ZBB Energy Corporation today announced the introduction of the Agile Hybrid Series, the first energy storage system optimized specifically for high performance, safety, longevity and ability to deliver both power and energy for all available behind-the-meter applications in commercial, industrial, multi-tenant and resort buildings. Such buildings may have 10 or more different applications for energy storage, ranging from very short UPS type applications lasting seconds or minutes, to “rate or demand shift” type applications lasting several hours and backup applications for longer term outages.
Recommended: 10,000 Farad Graphene Supercapacitor
To perform all of these applications requires a storage system with versatility. The frequency at which the battery is discharged can range from numerous short cycles per day for applications such as frequency regulation or renewables firming, to a single extended cycle during the day as required for “smart export” or “peak shaving”. Some storage technologies are good at short discharge, high frequency cycling and some are good at deep discharge, long duration cycling. There is no battery technology that is inherently optimized for performance, longevity and safety across all potential applications. The Agile Hybrid solution is simple, economical and safe and designed with the versatility required by commercial and industrial (C&I) building owners.
Related: Universal Signal Isolators for DC High-Voltage Monitoring
“ZBB begins the design of nearly all our energy storage systems for the C&I market with the Agile Flow battery because it is ideally suited to applications that require discharge times greater than 2 hours. These applications form the backbone of most C&I opportunities where high financial return is possible, taking large amounts of energy from distributed generation or from the grid and moving it within the building from one time period to another, or delivering out to the grid when the utility needs it,” said Brad Hansen, President and COO of ZBB Energy.
The Agile Flow Battery is designed for, and is inherently best for longer discharge, high-energy applications, and ZBB then integrates complementary storage technology best suited for the balance of the applications, such as super-capacitors, flywheels or aqueous storage. Lithium ion battery storage is most frequently selected, as it is a good technology for renewable firming and other shorter discharge, high power applications.
Opinion: Applying National Elelctric Code Class 2 Power for Remote DAS and Small Cells
“For the Agile Hybrid Li-ion, we work with the best lithium ion products for C&I applications, meaning those that are safe and have the right thermal and lifetime performance characteristics for a high reliability, high quality system,” said Hansen. “We have the advantage of being able to pick and choose only the best of many available lithium ion battery alternatives. It is well known that some are better than others in protecting against thermal runaway and accelerated capacity erosion. By integrating the right lithium ion battery into the Agile Hybrid Li-ion, the lifetime and overall performance of the lithium ion battery is far greater than it would be if utilized on its own, running outside of its optimum operating window. With an Agile Hybrid Li-ion we deliver the most cost effective power and energy storage system for every possible C&I building application,” concluded Mr. Hansen.
The challenge of concurrently performing multiple applications in the same C&I building energy management system is significant because each application has unique requirements and economic drivers, and can be either scheduled or intermittent. In the 20 year life of storage equipment, C&I building owners will experience a number of utility tariffs, reliability and security changes that may, on a moment’s notice, render the storage equipment less economical and even obsolete. ZBB’s proprietary “Auto-Sync” DC-Bus technology is foundational to the design of a simple, highly productive energy management system for any C&I opportunity, regardless of application or energy storage technology.
Coupling this Auto-Sync technology with the Agile Hybrid provides the C&I building owner with the peace of mind that no matter what energy system changes occur, the ZBB Agile Hybrid Series can be re-optimized to maximize its cost effectiveness. ZBB is the first to hybridize large-scale hybrid energy storage systems for the C&I market, with multiple storage technologies working in harmony to accomplish different applications. The “Auto-Sync” DC-Bus enables any system in any building to be quickly optimized or expanded with additional distributed generation and/or new applications. Initial shipments of the Agile Hybrid Li-ion are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this calendar year.
source: http://www.powerpulse.net/story.php?storyID=32188
Comments are closed.
