Powin Energy Corporation, a leading designer and developer of safe and scalable energy storage solutions for utilities, C&I, and EV fast-charging stations, announced today that the University of Washington has ordered its 30 kW/40 kWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The University’s Clean Energy Institute will install the BESS at its new Washington Clean Energy Testbeds facility in Seattle and use it for research, demonstration, grid simulation and educational purposes.
“Powin Energy’s battery energy storage system will be a critical tool for research and innovation at our new Washington Clean Energy Testbeds,” said University of Washington professor of chemical engineering and clean energy Venkat Subramanian. “We look forward to having our students, faculty, and the cleantech community use the Powin BESS to measure the performance of energy devices and algorithms when integrated into real and simulated system environments.”
Subramanian plans to use Powin Energy’s BESS to test the limits of battery management systems (BMS) to determine how important a quality BMS is to the longevity of stationary storage. Powin Energy will participate in this Washington Research Foundation-sponsored research by developing the test protocols under which the battery packs will be used and by sharing access to the resulting data.
“Working with partners like Powin Energy allows the Clean Energy Institute to support the development of next-generation clean energy technology,” added Subramanian.
“We’re excited about this installation at the University of Washington because it will give our technology a more rigorous workout than most real-world installations that don’t approach the far ends of usage parameters,” said Virgil Beaston, CTO of Powin Energy. “Our Battery Pack Operating System (bp-OS) balances batteries for energy storage systems in a completely unique way compared to the battery management software designed for electric vehicles that most other storage companies use. This project has the potential to return some incredibly interesting data that could confirm our own internal testing.”
The Washington Clean Energy Testbeds will open in early 2017 and offer fee-for-use facilities featuring high-tech, high-quality instruments that are normally unavailable to researchers and businesses. These spaces will include workstations, offices, and meeting spaces where university researchers and industry can work and collaborate. An array of instruments, including Powin Energy’s BESS, will help University of Washington researchers and other members of the clean energy community accelerate new, innovative technologies to market.
Powin Energy was recently selected by Southern California Edison to build a 2 MW/8 MWh energy storage system in Irvine, California, that will be operational by the beginning of 2017. Powin Energy’s unique bp-OS – that includes the industry-exclusive Battery Odometer and Warranty Tracker- received patents in both the United States and China earlier this year.
News item from Powin Energy