IPVEA would like to take this opportunity in the final Update of 2012 to wish all of our members and partners a very happy and restful holiday and best wishes for the New Year.
Submissions for Energy Storage Journal
As a reminder to all our members, the second issue of Energy Storage Journal will be published in February 2013 in time for distribution at key shows taking place in Q1 and first half of Q2 in the 2013 show calendar.
We encourage any of our members that are active in the field of energy storage at any level, from R&D to commercial projects, to suggest editorial ideas or areas for potential coverage in the journal. Please contact Sara Ver-Bruggen, the editor, via email: [email protected] with a short brief (200 words max). The deadline is Friday 4 January 2013. The second issue of ESJ will be distributed at the Energy Storage show taking place in Düsseldorf in March.
SEASON’S GREETINGS
IPVEACONNECTING
MEMBERS TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES
2 | IPVEA UPDATE | OCTOBER 2012
IPVEA NEWS
IPVEA taking enquiries about pavilion booths in 2013In 2013 IPVEA is proposing a pavilion-type booth for key shows, as a more economical approach to trade shows, particularly for exhibitions taking place in emerging PV markets such as such as Brazil and India. Several members have already registered interest for booking a ‘pod’ on an IPVEA booth we are considering for EU PVSEC and we urge our other members to take advantage of this cost-effective way of having a presence at the event next year. Please contact IPVEA’s MD, Bryan Ekus, to find out more, via email [email protected]
IPVEA UPDATE | OCTOBER 2012 | 3
INSIDE IPVEA
Linde and Dr. Schenk were two of the IPVEA member companies that opted to sponsor a ‘pod’ on the association’s pavilion booth at EU PVSEC, they had this to say:
‘Sponsoring a pod on the IPVEA booth provided us with a good, central information point for customers, with the added value of excellent refreshment and meeting facilities.’
The planning and design team were both efficient and responsive and the finished result was exactly as the specifications described.’
‘Dr. Schenk GmbH was happy to exhibit at this year’s EU PVSEC as part of the IPVEA membership booth. Given the downturn in the solar industry we were looking for ways to plan and execute our marketing
activities for the solar market in a way that would not stretch the budget too much.
The IPVEA booth was a very good solution for all members to be present at EU PVSEC and be available for customers. We will consider this participation form again for coming shows and would like to thank IPVEA for the excellent organization of this event.’
Energy Storage Production Technology ForumWorking with Messe Dusseldorf, which is producing with Solarpraxis, the Energy Storage Energy Storage - International Summit for the Storage of Renewable Energies, 18- 19 March 2013, IPVEA is assisting with organising the parallel event, Energy Storage Production Technology Forum. Our members are welcome to email synopses for the programme.
The Energy Storage Production Technology Forum 2013 will explore current manufacturing technologies, application opportunities, challenges, economics, as well as the fundamental factors to the growth and expansion of the battery and electrochemical-based storage marketplace.
Conference Topics � New concepts � Materials and systems � Market prospects and penetration � Manufacturing safety � Testing and data analysis � Battery manufacturing and issues � Gases and liquid chemicals � Protocols and procedures
With 350 participants from 29 countries and a successful exhibition, the first Energy Storage 2012 – International Summit for the Storage of Renewable energies showed the importance of efficient storage technologies for the transformation of our energy system. At “Energy Storage 2013”, we will focus on energy storage technologies in relation to the development of the energy industry.
4 | IPVEA UPDATE | OCTOBER 2012
Batteries, which cover a range of technologies, are suitable for stationary grid storage applications both at the utility-scale and for smaller applications, or so-called residential and community storage. Unlike the electric vehicle market, which is suffering from overcapacity in battery production, in the coming years growth opportunities for grid connected stationary energy storage will drive demand for conventional, new and emerging battery technologies that are being developed for the specific demands of grid storage.
Utility-scale stationary energy storage versus community/residential storage The utility-scale market will take time to establish itself as utilities are conservative and risk averse. According to Pike Research (part of Navigant Consulting) reduced costs, regulatory support and business model clarification is required for utility-scale storage to become established. Pike Research values to the global market at $1.5 billion by 2015. Few markets have demonstration projects for utility-scale battery based energy storage. They include China and the US.
Though they require much fewer batteries than utility-scale stationary storage applications banks, community/residential storage demonstration projects are increasing in number worldwide, in
markets such as the US state of California, Japan, South Korea and the UK, where the government is providing support to some projects that will piloting battery storage to alleviate pressure on the low voltage (LV) network that the predicted increase in PV systems, heat pumps, electric vehicles and other low carbon technologies will add. Similarly, Southern California Edison in the US, announced in November 2012 that it was planning to pilot distributed energy storage as a potential alternative to having to upgrade its distribution systems from 4 KV to 12 KW, for instance, or to avoid connecting up lower KV systems to higher ones that are not close by to each other. Using distributed storage can avoid expensive operations of digging up roads and laying more cabling infrastructure.
EXCLUSIVE by Sara Ver-Bruggen
With batteriesBreaking down the grid market energy storage opportunity
IPVEA UPDATE | OCTOBER 2012 | 5
FEATURE
Pike Research forecasts the residential/community energy storage market to be worth an estimated $153.8 million by 2015. Though smaller than the utility-scale energy storage market, there are strong drivers for smaller scale grid connected storage in both mature and developing markets, for instance to enable higher penetration of renewables into the electricity mix. According to a report published in 2012 produced for the UK government the value in the majority of future storage installations lies in distributed storage on the semi-urban network. Instances of partnerships between solar suppliers and companies supplying energy storage systems and technologies are increasing in order to develop opportunities that are emerging.
Challenges remain, however. Pike Research cites regulatory hurdles and definitions which complicate ownership models, as well as high capital expenditure (CapEx) for battery technologies in large formats and a lack of concrete successful business models at this early stage in the market’s evolution.
Today the most popular primary applications for advanced battery in stationary storage applications is for load levelling/peak shifting, where
typically sodium-sulfur (NaS) batteries are used. Other primary applications for batteries include integration of renewables, where NaS as well as flow and lead acid batteries are used. For frequency regulation as the primary application lithium ion (li-ion) batteries tend to be used. Nickel cadmium (NiCd) batteries tend to be favoured where spinning reserves is the main application. In Q2 2012, nearly 250 MW of installed capcity of NaS batteries were used for load levelling/peak shifting, according to Pike Research, with around 25 MW of installed li-ion battery capacity for frequency regulation applications.
New wave of battery technologies for grid market applications However as various regions, such as Europe, increase renewables capacity to meet carbon reduction targets, many companies are bringing to market new cost-effective, scalable and safe battery technologies. One of these is US start-up Aquion
Energy, which is targeting grid services markets with its battery technology for deep-energy-daily-cycling, applications (four or more hours), such as load shifting, diesel optimisation, renewables integration and transmission and distribution (T&D) referral. The company’s technology is also suitable for off-grid and micro-grid markets. Aquion was spun out of Carnegie Mellon University in 2009 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh. The battery is based on a propriety aqueous hybrid ion (AHI) chemistry, to provide superior life, safety, durability, and low system costs. The anode consists of activated carbon, the cathode of manganese oxide and the electrolyte from water based sodium sulphate and the separator from cotton. The battery is sealed in a polypropylene casing, the cells are self-balancing and the architecture is modular and scalable, with no thermal management required, no maintenance and limited balance of system requirements.
Aquion will start commercial manufacturing of its batteries in mid-2013 from its plant in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. The company is leasing space within a large existing facility in the East Huntingdon Township from the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC). As part of a first phase manufacturing commitment at this site, Aquion aims to create over 400 high-tech manufacturing jobs by the end of 2015. The company is targeting different global markets by various applications, for example rural electrification in Africa, weak grids in India, grid arbitrage in the US and Europe as well as renewables integration globally.
Pike Research forecasts the residential/community energy storage market to be worth an estimated $153.8 million by 2015. Though smaller than the utility-scale energy storage market, there are strong drivers for smaller scale grid connected storage in both mature and developing markets, for instance to enable higher penetration of renewables into the electricity mix.
Picture courtesy: Aquion
6 | IPVEA UPDATE | OCTOBER 2012
Another company, Ambri (formerly Liquid Metal Battery Technology), is targeting grid-scale opportunities for energy storage provided by the increased use of intermittent renewables such as solar and wind. Ambri, which was spun out from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2010, is backed by investors that include Bill Gates, Total and Khosla Ventures. The company is bringing to market an all-liquid battery – a process known as reversible ambipolar electrolysis. The design avoids cycle-to-cycle capacity fade. This is because the electrodes are reconstituted with each charge through an alloying/de-alloying process, enabling the battery to exceed 70% round-trip efficiency without degradation.
Abundant materials + existing manufacturing = low cost battery for grid-scale storageAmbri’s cells consist of a molten salt electrolyte that sits between a high density metal on the bottom and a low density metal on top, when heated to the melting point. In a charged state a thermodynamic driving force between the top metal layer and the bottom metal layer creates a cell voltage. The movement of the electrons through the cell generate enough heat to keep the
battery at temperature. An additional advantage is that no thermal management or control is required, ensuring the battery’s simplicity. All components are based on abundant elements. Each cell is a 16-inch square unit containing about 1200 Wh. The cells are then placed into 25 kW (100 kWh) refrigerator-sized modules. To produce commercial grid-scale storage battery banks Ambri will pack the modules into a 40-ft shipping container, rated at 500 kW and 2 MWh storage capacity.
Ambri’s strategy to commercialise its technology initially targets applications where large amounts of energy need to be stored and the battery can respond in milliseconds. This will potentially open up markets where Ambri can charge premium prices for storing and delivering electricity to the grid to make up for fluctuations in supply and demand, which will become more acute as more wind and solar power is installed. To reduce capital costs in future Ambri has created a battery design that can be fabricated in existing factories using contract manufacturing.
The recent fate of A123, which filed for bankruptcy in December, suggests that developing new, potentially
game-changing battery technologies is no less thorny any other high tech field. However by exploiting abundant materials for their respective battery technologies, nascent players such as Ambi and Aquion are keeping cost at the forefront, because for intermittent renewables to become a mainstream form of energy generation, low-cost high performance storage technologies are going to be absolutely critical in the coming years. Speaking at a TED conference earlier this year, professor Don Sadoway, the inventor of Ambri’s liquid metal battery, said: ‘The need for grid level storage is compelling, but the fact is today there is simply no battery technology capable of meeting the demanding performance requirements of the grid, namely uncommonly high power, long service lifetime and super-low-cost. We need to think about the problem differently. We need to think big and we need to think cheap ... let’s invent to the price point of the electricity market.’
Similarly, Southern California Edison in the US, announced in November 2012 that it was planning to pilot distributed energy storage as a potential alternative to having to upgrade its distribution systems.
Ambri's liquid metal battery, developed using abundant metals, can store large amounts of energy and respond in milliseconds, important for integrating wind and solar into the grid
ENERGYSTORAGEJOURNALEnergy Storage Journal (business and market
strategies for energy storage and smart grid
technologies) is a new quarterly B2B publication that
covers global news, trends and developments in
energy storage and smart grid markets.
Worldwide growth in renewable energy generation
capacity, electricity-powered transportation and fast-
growing cities in developing economies will drive
exponential growth in energy storage and smart grid
technologies, products and applications in the coming
years.
ESJ is a key source of information to enable your
business or organisation to keep track of these
dynamic industries and the multitude of new
opportunities they present.
TARGET READERSHIP � Renewables energy industry (executives from solar
PV, CSP, wind, biomass etc.)
� Energy utilities and grid owners
Distributed network operators
� High performance and advanced battery
manufacturers (lead acid, lithium, ion flow, ZEBRA etc)
� Fuel cell and electrolyzer producers
Suppliers of flywheel, thermal and other storage
technologies and systems
� Suppliers of energy storage management and control
systems
� Automotive manufacturers
� Producers of equipment and materials used for
energy storage production
� Policy makers and shapers
� Universities and research institutes
� Consultants and analysts
� Venture capitalists and other investors
� Associations and alliances representing energy
storage, renewables & conventional energy sectors
EACH ISSUE INCLUDES � Global news round-up
� Exclusive in depth features on new and
promising energy storage applications and
technologies
� Case studies of advances in energy storage
production to bring high performance, cost-
effective energy storage products to market
� Analysis and forecasts on different energy
storage markets and technologies from
leading consultants and experts in the field
� Examination of policy around the world that
is enabling investment and growth in energy
storage and smart grid technologies
� Updated events calendar
www.energystoragejournal.com
To discuss how your organisation can work with ENERGYSTORAGEJOURNAL contact the Publisher and Managing Director Bryan Ekus by email: [email protected]
