Lithium-ion batteries may be the chemistry of choice but its success on future markets depend on the mining of lithium.
That is why Canadian minerals companies Western Lithium and Lithium Americas have signed a merger deal to reshape the market.
A behind-the-meter system coupling lithium-ion batteries to solar energy panels is set to change how businesses use on-grid power.
US based Sharp Electronics Corporation’s SmartStorage® system controls the release of energy from the battery to cap peak demand costs.
Korean battery manufacturer Kokam’s lithium-ion cells are set to make history by powering the world’s first solar airplane around the world.
Swiss-built Solar Impulse II will be able to remain in-flight after dark on its five months, 35,000 km long journey around the world thanks to the lithium-ion polymer batteries.
Battery materials supplier Targray has introduced an electrodeposited nickel foil for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors.
The electro conductive nickel foil has a thickness range of 4μm to 50μm and a width capability of up to 100mm. According to the US company, the component has better tensile strength, exceptional anti-corrosive properties and improved acid and heat resistance, as well as etching abilities compared to traditional copper or rolled nickel foil.
Chemicals giant BASF and cathode material developer Toda Kogyo have established a cathode active materials (CAM) joint venture (JV) in Japan.
The JV will focus on researching and manufacturing cathode materials including nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, lithium manganese oxide and nickel cobalt manganese for lithium-ion batteries.
Berlin-based renewables company Younicos and green electricity provider WEMAG have launched Europe’s biggest commercial battery park in Schwerin, Germany.
The lithium-ion battery pack has a capacity of 5MWh. The battery storage is designed to stabilise grid-frequency and to integrate wind and solar power into the grid. The energy storage system (ESS) also comprises of Younicos’ software. According to the company, the ESS provides as much control power as a conventional 50MW turbine.
The Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI) is to start producing lithium-ion battery prototypes for electric vehicles (EV) and energy storage by 2015.
"There are only a handful of lithium-ion battery manufacturers on a global level. We're currently conducting research on producing a prototype for the local market and possibly export,” said MAI chief executive officer Madani Sahari.
French battery supplier Saft is to supply a lithium-ion battery energy storage system (ESS) to a 12MW PV plant on Kauai Island, Hawaii, US.
Saft was contracted by Kauai Island Utility Co-operative (KIUC) to provide the 6MW ESS consisting of 10 containers in order to stabilise the Kauai island grid. Saft said the deal is worth “multi-million dollars”.
China’s BYD is to build a plant for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries and electric buses in Brazil.
The site of BYD’s first South American production facility will be Campinsas in São Paulo state. The factory is slated to open in 2015, will create 450 new jobs, the company said in a statement.
Indian-based solar and telecom equipment supplier ACME has struck a deal for a telecom firm to deliver lithium-ion batteries for energy storage solutions to Africa.
Details of the contract were not disclosed. ACME and its Korean partner Samsung SDI aim to sell up to 110MWh of lithium-ion batteries by 2016 in India and Africa in telecom, solar power, defense sectors and other related industries.
Harish Goyal, chief marketing officer at ACME highlighted that lithium-ion battery storage is the future of energy storage and added: “This green solution has revolutionized the way we store energy by efficiently managing the energy needs in the financially competitive market segment while being challenged environmentally."
“This will help users to replace their diesel generators and cut down on the carbon foortprint with higher efficiency," Goyal claimed. It is ACME’s business entry into Africa, a continent with a high usage of polluting fuel-based energy generation.
While battery storage systems have a miniscule share in the overall energy storage segment, it is estimated to capture 50% share globally in this segment by year 2020
The delivery to Africa is expected to be ready by September this year. ACME is currently replacing its lead-acid batteries with storage systems using Samsung SDI’s lithium-ion batteries.
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