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CSIRO has a long and proud history in the area of electrochemical energy storage. With 35 years experience in a range of different battery and capacitor chemistries and technologies, we are at the forefront of all aspects of advanced energy storage development. CSIRO has pursued a broad based R&D program on materials for both batteries and supercapacitors, devices thereof, modelling of packs, application and integration. Over the years, CSIRO’s research has created number of commercial opportunities that have led to the licence agreements and the formation of several spin-off companies including:
* Furukawa Battery Company: CSIRO has been working with Furukawa Battery since 2005 on the development and commercialisation of the UltraBattery. Furukawa Battery will manufacture, market and sell the battery in Japan and Thailand
* East Penn Manufacturing: CSIRO’s UltraBattery technology will reach NAFTA markets through US battery manufacturer East Penn Manufacturing Co. Inc. under an exclusive technology transfer agreement with Furukawa Battery
* Cap-XX Pty Ltd: CSIRO supercapacitor technology is being commercialised by the spin-off company Cap-XX Pty Ltd., which develops high power, high energy supercapacitors in thin, flat prismatic packages
* Boulder Ionics: CSIRO’s advanced electrolyte technology has been exclusively licensed to US ionic liquid manufacturer, Boulder Ionics. Boulder Ionics will manufacture, market and sell our ionic liquid technology around the world.
CSIRO’s Advanced Energy Storage Team has two major focus area of research at present. The first area is the development of next generation energy storage technologies which can offer a step change in energy storage capacity. Technologies such as the lithium-sulfur battery and the lithium-air battery technology as well as asymettric supercapacitors are being researched in our laboratories.
The second focus area is in the integration of battery storage for the renewables grid. One strategy to reduce CO2 emissions is the adoption of renewable energy generation using sources such as wind, solar etc. However, though this approach is effective, the variable nature of generation causes significant issues with grid stability. Grid operators, regulators and utilities recognize this to be a major problem and have recommended a storage solution which can stabilise the grid through a combination of energy shifting or direct smoothing. However, no organisation within Australia understands the detailed mechanism by which to integrate energy storage onto the Australian grid. Some overseas studies have highlighted technologies/methods which can be used, however these studies cannot translate to the Australian grid which has unique geographical, environmental and transmission structures compared to the overseas grids in Europe or USA.
This raises a specific question of the how should energy storage be integrated into the grid to account for the unique Australian conditions and to also define the technologies which can be used is a safe and reliable fashion. CSIRO is developing Australian testing protocols for grid storage technologies using actual solar irradiance and wind generation data combined with actual customer usage data and converted to standardised testing profiles. Testing profiles for a range of Storage technology integration scenarios is being developed including standalone systems, grid tied residential and commercial systems, grid load levelling, grid smoothing etc.
CSIRO and the AES Alliance:
CSIRO has a range of energy storage testing capabilities ranging from single battery cells through to 50V/700A pack sizes located in the Clayton Laboratories. Further, we have an extensive range of programmable temperature and humidity control systems as well as extensive laboratories for the deconstruction and fault analysis of failed/used batteries. CSIRO is also in the process of finalising construction of a new facility dedicated to integration of storage technologies for connection to renewable energy sources. The facility aims to :
Identify issues for hybridisation and systems integration.
Determine cost benefit and efficiency analysis of hybrid Power Sources with
multitude of technologies.
Calculate round trip system efficiency analysis with real systems.
Educate the industry in decision making to deploy the right combination of
power generation and energy storage technologies
CSIRO looks forward to working closely with the AES and its members to help the industry develop and deploy energy storage technology into the marketplace to help reduce Australia’s CO2 emissions and increase the penetration of renewable generation.
For further details contact:
Dr Anand Bhatt, Research Scientist and Team Leader
[email protected]
03 9545 8691
Dr Dilip Manuel, Business Development Manager
[email protected]
03 9545 2974
