{"id":102031,"date":"2023-04-25T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/?p=102031"},"modified":"2023-04-21T09:03:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-21T13:03:21","slug":"lithium-alternatives-capture-interest-of-large-battery-installers-amidst-supply-chain-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarpowerworldonline.com\/2023\/04\/lithium-alternatives-capture-interest-of-large-battery-installers-amidst-supply-chain-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Lithium alternatives capture interest of large battery installers amidst supply chain challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although still very much in its infancy, the U.S. utility-scale battery storage market has existed in earnest since 2011 led by one dominant battery chemistry choice: lithium. According to data through 2021 from the U.S. EIA<\/a>, 97.95% of utility-scale batteries installed in the United States were lithium-based. While there are significant battery projects in the works (the country currently has 9 GW<\/a> of utility-scale batteries under operation and a 26.4-GW construction pipeline), the lion\u2019s share will still be lithium-ion, due to its early acceptance and established installation codes.<\/p>\n

But lithium is by no means the only available option. Other battery technologies \u2014 whether metal-, sodium- or flow-based \u2014 are elbowing their way into the conversation. For large-scale developers concerned about both the climate-threatened world and increasingly stretched supply chains, domestically produced lithium alternatives are becoming more attractive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Urban Electric Power alkaline batteries<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere were many years where folks wouldn\u2019t give us the time of day. They had lead-acid and it was working or were investing in lithium,\u201d said Ann Marie Augustus, COO and co-founder of zinc-alkaline battery maker Urban Electric Power<\/a> (UEP), which began its manufacturing path in 2014. \u201cThe one thing that came out of this whole post-COVID supply chain chaos is that folks took a different look at what was available, specifically a second look at alternatives to lithium-based technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interrupted supply chains and labor concerns have caused the U.S. solar and storage industries to look inward for product options. Installation and manufacturing tax credits<\/a> included in the Inflation Reduction Act have also encouraged more battery factories to set up shop stateside. Most new factory announcements<\/a> have been lithium-based, with much of that lithium capacity going toward electric vehicle batteries, something solar and storage developer Pine Gate Renewables<\/a> is aware of \u2014 and therefore seeking lithium-alternatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not transitioning away from lithium. We\u2019re more thinking about it as having a toolbox of different options, different technologies to understand what\u2019s out there and what\u2019s the best fit for our projects,\u201d said Emily Leonard, Pine Gate market strategy associate. \u201cLithium has been deployed [already] at the utility scale, so it\u2019s well understood. But there are competing industries for those pouch cells. Alternative chemistries could have advantages there and less competition overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

EnerVenue leadership with the company’s Energy Storage Vessel at the Fremont, California, pilot line<\/p><\/div>\n

Non-lithium battery makers are taking advantage of this new acceptance. Increased interest in EnerVenue\u2019s nickel-hydrogen battery is allowing the company to expand out of its 100-MWh pilot line in Fremont, California, to a 1-GWh new-build facility<\/a> outside Louisville, Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re sold out for a long time. We got firm orders and are now approaching nearly 1 GWh total [in sales], which is the first phase of our gigafactory,\u201d said Jorg Heinemann, EnerVenue<\/a> CEO. \u201cAll of this makes it very clear that customers value the differentiation. There\u2019s very little operating expense on our battery. That\u2019s worth a huge amount to a customer, more than we thought. And that\u2019s reflected in the demand we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The benefits of lithium-alternatives \u2014 lack of thermal runaway, longer cycle-life and durability \u2014 are major selling points for these battery makers, even though the companies and batteries themselves are largely unproven. While not demonstrated on a large-scale, EnerVenue\u2019s battery technology has history \u2014 nickel-hydrogen batteries have been used for years in satellite and space applications.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile technically our battery is new, we\u2019re drafting off a 40-year-old technology at 30 years of track record in aerospace applications. Our burden of proof is lower, and we have an enormous amount of test data to back it up,\u201d Heinemann said. \u201cThe discussions we tend to have are more about how quickly we can supply the product.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

EnerVenue nickel-hydrogen battery storage system<\/p><\/div>\n

UEP is in the same situation. While not as widely adopted as lithium, Augustus said UEP\u2019s zinc-alkaline battery is already well understood due to its similarity to consumer alkaline batteries. Because of that familiarity, more large-scale developers are willing to trust the technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot more customer interest than we can fulfill,\u201d she said. \u201cWe use the same raw materials [as consumer alkaline batteries] of zinc and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD). The supply chain already exists and we\u2019re leaning into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Augustus said UEP is slowly scaling-up production, currently operating a 200-MWh factory in Pearl River, New York, even though more developers are signing on for product. In 2022, Pine Gate publicized two memorandums of understanding for non-lithium battery supply \u2014 a 4.5-GWh deal<\/a> with UEP and a 2.4-GWh deal<\/a> with EnerVenue. Leonard said the two partnerships were established early to give the company time to learn about these new technologies and apply them successfully \u2014 and support an increasing domestic manufacturing chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all for storage,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are a lot of exciting technologies that are emerging, and Pine Gate is a developer that’s excited to look into those and see if we can apply them to help evolve the grid. [With UEP and EnerVenue], we also saw the benefit of working with folks that are domestically manufacturing their products or have a path to domestic manufacturing for the American manufacturing supply chain efficiencies that come along with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

EnerVenue nickel-hydrogen battery storage system<\/p><\/div>\n

Project developer Ameresco is also looking into emerging non-lithium manufacturers, publicizing one strategic relationship<\/a> with zinc-bromine flow battery maker Redflow Limited. Ameresco will first incorporate Redflow\u2019s 40-kWh four-battery enclosure on an existing customer site before using more flow batteries in long-duration storage setups. Doran Hole, CFO and EVP at Ameresco, said this type of pilot system is something the developer has been doing for years as it gets more comfortable with newer technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been deploying early-stage clean technologies for 23 years at Ameresco,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce we are satisfied with a technology\u2019s readiness for commercial deployment, we will typically look to pilot the product in a smaller installation prior to moving into large-scale deployment. This is usually well-suited for the vendor, as we\u2019ll look to synchronize the expansion of our deployments with the expansion of manufacturing capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Solar and storage developers are open to exploring all battery options instead of defaulting to tried-and-true lithium, an effort that is a win for supply chains and clean energy deployment overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to have gone through the last decade and COVID and still be standing and getting this attention back from these larger utilities and large integrators,\u201d UEP\u2019s Augustus said. \u201cWe can make something domestically using a largely domestic supply chain that\u2019s nontoxic, low cost. There will be more than one chemistry in the market that takes the space.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although still very much in its infancy, the U.S. utility-scale battery storage market has existed in earnest since 2011 led by one dominant battery chemistry choice: lithium. According to data through 2021 from the U.S. EIA, 97.95% of utility-scale batteries installed in the United States were lithium-based. While there are significant battery projects in the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1401,"featured_media":102034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[796,5119,3004,5117,4386,5120],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nLithium alternatives capture interest of large battery installers amidst supply chain challenges<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Although still very much in its infancy, the U.S. utility-scale battery storage market has existed in earnest since 2011 led by one dominant battery\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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