for prolonged periods in a discharged state without permanent damage. The overall efficiency of the device is also improved due to the significantly reduced current path that this uniformity allows.

fig. 4: (Left) Silicon wafer current collector. An ohmic layer is formed to inhibit surface native oxide growth. An adhesion layer is deposited to lower the contact resistance to the active materials. (Right) An electrochemical cell with current collectors, active

material pastes, and an absorbed glass mat separator saturated with sulfuric acid electrolyte.

fig. 5: Cycle life curves for three prototype Silicon Joule batteries. All were cycled to 100% depth-of-discharge at a 2-hour discharge rate.

Bipolar architecture creates a number of no-table improvements over incumbent batteries


The silicon also leads to a number of unique advantages. The high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion of silicon simplifies bat-tery thermal management through efficient heat conduction from the battery center. This enables Silicon Joule batteries to operate in extreme environmental conditions without the need for a sophisticated thermal control sys-tem. Similarly, silicon has impressive mechani-cal properties that enable a structurally resilient package. With high compressive strength and a high degree of rigidity, silicon creates a strong backbone for a battery platform.

Bipolar batteries have historically been difficult to seal hermetically, but silicon’s stability com-bined with established wafer bonding removes many prior challenges. Consequently, Silicon Joule batteries remain safe under a wide range of operating conditions, including high-vibration environments. Lastly, silicon’s light weight elimi-nates nearly 40% of the weight of the battery by replacing lead grid current collectors with silicon wafers and eliminating the cell-to-cell electrical connections. This enables a light bat-tery package with a gravimetric energy density greater than 65Wh/kg.

These advancements are particularly useful for renewables storage. These applications typi-cally require a 2 to 4-hour discharge window to match peak demand. Lead batteries have not traditionally performed well at these rates due to premature aging. As a result, extra batteries are typically added to systems to allow them to ope-rate overall at a shallower depth-of-discharge. Bipolar batteries, and in particular Silicon Joule, can operate efficiently and to a deep depth of discharge under the same conditions. Gridten-tial has performed extensive cycling testing on its prototype units to demonstrate the perfor-mance in these applications.

A collection of 6V batteries was charged in a stan-dard way and discharged at a 2-hour rate under a constant current to 100% depth of discharge. Outstanding cycling performance was obser-ved, as shown in Figure 5. All units under test demonstrated greater than 90% capacity reten- tion after 400 cycles at a 2-hour rate. Some test

units held 90% of their initial capacity for 700 cycles. Multiple units exceeded 1,000 cycles be-fore reaching end-of-life. Tear down analysis of retired units showed strongly reduced sulfation. These results suggest that a lead battery can in-deed meet the demands of renewable storage, but only if configured in a way that can leverage the chemistry to full effect.

As deployment of renewable energy sources expands, the demand for stationary storage will continue to grow at a rapid pace. To meet these needs, the industry will require a flexible storage solution that can be produced cheaply around the globe. By combining the massive size and economies of scale of the lead-battery industry with an efficient bipolar architecture, Silicon Joule is well positioned to respond to this growing market. Gridtential Energy is currently working with 6 leading battery manufacturers worldwide to bring the technology to commer-cialization through a licensing program. «

Daniel Moomaw Lead Mechanical Engineer,

Gridtential Energy

Dr Collin Mui Lead Silicon Engineer,

Gridtential Energy

Demand for stationary storage will continue to

grow at a rapid pace

Since 1909, we are serving industrial and residential clients with battery energy storage solutions.

we are in charge

electrified tranSportation

Stationary energy Supply

home & buSineSS Storage

cuStom deSigned batterieS

contact us: [email protected] - www.leclanche.com

© S

olar

Pro

mot

ion

Gm

bH

» ees AWARD 2016 “And the Finalists are…”

For the third time running, the ees AWARD, which complements the Inter-solar AWARD, is set to be presented for outstanding solutions and innovations in energy storage technology. The con-tributions for this year’s ees and Interso-lar AWARDS are 144 widely diversified projects from a total of 22 countries.

The ees AWARD honors outstanding products and solutions for energy storage technology in the areas of new materials, production, systems technology, applications, second-use concepts and recycling. This year, the prestigious prize received a record number of submissions. Ten of these can now pride themselves on having been nominated as finalists.

The winners will be announced at the Innova-tion and application Forum on 22 June 2016 during the ees Europe, Europe's largest trade fair for batteries and energy storage systems. Energy storage systems are an important cor-nerstone of the global energy transition. The many submissions for the ees AWARD revealed

several trends, such as a new generation of domestic storage systems. These use JH3 lithium-ion cells developed specifically for stati-onary batteries, and a special separator to gua-rantee the highest degree of safety. The finalists clearly demonstrate that wireless interfaces are gaining in importance in the energy storage in-dustry. One submission succeeded in closing a gap in the inverter market: A transformerless, high-voltage inverter offering a high level of fle-xibility for both retrofit projects and new instal-lations. In general, flexibility and diverse fields of application are key topics in the industry. This is why storage devices, which can be used on and off-grid, or are available for both low-voltage (48V DC) and high voltage systems (400V DC), are amongst the finalists. The industry has also been working on solutions to stabilize weak po-wer grids. Submissions included technologies to establish microgrids (local, decentralized power grids) as active grid components, and solutions combining photovoltaics and wind power.

On the following page you will find an overview of the AWARD finalists and their innovations.

By Lisa Forensees International


PILTECH�210x297�EN.indd��1 18/05/16��16:27

Amp Power Energy S.L (Spain): The AMPERE SPHERE is an easy-to-install storage system with wirel-ess connection to smart meters and associated application. It has a storage capacity of 3kWh and cov- ers a major part of the energy consumption of apartments or supports the consumption of a family home.

BOS Balance of Storage Systems AG (Germany): The LE300 lithium batteries are a fully scalable solution to enhance performance and add capacity to lead-acid batteries in solar and any other kind of energy storage systems. They can be used with new or existing 12/24/48V lead-acid battery systems by simply connecting them in parallel straight to the lead-acid batteries.

Digatron Power Electronics GmbH (Germany): With its Universal Battery Tester UBT-RE, the company increases the efficiency of battery testers by using semiconductors on a silicon-carbide-base. The testers are designed for high current tests of lead-acid batteries and also any advanced chemistry such as Lithium, NiCd or NiMH up to 20V.

Ferroamp Electronics AB (Sweden): The EnergyHub system offers a future-proof integration of PV and storage systems in buildings utilizing a local DC nanogrid, state-of-the-art power electronics and smart meter functionality. The system reduces losses, increases flexibility and combines the benefits of multiple applications.

Green Power Technologies, S.L (Spain): The Ancillary Advanced Services Solution can integrate storage solutions on a megawatt-scale, where various producers can be integrated to help stabilize weak power grids.

LG Chem (Korea): The RESU Series with the new li-ion battery cell JH3 is a new generation of home storage with high energy density in which advanced cell technologies (JH3-cells) are used. The product series has a very high energy density (184Wh/l for RESU 6.5) and can be installed inside or outside.

Morningstar Corporation (USA): ProStar MPPT™ is a mid-range MPPT solar charge controller with TrakStar Technology™ that provides maximum power point tracking (MPPT) battery charging for off-grid photovol-taic (PV) systems up to 1100 watts. The charge controller for various storage technologies has an efficiency of 98 percent.

SMA Solar Technology AG (Germany): The Sunny Boy Storage is a battery inverter for high-voltage batteries from reputable manufacturers. With a charge and discharge power of 2.5 kW, it is ideally suited to handle electricity demand of a private household. The battery inverter fills a gap in the inverter market as transformerless high-voltage inverter and is extremely well-suited for retrofitting existing PV systems with storage.

Socomec (France): SUNSYS PCS² IM, a Power Conversion System for microgrids, is operating at the heart of the Energy Storage System, it charges /discharges the batteries and controls the exchange of energy with the electrical grid. The islanding mode is achieved when part of a grid (a district, a building, etc.) is disconnected from the main electrical grid creating a micro-grid.

Sonnen GmbH (Germany): The sonnenCommunity links decentralized producers of renewable energy with storage operators and consumers throughout Germany. In addition to the production and maximization of self-consumption, the members can share their self-produced energy with other members of the son-nenCommunity. «

Source: Ampere Power Energy S.L.,

Source: BOS Balance of Storage Systems AG

Source: Digatron Power Electronics GmbH

Source: Ferroamp Elektronik AB

Source: Green Power Technologies, S

Source: LG Chem Source: Morningstar Corporation

Source: SMA Solar Technology AG

Source: SOCOMEC Source: Sonnen GmbH

Lisa Forens ees International

PILTECH�210x297�EN.indd��1 18/05/16��16:27


VPPs can be implemented fast and economically attractive with small distributed units

VPPs are a global megatrend

Battery Management Systems

BMZ GmbHAm Sportplatz 28-3063791 Karlstein, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 6188 99560Fax +49 (0) 6188 [email protected]

Deutsche Energieversorgung GmbHAm Schenkberg 1204349 Leipzig, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 34298 14190Fax +49 (0) 34298 [email protected]

ELEKTROMOTUSŽirmūnų g. 6809124, Vilnius, LithuaniaPhone +370 [email protected]

FAKTOR GmbH technische TeileSpinnereiinsel 3D83059 Kolbermoor, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 8031 2080023Fax +49 (0) 8071 [email protected]

Imeon Energy300, Rue Piere Rivoalon29200 Brest, FrancePhone +33 (0) 1 84 17 51 15Fax +33 (0) 9 55 66 66 [email protected]

KNUBIX GmbHBirkenstr. 488285 Bodnegg, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7520 966 7050Fax +49 (0) 7520 966 [email protected]

Leclanché GmbHIndustriestr. 177731 Willstätt, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7852 818 88Fax +49 (0) 7852 818 [email protected]

Mastervolt GmbHSnijdersbergweg 931105 AN Amsterdam, NetherlandsPhone +31 (0) 20 3422100Fax +31 (0) 20 [email protected]

MSTE SOLAR GmbHIn Oberwiesen 1688682 Salem, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7553 9180 [email protected]

Samil Power GmbHSiemensstr. 185716 Unterschleissheim-Lohhof, GermanyPhone + 49 (0) 89 8563341-10Fax + 49 (0) 89 [email protected]

SMA Solar Technology AGSonnenallee 134266 Niestetal, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 561 9522-0Fax +49 (0) 561 [email protected]

SolarEdge TechnologiesWerner-Eckert-Str.681829 Munich, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 89 45 45 97-0Fax +49 (0) 89 45 45 [email protected]/

Solutronic Energy GmbHKüferstr. 1873257 Köngen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7024 96128 -0Fax +49 (0) 7024 [email protected]

Sonnenbatterie GmbHAm Riedbach 187499 Wildpoldsried, GermanyPhone Tel: +49 (0) 8304 92933-400Fax: +49 (0) 8304 [email protected]

Wind & Sun Technologies SL (Group)FeCon GmbHEckernförder Landstr. 7824941 Flensburg, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 461 430 122 0Fax +49 (0) 461 430 122 [email protected]

Battery Testing, Inspection, Safety

DYNAMIS Batterien GmbHBrühlstr. 1578465 Dettingen / Konstanz, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7533 93669-0Fax +49 (0) 7533 [email protected]


» Business Directory

» Conferences & Exhibitions

June 3, 2016 | Berlin | Germany IoT Tech Expo Central Europe Berlin www.iottechexpo.com/germany | [email protected]

June 14 - 17, 2016 | Detroit | USA Advanced Automotive Battery Conference (AABC) www.advancedautobat.com/aabc-us | [email protected]

June 22 - 24, 2016 | Munich | Germany ees Europe, Messe München www.ees-europe.com | [email protected]

June 22 - 24, 2016 | Munich | Germany Intersolar Europe, Messe München www.intersolar.de | [email protected]

July 12 - 14, 2016 | San Francisco | USA Intersolar North America www.intersolar.us | [email protected]

July 12 - 14, 2016 | San Francisco | USA ees North America www.ees-northamerica.com | [email protected]

August 23 - 25, 2016 | São Paulo | Brazil Intersolar South America 2016, Expo Center Norte / White Pavilion www.intersolar.net.br | [email protected]

September 12 - 16, 2016 | Sydney | Australia 10th Energy Storage World Forum, The Radisson Blu Hotel www.energystorageforum.com | [email protected]/br

September 19, 2016 | Dubai | United Arab Emirates Intersolar Middle East 2016, Dubai World Trade Center www.intersolar.ae/en/home.html | [email protected]

October 4 - 5, 2016 | Melbourne | Australia All – Energy Australia 2016, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Center www.all-energy.com.au | [email protected]


Gustav Klein GmbH & Co. KGIm Forchet 386956 Schongau, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 8861 209-0Fax +49 (0) 8861 209 [email protected]

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)Kaiserstraße 1276131 Karlsruhe, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 721 [email protected]

NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbHPhone: +49 9287 881 398 Fax: +49 9287 881 505e-mail: [email protected]

Charging Technology


Gustav Klein GmbH & Co. KGIm Forchet 386956 Schongau, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 8861 209-0Fax +49 (0) 8861 209 [email protected]

Imeon Energy300, Rue Piere Rivoalon29200 Brest, FrancePhone +33 (0) 1 84 17 51 15Fax +33 (0) 9 55 66 66 [email protected]


Morningstar Corporation8 Pheasant Run18940 Newtown, PA, USAPhone +1 215 321-4457Fax +1 215 [email protected]

MSTE SOLAR GmbHIn Oberwiesen 1688682 Salem, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7553 9180 [email protected]

Phocos AGMagirus-Deutz-Straße 1289077 Ulm, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 731 9380 688-0Fax +49 (0) 731 9380 [email protected]

SolarEdge TechnologiesWerner-Eckert-Str.681829 Munich, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 89 45 45 97-0Fax +49 (0) 89 45 45 [email protected]/

Solutronic Energy GmbHKüferstr. 1873257 Köngen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7024 96128 -0Fax +49 (0) 7024 [email protected]

Steca Elektronik GmbHMammostr. 187700 Memmingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 8331 8558-100Fax +49 (0) 8331 [email protected]

Studer Innotec SARue des Casernes 571950 Sion, SwitzerlandPhone +41 (0) 27 20560-80Fax +41 (0) 27 [email protected]


Electrochemical Batteries

ads-tec GmbHHeinrich-Hertz-Str. 172622 Nürtingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7022 2522-0Fax +49 (0) 7022 [email protected]

BAE Batterien GmbHWilhelminenhofstraße 69/7012459 Berlin, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 30 53001-661Fax +49 (0) 30 [email protected]

Deutsche Energieversorgung GmbHAm Schenkberg 1204349 Leipzig, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 34298 14190Fax +49 (0) 34298 [email protected]



FIAMM S.p.A.Viale Europa 7536075 Montecchio Maggiore (Vicenza), ItalyPhone +39 0444 7093 11Fax +39 0444 6941 [email protected]

INCI AKÜ SAN. VE TIC. A.S.Organize Sanayi Bölgesi 2. Kism Gaziler Cad. No:645030 Manisia, TurkeyPhone +90 (0) 236 2332510Fax +90 (0) 236 2332513www.inciaku.com

Leclanché GmbHIndustriestr. 177731 Willstätt, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7852 818 88Fax +49 (0) 7852 818 [email protected]

Sinopoly BatteryRms 3001-3005, 30 F, China Resources Building, 26 Harbour Road, Wan Chai- Hong Kong, ChinaPhone +86 (0) 852 3104 2803Fax +86 (0) 852 2877 [email protected]

Systems Sunlight SAErmou 2 & Nikis Street, Syntagma Square10563 Athens, Attica, GreecePhone +30 (0)2106245400Fax +30 (0)[email protected]

Vanadis Power GmbHZeltnerstr. 390443 Nürnberg, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 911 8819 7218Fax +49 (0) 911 8819 [email protected]

Flow Batteries

Vanadis Power GmbHZeltnerstr. 390443 Nürnberg, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 911 8819 7218Fax +49 (0) 911 8819 [email protected]

Hydrogen, Methane (Chemical Energy Storage/ Power to Gas)

AEG Power Solutions GmbHEmil-Siepmann-Str. 3259581 Warstein, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 2902 763-0Fax +49 (0) 2902 [email protected]

Manufacturing Equipment, Materials and Components

Frezite - Equipamentos Energéticos & Ambiente, Lda.Rua do Vau, 323 - Apartado 1344786-909 Trofa, PortugalPhone +351 (0) 252 400 758Fax +351 (0) 252 401 [email protected]


Morningstar Corporation8 Pheasant Run18940 Newtown, PA, USAPhone +1 215 321-4457Fax +1 215 [email protected]

Phocos AGMagirus-Deutz-Straße 1289077 Ulm, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 731 9380 688-0Fax +49 (0) 731 9380 [email protected]

Steca Elektronik GmbHMammostr. 187700 Memmingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 8331 8558-100Fax +49 (0) 8331 [email protected]

Studer Innotec SARue des Casernes 571950 Sion, SwitzerlandPhone +41 (0) 27 20560-80Fax +41 (0) 27 [email protected]


Mobile Applications

BMZ GmbHAm Sportplatz 28-3063791 Karlstein, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 6188 99560Fax +49 (0) 6188 [email protected]


REFU Elektronik GmbHREFUenergyMarktstrasse 18572793 Pfullingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7121 4332 0Fax +49 (0) 7121 4332 140www.refu-energy.de

Others

IBESAAdenauerallee 13453113 Bonn, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 228 91743-0Fax +49 (0) 228 [email protected]


» PublishingPublished by:

Website:

Management Board:

Editor-in-Chief:

Managing Editor:

Editors:

Authors:

Editorial Office:

Design & Realisation:

Solar Promotion International GmbH

www.ees-magazine.com

Markus Elsässer (CEO), Dr Florian Wessendorf (Managing Director)

Sabine Kloos (sk)[email protected]

Katrin Schirrmacher (kas)[email protected]

Sabine Kloos (sk), Katrin Schirrmacher (kas), Miriam Foukis (mf), Angeline Rast (ar), Lisa Forens (lf), Janika Schneider (js)

Janika Schneider, Lisa Forens, Angeline Rast, Michael Child, Christian Breyer, Jarmo Partanen, Ravi Manghani, Shayle Kann, Alejandro Schnakofsky, James Barry, Simona Vrabiescu, Samuel Portebos, Dr Collin Mui, Daniel Moomaw

Solar Promotion International GmbHEditorial Office: ees InternationalKiehnlestr. 1675172 PforzheimPhone +49 (0)7231/58598-0Fax +49 (0)7231/[email protected]

Johanna Camino Vazquez, 360|ConceptStefanie Becker, 360|Concept Klaudia Schmiejka, 360|Concept

Gaby LajtkepPhone +49 (0)7231/[email protected] Media Data 2015 are valid.

The entire publication and all contents are protected by copy-right. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or any means electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, online publication, as well as duplication on data media, etc. without the prior written permission of the publisher. Contributed articles and articles signed by an author are the full responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial office and the publisher. The editorial department will not be liable for unsolicited send in manuscripts, images, etc. The editors reserve the right to abbreviate letters to the editor without changing the intended meaning.

Solar Promotion International GmbH owns unattributed photos and graphics.

All portraits of ees International editors: © Pressiana Petia Chtarkova - pressiana.com

Image sources: © eyetronic - fotolia.com, © Lumppini - fotolia.com, © f9photos - fotolia.com, © Karlsruhe Institute of Techno-logy, © Solar Promotion GmbH

Advertisements:

Copyright:

Photo documentation:

Portraits:

Cover:

Your feedback on ees International – The Electrical Energy Storage Magazine is welcome. Please share your opinion with us and send an e-mail to: [email protected]. You may also send your feedback to the editorial office referring to Editorial Office: ees International.

Solar Promotion GmbHKiehnlestr. 1675172 Pforzheim, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7231 58598-0Fax +49 (0) 7231 [email protected]

Recycling Technology for Batteries/ Second-Use Concepts/Technology

Wemag AGObotritenring 4019053 Schwerin, GermanyPhone +49 (0) [email protected]

Research and Development, Service Provider

DCTI Deutsches CleanTech Institut GmbHAdenauerallee 13453113 Bonn, GermanyPhone +49(0)228-92654-0Fax +49(0)[email protected]

emobilserver (Heindl Server GmbH)Kaiserstr. 13772764 Reutlingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7121 69681 30Fax +49 (0) 7121 69681 [email protected]

EuPD ResearchAdenauerallee 13453113 Bonn, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 228 97143-0Fax +49 (0) 228 [email protected]

Frezite - Equipamentos Energéticos & Ambiente, Lda.Rua do Vau, 323 - Apartado 1344786-909 Trofa, PortugalPhone +351 (0) 252 400 758Fax +351 (0) 252 401 [email protected]

Stationary Applications

ads-tec GmbHHeinrich-Hertz-Str. 172622 Nürtingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7022 2522-0Fax +49 (0) 7022 [email protected]

AEG Power Solutions GmbHEmil-Siepmann-Str. 3259581 Warstein, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 2902 763-0Fax +49 (0) 2902 [email protected]

BAE Batterien GmbHWilhelminenhofstraße 69/7012459 Berlin, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 30 53001-661Fax +49 (0) 30 [email protected]


FIAMM S.p.A.Viale Europa 7536075 Montecchio Maggiore (Vicenza), ItalyPhone +39 0444 7093 11Fax +39 0444 6941 [email protected]

INCI AKÜ SAN. VE TIC. A.S.Organize Sanayi Bölgesi 2. Kism Gaziler Cad. No:645030 Manisia, TurkeyPhone +90 (0) 236 2332510Fax +90 (0) 236 2332513www.inciaku.com

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)Kaiserstraße 1276131 Karlsruhe, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 721 [email protected]

KNUBIX GmbHBirkenstr. 488285 Bodnegg, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7520 966 7050Fax +49 (0) 7520 966 [email protected]

REFU Elektronik GmbHREFUenergyMarktstrasse 18572793 Pfullingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7121 4332 0Fax +49 (0) 7121 4332 140www.refu-energy.de

Sonnenbatterie GmbHAm Riedbach 187499 Wildpoldsried, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 8304 92933-400Fax +49 (0) 8304 [email protected]

Systems Sunlight SAErmou 2 & Nikis Street, Syntagma Square10563 Athens, Attica, GreecePhone +30 (0)2106245400Fax +30 (0)[email protected]


Trade Publications, Publishers

ees International - The Electrical Energy Storage Magazinec/o Solar Promotion International GmbHKiehnlestr. 1675172 Pforzheim, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7231 58598-0Fax +49 (0) 7231 [email protected]

emobilserver (Heindl Server GmbH)Kaiserstr. 13772764 Reutlingen, GermanyPhone +49 (0) 7121 69681 30Fax +49 (0) 7121 69681 [email protected]

JUNE 22–24, 2016MESSE MÜNCHEN GERMANY

www.ees-europe.com

MEET THE LEADING ENERGY STORAGE COMPANIES

EUROPE’S LARGEST ENERGY STORAGE EVENT CONNECTS WITH THE WORLD’S LEADING SOLAR EVENT IN MUNICH!

380 ENERGY STORAGE EXHIBITORS | 40,000 VISITORS | 165 NATIONS

EUROPE'S LARGEST EXHIBITION FOR BATTERIES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

EXCE

RPT

OF

THE

EXH

IBIT

OR

LIST

STA

TUS

MA

RCH

11,

201

6.

Supporters Organizers

eesEU2016_AZ_Logo_ 210x297_EN_Update März.qxp_Layout 1 11.03.16 14:23 Seite 1

JUNE 22–24, 2016MESSE MÜNCHEN GERMANY

www.ees-europe.com

MEET THE LEADING ENERGY STORAGE COMPANIES

EUROPE’S LARGEST ENERGY STORAGE EVENT CONNECTS WITH THE WORLD’S LEADING SOLAR EVENT IN MUNICH!

380 ENERGY STORAGE EXHIBITORS | 40,000 VISITORS | 165 NATIONS

EUROPE'S LARGEST EXHIBITION FOR BATTERIES AND ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS

EXCE

RPT

OF

THE

EXH

IBIT

OR

LIST

STA

TUS

MA

RCH

11,

201

6.

Supporters Organizers

eesEU2016_AZ_Logo_ 210x297_EN_Update März.qxp_Layout 1 11.03.16 14:23 Seite 1

1 color

2 color

4 color

Reverse

Maxwell Ultracapacitors.eND tHe power strUGGle.

maxwell.com

reliaBle aND staBle reNewaBle eNerGY FirMiNG For YoUr solar aND

wiND iNstallatioNs. Stop struggling with renewables’ persistent output

fluctuations and start stabilizing them with high-power energy storage built on

Maxwell’s lead-free, low maintenance ultracapacitor technology. Design scalable

ride-through and firming solutions that can store one megawatt per minute, while

delivering up to a million reliable cycles at 100% depth of discharge. Maxwell.

Your fight for stable power is over.

MAX074 solar ad DIN A4 v1.indd 1 8/21/13 12:28 PM

Meet Maxwell Technologies at :

Intersolar/EES Europe Munich, 22 – 24 JuneThe Battery Show Novi MI USA, 13 – 15 SeptemberEnergy Storage North America CA USA, 4 – 6 October

the electrical energy storage magazine€¦ · market forecast next generation solar inte- ... 2015...

Documents