Solar, seen by many as a primary renewable energy source of the future, still has one major flaw. What happens at night when the sun isn’t shining? The rise of batteries for energy storage offers a viable solution to this problem. Producing energy at night from renewable sources in now a reality for many thanks to solar battery technology.
In many cases solar arrays produce more energy than households need during the day. The problem was there was no way to store that excess energy. The excess energy would go back into the grid never to be seen again. Batteries, offer a means to capture this energy for night time use, when energy consumption is usually the highest.
Energy storage will be a major piece of the puzzle in unlocking out sustainable energy future. Storage technologies and methods are only advancing day by day, making energy storage a important factor in many energy markets. Here are some energy storage companies & technologies to watch out for. These firms are leading the way in unlocking our energy future!
Solar Irradiance by Hour
Source: National Solar Radiation Data Base
Energy Demand by Hour
Source: NYISO 2017
SONNENBATTERIE
Based in Los Angeles, sonnenBatterie utilizes German engineering to address the biggest environmental problem of our time. This company has a great sense of design with a battery that blends seamlessly with most environments.
“Our goal is a world in which everyone is able to cover his energy needs with decentralized and clean energy source. Everyone can connect with each other to share energy where and when it’s needed. This will emancipate our world from the dependence on fossil fuels and anonymous energy corporations.”-Christoph Ostermann, CEO, sonnenBatterie
EOS – ENERGY STORAGE
“Powering the dawn of energy storage” is the claim EOS makes with its suite of energy storage solutions. This young, but established company has locked in several strategic partnership with fortune 500 companies to bring storage solutions to more and more people.
With a focus on cost-effective solutions, EOS aims to make energy storage solutions a very attractive value proposition to customers. Eos is contracted to deliver over 40MMWh to the U.S., Canada, Germany, and South America. According to VP of Business Development Philippe Bouchard. The company is ramping up production to meet growing demand in 2017.
“We have invested $10 million for a new facility to support increasing demand for Eos batteries. The manufacturing partnership creates 60 new jobs and is expected to reach a production rate of 400MWh per year in 2017.”-Philippe Bouchard, VP Business Development, Eos Energy Storage
LG CHEM – ESS BATTERY
LG a household name in appliances and electronics, offers some strong solutions in the energy storage space. The LG Chem ESS battery come in various sizes to meet the needs of a large range of energy loads. With both utility scale and residential solutions, LG applies its vast resources to provide one of the most advance battery solutions on the market.
TESLA – POWERWALL 2
The biggest player in the renewable energy space, Tesla, is also a force to reckon with when it comes to energy storage. Shipment on its battery began in January of 2017 to much anticipation.
During a company shareholder meeting in 2016, CEO Elon Musk said he thinks half of the company’s batteries will go toward electricity storage for the power grid rather than Tesla’s vehicles in the coming years as Tesla expands its battery business.
The company’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert (a joint-venture with Panasonic) is expected to churn out 35 GWh of the newly designed lithium-ion batteries each year. The factory is slated to reach full capacity in 2020. You can order a Powerwall 2 battery for $6,200 USD plus installation charges.
