In 30 years since commercialisation, lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries have been used in an increasingly diverse range of products, starting from early generation handheld electronics to powering cars and buses. Additionally, these batteries are increasingly sought after for utilisation in energy storage applications, often paired with renewable energy generation. The continued decline in battery prices combined with the global trend toward energy grids being powered by renewable energy sources is predicted to increase the world’s cumulative energy storage capacity to 2,857GWh by 2040 [1], a substantial increase from the current capacity of ~545MWh [2], according to recent estimates by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

These staggering projections paint an encouraging picture for how prominent li-ion-driven energy storage applications will become in the future as the world increases usage of renewable, clean energy sources to power energy grids worldwide. Driven increasingly by electro-mobility as well as grid-scale energy storage applications, the volume of li-ion battery cells being sold is set to surge. The graph in Figure 2 contextualises the relative volume (in tonnes) of new li-ion battery cells forecasted to be sold through to 2025. The growing quantities of li-ion batteries being placed on the markets accelerates the urgency with which the world must find an economically viable, commercial-scale recycling solution for end-of-lifecycle li-ion batteries to be recycled at a ‘mega’ scale. This article will take a closer look at some of the challenges that exist today within the li-ion recycling sector and where opportunities exist to overcome the current roadblocks.

Li-ion recycling industry challenges
Feed Sourcing

Secondary resource recovery (i.e. recycling) has a set of unique operational challenges that need to be addressed concurrent to the development of an economic, advanced technology. For the purpose of recycling, feed materials are typically inherently distributed, making it difficult to collect a high volume of feed for a processing plant. Although the collection supply chains for some analogous industries such as lead-acid battery recycling are well-established and mature by comparison, the li-ion battery recycling supply chain continues to be fluid. Spent li-ion battery sources can be broadly segmented into portable/’small format’ and ‘large format’ sources, which corresponds to the relative voltage of li-ion batteries (i.e. low voltage and intermediate to high voltage, respectively). Each of these types of batteries has a diverse group of stakeholders – from manufacturers, to the dealer network, recycling programmes, electronics and vehicle recyclers. In the context of the energy storage sector, its own diverse group of stakeholders exists – battery technology provider, energy storage integrator, project developer and asset owner. Managing the inherently heterogenous nature of li-ion batteries from a wide range of stakeholders remains a central challenge for companies in the li-ion resource recovery industry.

Logistics and regulations

Li-ion batteries are currently classified as Class 9 Dangerous Goods due their dual chemical and electrical hazard. Li-ion batteries can possibly undergo thermal runaway, typically resulting from internal shorting, leading to fire or explosion. There are numerous factors that can cause thermal runaway, including but not limited to overcharging, environmental conditions (e.g. extreme external temperatures) and manufacturing defects. At the onset of thermal runaway, the battery heats in seconds from room temperature to above 700°C. As part of this complex set of chemical reactions, the electrolyte solvent in lithium-ion batteries – typically alkyl carbonate-based – acts as a ‘fuel’ source for combustion.

SALT LAKE CITY — The first residents of an all-electric and energy efficient community — the largest battery demand response project in the United States — are settling into new apartments. Their cars are tucked neatly beneath solar panel covers and their electric cars can plug into charging ports. Inside each apartment in the Soleil Lofts development, a Sonnen battery is humming silently close to their living room.

The residents sign on knowing their backup power can be controlled by the utility and dispatched to the grid as needed. The circular logo on the Sonnen system will turn green to tell residents when the battery’s power is being used by the local utility, Rocky Mountain Power.

The full complex will be finished in the next two years, but the virtual power plant established when the first building opened is a blueprint for developments outside of Utah, according to the real estate developer Wasatch Group.

The Soleil Lofts apartments, under construction in Herriman, Utah, seeks to attract environmentally conscious customers who want to hasten the transition to all-electric and clean energy living. The project represents a collaboration among Rocky Mountain Power, battery developer Sonnen, solar developer Auric Energy and Wasatch. All the partners have plans for modeling the success of the Soleil projects.

“[T]he long term thing for us is how do we provide battery solutions for our customers?”

Bill Comeau

Managing director of customer innovations, Rocky Mountain Power

The effort is an opportunity for the Pacificorp subsidiary to work with a partner that has experience with energy storage, as the utility learns to better integrate batteries into the grid and enable growth from renewables, according to Bill Comeau, Rocky Mountain Power’s managing director of customer innovations.

When complete, the planned community’s 22 buildings will have 600 apartment units with 12.6 MWh of battery storage, 5.2 MW of solar panels, 150 stalls of EV chargers and an overriding focus on energy efficiency. Utility access to the 600 Sonnen batteries will turn the complex into a grid resource.

“In the big scheme of things, it’s actually really small,” Comeau told Utility Dive. “But the long term thing for us is how do we provide battery solutions for our customers?”

A study in Northern Ireland has shown that appropriately configured energy storage can offset far more than its rated capacity of mechanical inertia, says Jaad Cabbabe, Senior Manager of Business Development at Fluence, and one of the authors of a white paper Redrawing the Network Map: Energy Storage as Virtual Transmission, published this month.

The Northern Ireland case study, in which Fluence played a part, showed that 360 MW of energy storage could provide the same inertia to the grid as 3 GW of coal-fired generation, says Cabbabe. He adds, “We believe that same concept is replicable in Australia. The ratio may not be exactly the same, but it will probably be very similar.”

Such technical capability is part of the rationale given in the Fluence white paper for including battery energy storage in transmission planning.

“We wanted to plant the seed in the minds of decision makers and network planners that energy storage should be part of their toolbox when they’re solving transmission problems,” says Cabbabe.

Simon Currie, Principal at Energy Estate, an energy advisory and accelerator business, sees storage as a technology that could encourage greater competition and innovation in transforming the grid to suit the renewable age.

He points out that energy-storage options have already been put forward for the Project Specification Consultation Report on the Western Victoria Renewable Integration Project; and in the scoping study for the new Queensland-NSW Interconnector (QNI). Although storage may not have been the preferred choice for these projects, says Currie, “It’s certainly now on the agenda, which wasn’t the case a year or so ago.”

Currie cites ElectraNet’s Dalrymple ESCRI-SA Battery Project among the successful operational storage-augmented transmission assets in Australia. Dalrymple’s 30 MW/8 MWh battery system supplies fast frequency response capability to reduce constraints on the Heywood interconnector, thereby enabling increased flows of electricity through this key link between the South Australian and Victorian networks.

The Fluence white paper places battery storage in the picture for augmenting interconnectors, increasing the capacity of currently constrained transmission lines, and reducing the cost and footprint of new lines.

Energy storage, says Cabbabe can virtually hold the fort — managing energy flow at junctions in the grid — until interconnectors can be built. Where interconnectors may take seven or more years to be approved, constructed and operating, large-scale battery storage can be operational within 18 months to two years.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. & SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

NEC Energy Solutions and NEC Asia Pacific jointly revealed today that NEC provided its 400kW, 400kWh GSS® end-to-end Grid Storage Solution and AEROS® proprietary energy storage controls software as part of SP Group’s innovative hybrid system which recently received the Singapore Minister for National Development’s R&D Merit Award at the 2019 Urban Sustainability R&D Congress.

Singapore District Cooling (SDC), a subsidiary of SP Group and A*STAR Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) have co-developed the controls, management algorithms and interfaces to pilot the hybrid system to further enhance its existing cooling network that supplies centrally-produced chilled water for air conditioning use at 23 buildings in Singapore’s Marina Bay business district.

The unique hybrid system combines a containerized lithium-ion battery from NEC with an integrated thermal management system and power conversion system. It provides added efficiencies through lowering electricity costs needed to produce chilled water and assist with mitigating fluctuations in electricity demand and maintain grid stability. It also uses intelligent control algorithms, which give businesses the ability to offer demand response and other ancillary services. If renewable energy that is used to power the chillers suddenly fluctuates, the lithium-ion battery can immediately discharge energy to balance the supply, hence overcoming the challenge of inconsistent renewable energy in a cost-effective way.

“This project represents several important firsts for NEC Energy Solutions. This is our first project in Singapore, as we expand and increase our market penetration in the APAC region,” said Steve Fludder, CEO of NEC Energy Solutions. “We are also pleased to be part of this project as this is a first-of-its-kind integrated electricity cooling network that uses advanced predictive analytics and intelligent control algorithms to help prove its viability. This “smart” system is a great example of the potential value energy storage has to offer and reflects NEC’s vision for a digital energy enterprise platform of the future.”

About NEC Energy Solutions

NEC Energy Solutions develops and manufactures smart energy storage solutions for electric grid, backup power and lead‐acid replacement applications with system integration expertise focusing on high performance, efficiency, safety and reliability. Products range from massive grid‐scale energy storage systems, successfully operating in commercial revenue service since 2009, to commercial and specialty battery solutions to fit the needs of telecom, datacenter, medical and other industrial applications. For more information, please visit www.neces.com.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and Corvus Energy have reached a licensing agreement for a lithium-ion capacitor (LiC) technology for the offshore market.

“Corvus Energy has been an outstanding development partner for the LiC technology,” said Takeshi Ohata, managing executive officer of Kawasaki Heavy Industries at their headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. “Their battery engineering experience and marine market leadership gives Corvus Energy expertise unlike any other. Their know-how around thermal management inside battery modules is critical to ensuring safe and reliable operation.”

The LiC incorporates lithium-ion capacitor cells into an energy storage system (ESS) with high-efficiency liquid cooling that maintains an optimal temperature range at very high RMS currents and charge/discharge rates, the company said. The LiC will safely sustain charge/discharge rates of 600oº C peak and 300oº C continuous, enabling both energy recapture/storage and fast discharge for high-power load handling.

“It is truly a validation of our world-class R&D capabilities that KHI selected Corvus to develop this technology,” said Sean Puchalski, EVP of Strategy & Business Planning for Corvus Energy. “The new cutting-edge LiC technology provides the best of both worlds — current-handling performance nearing a supercapacitor with improved energy density. It will enable our offshore customers to cost-effectively improve efficiency through energy recapture from heave compensation, drilling draw works and payload lowering applications with a lightweight, space-saving footprint.”

Corvus Energy will introduce a new product based on the LiC ESS technology with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, trademarked Blue Marlin and targeting the offshore segment it currently serves with its Orca and Dolphin ESSs and Moray subsea ESS. The new Blue Marlin product is expected to be available in 2020.

“Corvus offers a timely solution to an urgent problem,” said Geir Bjørkeli, CEO of Corvus Energy. “Offshore producers are increasingly committed to investing in solutions that reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. We are thrilled that the progressive leadership at Corvus shareholders Equinor and Shell—whose offshore operations are the largest in the world—will help speed adoption of Corvus’ energy efficiency solutions in the offshore segment.”

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Panasonic unveiled its new residential energy storage system, EverVolt™, new products and enhancements, and other solar portfolio announcements today at Solar Power International 2019. The EverVolt™ features a modular design and is available in AC and DC-coupled versions, offering a flexible solution optimized for homeowners’ energy needs and budgets. The home energy storage system enhances Panasonic’s full suite of home energy solutions, including its signature photovoltaic high-performance HIT® portfolio.

The Panasonic engineered storage system is compatible with any solar system or inverter and can be tailored to a homeowner’s individual needs. In addition to offering both the AC and DC coupled options, the system can be scaled down to as little as 5.7kWh of energy storage or expanded to 34.2kWh. EverVolt™ offers simple, one-person installation and is field serviceable. It also comes equipped with advanced software and a user-friendly app for homeowners, allowing customization between multiple operating modes visibility into system status. The product is backed by a 10-year product and performance warranty, one of the best in its class for homeowners.

“Energy storage is one of the fastest-growing segments in the renewable energy space, and homeowners are eager to find a product that fits their exact needs,” said Mukesh Sethi, group manager at Panasonic Solar. “With EverVolt™, homeowners will be one step closer to grid independence and see a quicker return on their solar investment. EverVolt™ users will have the ability to store unused power to use when they need it most or sell surplus energy back to their local utility and generate income.”

Ameresco has completed a 4-MW, 16-MWh energy storage project for Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

The project began four years ago when Ameresco secured two energy storage facility agreements with IESO to design, build, own and operate the “Battery Solid” storage systems. The two solid-state lithium-ion battery systems connect to the Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution grid at a capacity of 4 MW.

“The investment that IESO has made in its grid infrastructure is worthy of celebration,” said Bob McCullough, president of Ameresco Canada Inc. “Battery storage is central to the better utilization of all assets within the electricity system, better value to ratepayers, and reduction of our carbon footprint.”

Both systems absorb power during periods of excess energy supply and deliver it back to the grid when energy demand is high. This project also demonstrates the value of future ancillary services, which would allow IESO to charge or discharge instantly to provide frequency regulation, voltage control and spinning reserve services to the grid, according to Ameresco.

“Taking this action now will demonstrate how energy storage facilities deployed at the distribution level can facilitate more cost-effective designs of both transmission and distribution infrastructure while providing greater power reliability to local areas, regardless of peak energy demands,” McCullough added.

Massachusetts-based Ameresco is focused around energy efficiency, infrastructure and renewable projects. Founded in 2000, the company has more than 1,000 employees in the U.S., Canada and U.K.

There are many battery-related companies exhibiting at Solar Power International/Energy Storage International this year. And with plenty of big storage announcements from companies not necessarily directly involved with batteries before, there was a lot of top tech to sort through. Here were the most interesting battery products I saw on the show floor today.

SunPower came out with its own LFP storage system for the residential market, including a simplified service panel. Company reps said they wanted to reduce the number of products for their installer network, offering a fully integrated storage system designed and warranted by one company. With a rated energy capacity of 13 kWh, Equinox Storage can also easily be expanded for larger home loads. SunPower’s new storage product is an obvious addition to its full suite of residential offerings only offered by SunPower dealers.

I promise I saw this in-person; I just did not get a good photo as the booth was packed. Panasonic took lessons learned with its partnership with Pika Energy to release its own energy storage system this year. EverVolt can be AC- or DC-coupled and installed easily by one person. It’s also super easy to add on: EverVolt can be scaled as small as 5.7 kWh or expanded up to 34.2 kWh. And with one warranty, this storage system provides a simple option for homeowners.

Although Generac has traditionally been in the not-so-green generator business, the company is shifting gears in a big way with its battery offering. Generac acquired Pika Energy last year and now has over 150 employees dedicated to breaking into the solar-plus-storage market with its PWRcell energy storage system. Consisting of an expandable battery park, inverter and advanced sensors assembled in Vietnam, PWRcell will begin shipping in December. The batteries are 8.6 kWh and the system can expand up to 17.1 kWh.

What if you could easily use portable power products as home backup? The Yeti storage system from Goal Zero is a really interesting concept for partial-home-backup. The Yeti 3000 Power Station (seen above) can provide 3 kWh of lithium storage for important loads at home or be picked up and transported for tailgating or camping energy needs. If you want more power, the Yeti Link expansion module allows you to add more batteries — of any chemistry. Yeti Link allows users to chain batteries of different chemistries, so you can add some lead-acid batteries to the original lithium-based system.

In 2014, the vast majority of storage projects Greensmith Energy was working on might have best been described as science projects, often dependent on grants or utility R&D budgets devoted to figuring out emerging technologies.

But there was one 20-megawatt project in PJM territory that was unlike all of the others, and not just because of its size. “That was the first project Greensmith ever did in the company’s history that was driven primarily by the financial returns of the project to their customers,” said Risto Paldanius, director of business development for Wärtsilä Energy Storage, Solar and Integration division, who played a key role during the Greensmith acquisition by Wärtsilä in 2017.

It’s a testament to just how much the economics of battery storage and the renewables it supports have improved in less than a few years. Today, potential projects are evaluated primarily on their business case. “If we don’t think the business case is real, we won’t target projects,” said Paldanius. “Close to 100 percent of our projects are commercially driven.”

In 2018, global energy storage deployments grew 147 percent year-over-year to reach 3.3 gigawatts, or 6 gigawatt-hours, according to Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. That’s nearly double the average 74 percent compound annual growth rate for the industry from 2013 to 2018. In fact, last year’s deployments made up more than half of the total amount of storage deployed in the past five years, “indicating an inflection in storage demand,” Ravi Manghani, WoodMac’s head of storage research, said when the findings were published in April.

There are other signs of a maturing storage market. For example, customers and manufacturers considering a storage project used to insist on a warranty based on a worst-case scenario.

“Today we are talking about fully flexible warranties that are truly based on the system’s actual operational profile. If it’s one cycle per day, you degrade 20 percent, for example, or for one-and-a-half cycles, you degrade 30 percent. This way, system operational cost is based on actual operations and the warranty matches how the asset owner operates the system,” said Amy Liu, manager of applied technology at Wärtsilä, Energy Storage, Solar and Integration.

For instance, Wärtsilä now knows the small, but noticeable, difference in availability in different size systems. For example, a 6-megawatt project could have an average availability of 97.97 percent, while a 10-megawatt system may have a 98.36 percent availability, and a 20-megawatt system could have an average availability of 98.28 percent.

Generac Power Systems today introduced PWRcell: a fully-integrated solar energy storage system. PWRcell boasts exclusive technologies including expandable battery capacity and on-board power monitoring and management as standard.

The PWRcell system consists of an integrated ecosystem of components, including an expandable battery pack, inverter and associated hardware. Each component is specifically engineered to seamlessly install and work together. PWRcell features modular battery packs, equipped with 8.6-kWh batteries, and expandable to 17.1 kWh to match any budget.

“The flexibility of modular battery packs, combined with the most power available make this system best-in-class technology,” said Russ Minick, Chief Marketing Officer and leader of the Clean Energy business for Generac.

PWRcell also provides homeowners with up to 50 amps and 12 kW of surge capacity, enough to start heavy loads such as air conditioners. Once engaged, PWRcell provides 8 kW of continuous power. When more power or capacity is needed, additional PWRcell inverters and batteries can be added for up to 34.2 kWh of DC-coupled storage.

PWRcell is equipped with Generac PWRview technology, an easy-to-use home energy monitoring system that tracks home energy use and provides powerful insights into the home’s electricity consumption. With the intuitive PWRview app, data is processed into useful information that allows homeowners to make smarter decisions regarding their use of energy, lowering usage to extend the amount of time the home can run on PWRcell-provided energy.

PWRcell weighs less than 75 pounds and is easy to install. Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2019, PWRcell will be sold through Generac’s many distribution partners.