Eos Energy Storage has announced plans to demonstrate residential and commercial battery systems at the University of California San Diego, with the support of a $2 million award from the California Energy Commission. Eos is partnering with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to package, distribute and support mass market products utilizing the company’s Znyth battery technology.
Eos manufactures grid-scale battery solutions designed to support four-hour locational capacity with industry-leading levelized cost of energy. The company’s core product, the Aurora 1000│4000, is a 1MW|4MWh DC battery system which is now being sold at a volume price of $160 per usable kWh while supporting more than 5,000 full depth of discharge cycles or approximately 15 years of continuous operation. Utilities and developers are using the Aurora solution for peak shaving, frequency response, and renewable integration.
“The Aurora product was developed with the goal of offering a cost-effective alternative to gas peaking plants and copper wire,” says Philippe Bouchard, Eos’s Vice President of Business Development. “Eos’s technology is pushing an economic tipping point where behind-the-meter storage can be used to optimize end-user and utility value thus creating a sustainable, self-standing business case that does not depend on subsidies or incentive programs.”
As part of California’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC), California Energy Commission funding takes the Eos battery one step further: as a plug-and-play product for homes and offices.
“We are delighted to have the CEC’s support as we work with global integrators to productize our game-changing Znyth technology for behind-the-meter applications,” says Eos CEO Michael Oster. “Our strategy is to partner with value-added integrators and OEMs who have the packaging, distribution, and after-market support capabilities required to make a mass market product successful. By leveraging this infrastructure, we can reach global customers with a reliable and well-supported product.”
Several residential and commercial battery systems will be installed and tested at UC San Diego, which hosts one of the world’s largest microgrids with state-of-the-art monitoring and controls. Eos, the university, and its partners will integrate battery systems with solar photovoltaics to perform application specific performance characterization—including load following, demand management, back-up power, as well as solar PV balancing and time-shifting. Intelligent software will be used to manage and aggregate these distributed energy storage systems to create a virtual power plant capable of participating in wholesale energy markets and reducing system, as opposed to customer, demand.
“The development of advanced energy storage is a key element to enabling increased levels of renewable generation in California,” said Bill Torre, program director of Energy Storage Research at UC San Diego’s Center for Energy Research. “With our unique energy storage research and testing capability, UC San Diego will help energy storage companies, such as Eos, move quickly to successful commercial market production. We look forward to working with Eos on this exciting project.”
Partner branded products are expected to hit the market in 2017 and will drive continued penetration of Eos’s batteries. The company has already sold its full production capacity for 2016, is working with developers to deliver 52MWhs of energy services awarded through PG&E’s recent energy storage solicitation, and is supplying numerous other commercial projects in the US and internationally.
