Plug-and-play energy storage system
Developed in partnership with solar and energy storage installers to optimize equipment and streamline cost calculations, SimpliPhi Power has released a complete plug-and-play Energy Storage System (ESS) that easily integrates power storage into new and existing solar installations both on and off grid. SimpliPhi’s fully integrated solution includes the company’s award-winning battery technology combined with a Schneider Electric inverter charge controller and associated power electronics and system management in one elegant box. Pre-programmed software settings and system performance monitoring round out the solution. By eliminating any ventilation or active cooling requirements, SimpliPhi’s new all-in-one ESS can be safely installed both outside and inside.
“Mitigating the impact of power outages, the increase in distributed renewable generation at times of low use, the rising costs of base and peak power and the trend to reduce or eliminate net metering programs is opening up opportunities for solar installers to offer storage as an integral part of their solutions. Many solar installers are not battery experts, yet this expertise is what is required to select equipment to design a system that optimally integrates energy storage. We wanted to offer them an all-in-one-box solution to simplify the prospect of adding storage to meet their customer’s needs,” said SimpliPhi CEO Catherine Von Burg. “Installers collaborated with us on the design of this new product because they were frustrated by the lack of product readiness, adaptability and scalability, as well as the needless complexity offered by other manufacturers with cooling and thermal regulation requirements. We worked together to combine best-in-class technologies into one plug-in box that can scale without the need of ventilation, cooling or the risk of thermal runaway characteristic of other lithium ion storage technologies.”
SimpliPhi assembles all the equipment into the ESS box and ships it out as a plug-and-play solution. The ESS offers three software modalities that meet the requirements of different applications, such as new and retrofit systems, including solutions that utilities can access for asset monitoring and deployment off-site for grid stabilization.
“SimpliPhi’s ESS was developed to help solve many energy storage pain-points that installers have with other storage systems,” said Michelle Klassen, president of LkM Solutions, who has also partnered with SimpliPhi in the development of the product. “This is why the ESS comes pre-integrated to work with microinverter, self-consumption and net-metered systems, for example.”
With the first units headed to Hawaii, a full roll out of the ESS begins in the fall of 2016 for residential and commercial installers.
“Here in Hawaii, we were searching for a storage solution with lower installed costs that was faster and easier to install in more places than what was available to us. For our customers, the ability to install the SimpliPhi ESS outside gives us a major competitive advantage when bidding projects,” said Mike Paul, president of Apex Electric, who also collaborated with SimpliPhi on product development.
Closing $2 million bridge round of financing
SimpliPhi Power announced the closing of a $2 million bridge round of financing in the run up to a Series A. The company’s award-winning battery and recent plug-and-play storage solutions make adding energy storage to solar installations simple and cost-effective, capturing continued interest from the investment community.
Initially financed by friends and family in 2010 to expand into markets beyond the film and entertainment industry, SimpliPhi has since raised over $3.5 million. The company has been operating profitably since 2013, reinvesting its cash from revenue and operations year-over-year to expand manufacturing capacity, R&D and new product development.
The bridge funds allow the well-established company to expand its California-based manufacturing facility, where it produces its lithium ferrous phosphate energy storage and management solutions to serve the residential, commercial, military and entertainment markets, for both on and off grid applications. The new financing also continues the expansion of the company’s robust product line and boosts production of the newly introduced plug-and-play Energy Storage System and high-voltage solutions.
“SimpliPhi Power has always maintained a disciplined, technology-centric approach to developing energy storage and management systems that solve real-world problems. By focusing on non-toxic and highly efficient solutions that seamlessly integrate with and optimize any power generation source, we have been able to manage our capex and cash flow extremely well,” said SimpliPhi CEO Catherine Von Burg. “This new influx of money will amplify our efforts to expand the business, recruit top talent and support ongoing R&D and IP Library development – all helping to better position the company for its Series A round.”
SimpliPhi Power technology utilizes patented, licensed lithium ferrous phosphate cells with state-of-the-art proprietary management boards, circuitry, cell architecture and methods of assembly to create safe, intelligent and energy dense storage and management systems. With mobile, grid-tied and off-grid applications in the field for more than a decade, SimpliPhi batteries feature the highest efficiency rate in the industry (98 percent), 10,000 cycle life and 100 percent depth of discharge. The compact, lightweight form factor does not require ventilation or cooling, is rated for outdoor installation and can operate at a wide temperature range of -4 to 140 degrees F (-20 to 60 C). SimpliPhi solutions integrate with all industry standard inverter charge controllers and come with a standard 10-year warranty, making them an ideal ‘drop-in’ replacement for existing lead acid battery banks and other applications.
Visit SimpliPhi at Solar Power International (Booth #1722 and the Smart Energy Microgrid Pavilion)
News item from SimpliPhi Power