ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS
Energy Storage Systems Using Lithium Ion Batteries and Ultracapacitors
We provide solutions for stationary applications (electrical energy storage). ENERGY WAVE is on the leading edge of technology we custom design each energy storage system to fit the customers power requirements and needs. Each Energy Storage system is built and delivered as a turn key system with an integrated battery management system and all necessary hardware and cabling.
We use the latest Lithium-Ion batteries and Ultracapacitors in our systems which are designed to be operational for many years maintenance free. The Lithium Batteries and Ultracapacitors are both low in weight which is an asset for UPS application because of weight constraints authorized by technical floors. In general our small footprint allows for positioning batteries near to the powered equipment. We design energy storage systems for houses, buildings, and micro to large power stations. Systems can reach several hundred kilowatts, to megawatts in size depending on the application.
LiFePO4 Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries Summary
LiFEP04 Batteries can provide Energy Storage for any type of apllication in almost any type environment. Ultracapacitors and Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) Cells are the next Generation of Energy Storage. Lithoum Iron Phosphate Batteries are one of the leading energy storage solutions today.
Here are some of the advantages of LiFePO4 Batteries:
- Life cycle cost of LiFePO4 cells is a quarter of lead acid batteries.
- LiFePO4 cells will last 13 to 20 years depending on the application and pack design.
- LiFePO4 cells have a cycle life 10 times that of typical deep cycle lead acid batteries.
- They only cost approximately 50% more to purchase upfront, however the saving on life cycle cost is substantial.
- LiFePO4 cells are available in a wide range of sizes to accommodate loads of a few amps to over 1000 amps.
- They can deliver sustained high power without excessive heat generation.
- There are no gases released and LiFePO4 cells are also thermally stable.
- They can be charged repeatedly to full capacity in less than 60 minutes with no loss in performance.
LiFePO4 Batteries vs Lead Acid
Lithium Iron Phosphate cells, or LiFePO4 for short, are beginning to dominate the alternate energy storage sphere amongst the more discerning designers and customers in Europe and some other parts of the world.
Energy Wave provides competitive prices as well as design assistance and technical consultation assistance. The expected life using LiFEP04 Batteries in off grid systems is more than 10 years, and as much as 15 years in grid tied back up installations with occasional cycling. The end of life is defined by the cells containing 80% of their Beginning of Life (BoL) capacity. The capacity deterioration over time is linear (the deterioration does not become substantially more rapid with extended use), and the cells could therefore be used for much longer periods if a lower end of life capacity is acceptable.
The initial higher cost of installing a LiFePO4 system as compared to Lead batteries is dramatically overshadowed by the savings in the total life cycle cost, calculated as a cost per kWh delivered by the battery pack during its lifetime. Even Lead Crystal batteries cannot compete on life cycle cost. The lifetime cost per kWh can be as low as 25% of the cost of typical lead acid deep cycle batteries. The main reason for this is that the cells offer up to 10 times the number of cycles than your average deep cycle lead battery and as much as 5 times that of the more robust single cell types. This is especially apparent in cases of high current discharge and charging scenarios, further contrasted by high ambient temperatures, both of which are not suitable for lead batteries.
Another top benefit to the customer is the far greater efficiency of the LiFePO4 cell, which is typically better than 96%. A typical efficiency for lead batteries is 65%, although empirical data has demonstrated as low as 55% in a house PV system where the Depth of Discharge (DoD) is limited to 20% as a measure to lengthen the life of the lead acid cells. In a grid tied back up scenario this results in significant energy savings when recharging the batteries, and in a Photo Voltaic (PV) installation it enables a reduction of the size of the array by as much as 30% with the same usable energy.
Energy Wave Systems offers a range of 12v Lithium-Ion battery packs to meet most of our customer needs (up to 48V).
Our battery systems offer a high level of safety through the use of Battery Management Systems.
Our LiFeP04 solutions advantageously replace lead batteries, offering more than doubled capacity and half the weight.
Each battery has a 12V nominal voltage and can be assembled in series (4S maximum) and parallel (10P maximum) to reach operating voltages of 12V, 24V, 36V or 48V.. For applications requiring higher voltage or energy, see PowerModule advanced systems.
LiFeP04 batteries are enclosed in a sealed ABS case, resistant to moisture and dust.
LifeP04 batteries are lightweight, reliable and environmentally friendly solutions for multiple usages. These batteries can take place for direct Lead-Acid batteries replacement.
Even if battery charge can be performed by most Lead-acid chargers, we advise to use a dedicated Lithium-ion charger.
- 12V battery pack – Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4)
- Serial assembly can range from 12V to 48V (4S max recommended)
- Parallel assembly up to 10P (10 PowerBrick+ in parallel)
- Minimum 3000 cycles at 80% DOD
- Built-in BMS (Temperature, current, voltage, SOC)
- Compatible with most Lead-Acid chargers
- Robust design in an isolated and waterproof case (IP56)
- Operating temperature in charge : 0°C à +45°C at @60±25% relative humidity
- Operating temperature in discharge: -20°C à +60°C at @60±25% relative humidity
- Sealed case (IP56 protection)
- 100% maintenance free
- RoHS et UN38.3 certification
The advantages of LiFePO4 cells over lead cells in summary is provided in the table below, and further questions are welcomed.
| Comparison Aspect | Lead Acid | LiFePO4 |
| Cycle Life (50% DoD with 80% remaining capacity, 30 deg C ambient temperature) | 500 to 1300 cycles depending on manufacturer and model | Up to 5000 cycles |
| Calendar Life | Average (poor in high temperature or partial/full discharge condition or infrequent cycling) | Excellent – no sulphation, partial charge storage is no problem, regular cycling is not required, heat tolerant |
| Charge – discharge efficiency | 60-70% typical depending on current. Typically rated capacity is based on 10 hour discharge (C10) | 96%, consistent throughout current range. Rated capacity is based on 20 minute discharge (3C), a one hour or longer discharge will actually give 10% more than the rated capacity. |
| Temperature resilience | Poor – temperatures above 25 deg C significantly reduce the calendar life | Excellent – ambient temperatures up to 45 deg C will not affect the life of the cell at all. |
| Up Front Cost | Cheaper | 20 to 50% more expensive up front than Lead Acid depending on what lead acid cells are used for comparison |
| Life Cycle Cost per kWh | R2.50 to R6 depending on battery type and model | R1,50 (approx.) |
| Quick Charge Time | Typically should not be done in less than 5 hours | 1 hour standard, 30 min quick |
| Discharge Current | Higher discharge than C10 (10 hours), or 0.1xC rating causes substantial loss in efficiency and affects life | C1 (one hour discharge) is standard, higher currents are also acceptable up to 3C (3 x Ah rating) continuous with negligible loss in efficiency and cell life |
| Gravimetric Energy Density | Poor | Weigh 3 to 4 times less – reduced transport costs and installation effort.
Volumetric density more than 2 times higher – less than half the space required |
| Pack Capacity | Loss of 30% in heat (70% pack efficiency) means pack must be larger to meet a specific output objective
Max practical DoD is 50%, which requires a larger pack to stay above this DoD to prevent rapid life deterioration |
Pack can be sized to 60% of the “rated” capacity of a lead acid pack because of 96% efficiency and ability to discharge on regular occasion to 80% DoD with much lower effect on life reduction |
| Charging Energy Source Size | The charging energy source must provide an additional 30 to 40% energy to overcome the inefficiency of the pack at substantial cost | Only about 4% of the energy is lost to heat – big savings in charging energy and capital on PV installations etc |
When sizing a LiFePO4 pack, the rating of the cells cannot be compared to a typical lead acid rating without making some adjustments. Owing to the much higher efficiency and the ability to discharge more deeply without rapid capacity deterioration means that a LiFePO4 can be sized to about 65% of the lead acid rating if the same DoD is desired. This factor originates simply from the fact that only 65% of the rated energy is available from a lead acid battery in most backup applications, whilst 100% of the rated energy is available from LiFePO4 cells (LiFePO4 cells can deliver more than the rated capacity for moderate current applications hence the use of 100% instead of the 96% efficiency mentioned earlier). Because it is practical to use a lower DoD in LiFePO4 cells and still achieve an excellent cycle life the designer can reduce the LiFePO4 pack size even further and still provide superior performance over a lead battery pack. A typical scenario could be 50% DoD for a lead acid pack compared to 70% DoD for a LiFePO4 pack. This ultimately makes the LiFEPO4 pack energy capacity rating 46% of the lead acid rating. It is a rule of thumb to work on 50%.
LiFePO4 cells maintain their rated nominal voltage for about 95% of the discharge, whilst a lead cell voltage drops continually. When working out the Wh of a lead 12V battery one must use about 11V for the average voltage (1,8V per cell). The nominal voltage for LiFePO4 is 3.2V.
An example comparing a 200Ah LiFePO4 pack to a 520Ah lead pack is included in the below table. The theoretical energy capacity for the lead battery is reduced to 65% of the rated capacity in line 8. In line 9 the capacities are adjusted to the typical DoD expected in the design. For this scenario the LiFePO4 pack rating is 45% (just less than half) of the lead battery rating. The LiFePO4 pack costs 65% more than the Lead battery, however as shown in line 15, after taking into account the cycle life and the kWh produced in the lifetime of the packs it is clear that LiFePO4 costs only 30% of the Lead batteries used in this example.
Table: Comparison Example of Lead Battery vs. LiFePO4
| Line | Lead | LiFePO4 | ||
| 1 | 4 | No. of Typical Solar Deep Cycle Batteries | 8 | LiFePO4 cells |
| 2 | 260 | Ah each | 200 | Ah each |
| 3 | 12 | V per battery (6 cells) | 3.2 | V nom per cell during discharge |
| 4 | 520 | Ah total (two strings in parallel, two per string) | 200 | Ah total (one string of eight cells) |
| 5 | 22 | V nom during discharge total | 25.6 | V nom during discharge total (3.2VX8) |
| 6 | 11440 | kWh rated (520AhX22V) | ||
| 7 | 65% | efficiency of lead acid battery | ||
| 8 | 7436 | Wh available for 100% DOD (11440kWhX65%) | 5120 | Wh available and rated for 100%DOD (200AhX3.2V) |
| 9 | 3718 | Wh available for 50% DOD | 4096 | Wh available for 80% DOD |
| 10 | 45% | Percent of LiFePO4 pack rated capacity to equivalent Lead Acid with optimal CAPEX DoD (50% vs 80% DoD) | ||
| 11 | R 16 000 | Pack Cost | R 26 400 | Pack Cost including delivery |
| 12 | 1.65 | ratio for upfront cost | ||
| 13 | 500 | cycle life (50% DoD) | 2500 | cycle life (80% DoD) |
| 14 | 1859 | Kwh in lifetime | 10240 | Kwh in lifetime |
| 15 | R 8.61 | cost per kWh | R 2.58 | cost per kWh |
| 16 | 30% | Percent cost per kWh | ||
Our LiFePO4 cells can be provided in various sizes. The 200Ah cell is the most popular. They can be connected in parallel strings to suit the ampere hour requirements and in parallel to suit the voltage of the system. The LiFePO4 pack must be connected to a Battery Management System (BMS) that is able to monitor the voltage of each cell and prevent any cell from exceeding the upper and lower limits. The BMS must also balance the cells to ensure that the pack can perform at its best. LiFePO4 cells do not naturally balance themselves. We also supply the BMS configured for each application and will also supply plug and play battery packs with the BMS pre-connected if requested.
ULTRACAPACITORS: ENABLING ENERGY’S FUTURE
A rapidly emerging and increasingly applied technology, ultracapacitors are capable of storing and discharging energy very quickly and effectively. Due to their many benefits, ultracapacitors are currently being utilized in thousands of different applications, and considered in an equally diverse range of future applications. Ultracapacitors complement a primary energy source which cannot repeatedly provide quick bursts of power, such as an internal combustion engine, fuel cell or battery. The future horizon looks brilliant for ultracapacitors, which already rank as a powerful alternative energy resource.
Brief:
- Our super capacitor modules provide energy storage and power delivery in a compact cost-effective modules.
- The modules can charge-discharge fastly, all of these products will perform reliably for more than
- 1,000,000 times discharge-recharge cycles,
- The modules can be series connected up to higher voltage or parallel connected for larger energy
- requirements. The easy to connect, standard module allows system designers to focus upon use
- of the power and energy rather than how to assemble cells.
- Green Tech also provides cost-effective full solutions for solar power photovoltaic conversion,
- Energy storage,elevator and transportation energy recovery,telecommunications engine start,
- Wind turbine pitch control, UPS systems, mini-grid system etc.
Applications:
- Engine start: Telecommunications equipment,Tank,Truck,Car cold start;
- Energy recovery: Electric train, Hybrid Bus, Elevator
- Back up power: Construction equipment, UPS, Heavy duty transportation, Cranes, Mining equipment, Electronic bicycle
- Solar Powered LED street lights.
- Wind turbine pitch control,
- Portable Solar Burst Storage Power
- Electric bicycl
- Electric Vehicles
- Boats
- Aircraft
- Trains
- Ships
- Micro-grid.
Contact us to discuss your project.
