US-based battery maker EnerDel says it is planning to enter the utility-scale energy storage market, and area it sees as offering significant growth opportunities.
The company, which makes advanced lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle market, is to supply batteries for a major new smart grid programme backed by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The project will help US utility Portland General Electric (PGE) to manage and smooth the variations in power from renewable energy sources.
“Energy storage is a key component of the smart grid, as well as a crucial tool for enhancing both the reliability and the availability of renewable but often intermittent energy sources like wind and solar,” said Cyrus Ashtiani, Chief Technology Officer at EnerDel. “We expect this sector to be a major growth area for the battery industry. This program is a breakthrough opportunity for EnerDel to prove the capabilities of our systems in partnership with one of the most innovative electric utilities in the country.”
EnerDel will supply five 1 MW power systems for PGE that will together have the capacity to store enough energy to power 400 average American homes for one hour. The batteries will have the same core chemistry as those designed by EnerDel for the hybrid plug-in electric vehicle market.
The PGE project will be built in Salem, Oregon, where it will serve both residential and commercial customers and undergo two to three years of testing.
The project is one of 16 announced by the DOE, which is providing half the $178 million funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The balance will come from utilities and other participants.
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