Imergy Power Systems offers its new ESP250 series of vanadium flow batteries. Featuring an output power capability of 250 kilowatts, 1 megawatt of energy storage capacity and a modular design that supports linking of multiple batteries into a single Energy Storage Platform (ESP), the ESP25
0 provides utilities, renewable energy developers and commercial and industrial customers with a low-cost, high-performance energy storage solution for large-scale energy storage applications.
Potential applications for the ESP250 include peaker plant replacement, transmission and distribution investment deferral, renewables management, microgrid implementation or back-up power system delivery. Customers can also use the ESP250 for multiple applications, such as frequency regulation and peak shaving, thereby increasing their return on investment (ROI).
“With the introduction of the ESP250, Imergy has broadened its product portfolio to include a product for every major energy storage market segment and application,” said Bill Watkins, CEO of Imergy Power Systems. “From demand response for individual buildings, to frequency regulation for the grid, Imergy has a product designed to meet the market’s growing demand for low-cost, high performance energy storage.”
The ESP250 series, the latest in a series of storage systems form Imergy, uses secondary sources of vanadium like mining slag, fly ash, and other environmental waste. As a result of this technology and other developments, the ESP250 features a low Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), making it one of the most affordable battery options available for large-scale energy storage applications on the market.
Worldwide revenue from energy storage for the grid and ancillary services is expected to total $68.5 billion from 2014 through 2024, according to a recent report from Navigant Research.
Around the world, utilities are also studying storage as an option to manage peak demand and increase grid resiliency. These same utilities are also focused on storage as a way to manage the impact to the grid presented by the increasing penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and photovoltaic. Utilities now recognize that long-duration energy storage is the key to solving these issues. Imergy’s ESP250 offers a solution which is typically financially and technically impractical for other battery and storage chemistries.
The ESP250 modules measure approximately 12 meters (two 40 foot shipping containers), with available energy ranging from 2 to 12 hours of output duration. ESP250 modules can be linked together to form Energy Storage Platforms capable of delivering megawatts of power and storing megawatt hours of energy. The system provides power security (can operate in full islanded mode) and power quality (with fast response time for seamless power source transitions, load transients, and photovoltaic system firming).
The ESP250 also incorporates fast charge capabilities and state-of-the-art controls and electronics, and can be remotely managed using secure Linux- and Windows-based integrated dispatch optimization software.
The ESP250 operates within a far wider temperature range than lithium ion or other storage solutions and is air-cooled. The storage duration can be extended by increasing electrolyte concentration and volume. Built in a modular fashion from replaceable components, the ESP250 has a lifetime that is effectively unlimited.
Worldwide customer delivery of the ESP250 will begin in the summer of 2015.
Imergy Power specializes in a proprietary, vanadium based flow battery system, the most cost-effective energy storage technology available today. Flow batteries essentially store energy in a liquid electrolyte that circulates between tanks. The simplicity of the design creates a robust and efficient system that can be cycled an unlimited number of times, and charged and discharged completely without impact on its lifespan. Integrated power electronics manage the charging and discharging processes, providing customers with a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) than other types of batteries. The unique architecture allows the system to be scaled up in size by simply increasing the electrolyte volumes. Imergy’s ESP batteries also inherently last longer: while traditionally lithium ion batteries may have to be fully replaced every five to seven years, an ESP system needs only partial component replacements over 20 years or more of service.
