Gridtential Energy, Inc., a provider of low-cost, high-performance energy storage technology, has been selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) as one of a handful of companies to pursue validation analysis at Sandia’s Energy Storage Analysis Laboratory. The grant is designed to further the DOE’s strategic mission in the area of grid storage and coincides with Gridtential’s completion of 140 alpha units based on its Silicon Joule technology.
Recent independent tests have confirmed that Gridtential’s silicon-based approach to advance traditional lead acid significantly improves performance, while utilizing 40 percent less lead. The results point to Gridtential as a solution for solar’s urgent need for two to four hour grid storage applications. At Sandia, the test plan is designed to address two use case scenarios:
- Peak Shaving cycling. In compliance with Sandia’s standard test protocols, Gridtential’s batteries will run through a standard peak shaving application. Gridtential expects each to reach nearly 100 percent SOC after each charge cycle and 80 to 100 percent depth of discharge.
- Partial State of Charge (PSoC) cycling. To gain a view of Gridtential’s long-term performance in a PSoC environment, Sandia will charge the battery to 100 percent SOC and then begin cycling it at a medium rate which is designed to bring sulfation issues to light very quickly.
Gridtential Energy has also been funded in part by an award from the California Energy Commission’s Energy Innovations Small Grant Program. The company has developed and tested internal prototypes of an advanced battery design that has 75 percent lower LCOE of traditional lead acid, 2x cycle life improvement at 80 percent depth of discharge and 2x greater available energy at same weight as current products. The seed funding will be used to develop full-scale demonstration units for field tests within the next year.
“Via our battery manufacturing partners, we have access to hundreds of operating ‘gigafactories’ that can bring our Silicon Joule™ technology to market without retooling or massive investment,” said Christiaan Beekhuis, president and CEO of Gridtential Energy.
