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Jun 11 2015 at 6:27 PM Updated Jun 11 2015 at 6:27 PM
Battery technologies jostle for share of large-scale storage market
Lithium-ion batteries have grabbed the limelight.
by Angela Macdonald-Smith
In the hot topic of electricity storage, lithium-ion batteries have grabbed the limelight, but when it comes to larger-scale storage systems, several other technologies are beating on the door.
There's every sign that despite the hype surrounding batteries suitable for home use, the main game will be in much bigger storage units that can be slotted into the grid by generators or transmission companies to provide extra power or at the end of the grid to replace costly diesel generation.
Growing interest from big companies in renewables and storage points to another low-profile but potentially large market that could start to emerge within a few short years.
The world's best-known battery advocate, Elon Musk, has said that more than 80 per cent of Tesla"s total energy sales would be of the company's larger, 100-kilowatt-hour Powerpack system, to utilities and large industrial customers, rather than the much-hyped 7 kWh and 10 kWh Powerwall units targeted for homes.
"That's where the economics are very compelling," Musk reportedly said.
But whether lithium-ion used by Tesla will be the technology that snares the lion's share of that large-scale storage market is another question. There's a big prize to go for: the International Renewable Energy Agency this week declared that the share of renewables in the electricity sector needed to double to 45 per cent by 2030, to help avoid damaging climate change. To do so, about 150 gigawatts of battery storage and 325 GW of pumped-storage hydroelectricity will be needed. That compares with an annual installation rate of just 0.34 GW in 2013, according to consultancy IHS.
Home-grown battery developer Redflow sees plenty of scope for other technologies. Chief executive Stuart Smith is appreciative of the higher profile lent to the whole storage sector by Musk, but points out that it's a case of the best technology for the particular application.
Redflow's zinc-bromide battery uses "flow" technology, where electricity is stored in liquid electrolytes, rather than in the electrodes as for lithium-ion.
Smith says Redflow's battery is more of an "energy battery" – as opposed to a "power" one – suitable for use over three hours or longer. Lithium-ion batteries dominate when supply is needed in a concentrated period of one or two hours, and where space is important, such as in phones or computers. It's different in large industrial applications – it's not one or the other: the two could even be used side by side, he says.
Smith says using lithium-ion batteries for longer than about two hours becomes very expensive because of the need for additional features such as cooling.
But the disadvantage of "flow" batteries is the space required: Redflow's large-scale battery, a $US500,000 system, comes in a modified 20-foot shipping container.
NBN Co director and Redflow major shareholder and director Simon Hackett kicked off commercial sales, ordering a 660 kWh system for his business park in Adelaide. Redflow is looking for others to follow suit.
Target markets include the telecommunications sector for mobile phone towers, particularly in hot, humid environments where lithium systems would require cooling, and in areas with unreliable grid supply, taking advantage of the Redflow battery's ability to fully discharge and charge daily, again a feature lacking in lithium-ion.
Interest is also coming from distributors to augment remote grids, and from shopping centres, hotels or other large commercial buildings to complement solar, Smith says, and the pressure is now on to convert that into hard sales.
Independent advisory firm Lux Research estimates the size of the zinc-bromide flow battery market at $US21 billion ($27 billion) by 2017.
Bernstein Research also forecasts significant growth in flow batteries, but has less-bullish forecasts, with that technology estimated to capture 6.6 per cent of a 2025 market put at $US112 billion in total.
Sydney-based Liquid Metal Battery Research Co is meanwhile investigating liquid metals batteries (LMBs) for the local market, through an alliance with Massachussetts Institute of Technology professor Donald Sadoway, who has focused on using readily available, low=cost materials.
Sadoway's co-founded company Ambri is backed French oil major Total, and LMBRC chief executive Gordon Hinds is embarking on a collaboration that would field-test the Ambri batteries in Australia, in everything from residential to large-scale use.
Hinds says LMBs hold great promise, offering consumers a long cycling life of 40 years or more and being relatively low-cost, whereas lithium-ion batteries don't like charging and discharging daily, giving them a relatively short and expensive life.
As Hinds points out, all the battery technologies have "issues", whether it's high operating temperatures, degraded performance over time, cost, space, noise or something else.
The quest for the solution to the storage dilemma has a long way to run.
amacdonald-smith@afr.com.au
Twitter: @angelamacd
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