The U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) provides funding to support the scaling of fluid batteries while suppliers enter the California market.
Through a funding call Lab Call with a total budget of approximately $16 million, DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) said last week that it will create partnerships between National Labs and industry.
With the goal of encouraging domestic production of the battery technologies they describe as having a 'unique' opportunity to play an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of the grid, industry and traffic, Lab Call is divided into two separate topics for different types of batteries.
Funding will be limited to a maximum of 4 million USD per project. The solid battery project will receive 20% of the cost shared, while the flow battery project will receive 50% of the cost shared, with a focus on large-scale production capabilities.
While solid lithium batteries can be 'a high-density and safe energy solution' that replaces lithium-ion batteries in applications such as electrical traffic, flow-in batteries may be suitable for providing storage to the grid and storage at locations not connected to the grid.
However, EERE's Office of Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Technology (AMMT), which is managing the Lab Call, said that while the technology has potential, commercial production will require precise manufacturing tools and techniques to achieve high-quality, large-scale production.
California market growth for Redflow and ESS Inc
California has become one of the first key states in the United States to adopt extended energy storage technology (LDES), as it did with solar power and lithium-ion batteries.
Several flow battery suppliers have announced their operations over the past few days in the state, with iron flow battery company ESS Inc announcing the small grid project and zinc-bromine flow battery company Redflow becoming eligible for the California incentive program.
Redflow, which is based in Australia and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), has been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for customers who install their systems to be eligible for the Self-Eargeneration Energy Incentive Program (SGIP).
SGIP applies to a wide range of distributed energy sources (DERs) and provides a refund to encourage their use to support the facility's on-site energy needs.
Refunds for power sources behind the clock can be up to $1,000/kWh installed, with higher rates for low-income projects and additives to locally produced equipment. A budget is regulated by the state at regular intervals and incentives are granted until the fund is exhausted at each stage.
Although often considered synonymous with solar power, it also applies to equipment such as heat pumps, wind turbines, waste heat transfer systems, and energy storage equipment.
However, as a source close to Redflow has pointed out, the Australian technology company's battery system is a rare example of participatory energy storage technology that is not based on lithium-ion batteries.
Redflow has entered the U.S. market over the past few years, completing a 2MWh project at a biogas plant in California in 2021 and becoming an approved equipment supplier to Black & Veatch and most recently energy-saving and renewable energy services company Ameresco.
Meanwhile, Oregon-based ESS Inc announced projects for three California wineries a few days ago. The company's Energy Warehouse commercial-scale units will be installed at Roederer Estate, Scharffenberger Cellars and Domaine Anderson in the Mendocino district.
ESS Inc will partner with Coldwell Solar, a commercial and industrial solar project (C&I) development and development company. Coldwell designed a small grid system of combined solar energy storage for these three wineries, which is expected to be operational by the end of the year.
Winemakers located in California are vulnerable to forest fires, which means they are also vulnerable to public power outages for safety (PSPS). PSPS is the process by which California power companies shut down distribution lines that enter areas at risk of wildfires.
The move is aimed at preventing wildfires from getting worse or caused by electrical equipment problems, but leaves a subsequent impact of leaving customers such as wineries and thousands of other Californians without power on the grid for an indefinible time.
“The winery needs an energy storage solution that can withstand natural factors and operate safely in an area at risk of wildfires. With its safety and low carbon footprint, ESS technology is the only option to meet our customers' energy recovery and sustainability needs,” said Sean Hood, CEO of Coldwell Solar.
ESS Inc has slowly started recording revenue in recent years since its public listing, and while the company recorded a major loss in 2022, it now has an annual production capacity of 800MWh of iron storage batteries, hoping to meet the growing demand for LDES technology options.
This article has been revised to reflect that ESS Inc's financial statements so far only cover the end of 2022, not 2023 as stated incorrectly.
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