us

Preliminary assessment of a fault that caused Vistra’s flagship 300MW/1.2GWh energy storage system (ESS) to overheat and go offline has begun in the US state of California.

Phase I of the Texas, US, firm’s Moss Landing Energy Storage facility was forced out of service following an “overheating incident” that affected a number of battery modules around 8pm on 4 September.

The system is made up of more than 4,500 stacked battery racks or cabinets, each containing 22 individual battery modules manufactured by LG Energy Solutions.

Vistra said that it was taking a conservative approach and keeping the entire facility offline as it investigates the root cause of the incident in partnership with its engineering contractor Fluence, and battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution. 

California news outlet Kion 5/46 quoted North County Fire District fire chief Joel Mendoza as saying the battery racks had been "scorched" and wires "melted."

He was reported as saying: "We didn’t see any fire when we came in. What we saw was a lot of smoke. The battery modules are actually encased in plastic. So in the event of overheating, you’re gonna see a lot of smoke."

Safety systems detected the faulty modules were operating at a temperature above operational standards and triggered sprinkler systems targeted at the affected modules. 

The operational status of the assets of Phase II (100MW), which is located in a separate stand-alone building, remains operational. Phase II was completed last month and brought the facility's total capacity to 400MW/1.6GWh— the largest of its kind in the world.

Battery fire investigation

Teams from Vistra, LG Energy Solution, Fluence, and other external experts are in the early stages of the investigation into the root cause of the issue.

The teams expect that it will take “some time” to fully assess the extent of the damage before developing a plan to safely repair and return the battery system to operation. 

The North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County is assisting with the investigation.

A statement by Vistra on 5 September read: “The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility experienced an overheating issue with a limited number of battery modules in its Phase I 300-megawatt/1200-megawatt hour system. 

“There are multiple layers of safety integrated into the battery facility and the risk mitigation and safety systems worked as designed, detecting these modules were operating at a temperature above operational standards and triggering targeted sprinkler systems aimed at the affected modules. 

“As a result, the overheating was controlled and contained without the need for outside assistance. However, consistent with Vistra’s incident response planning and out of an abundance of caution, the Moss Landing team did ask the local fire department, North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County, to respond to the site. 

“Importantly, there were no injuries to the facilities’ workers as a result of the incident and the situation is contained to the facility with no harm to the community.”

Vistra is uncertain on the timing of the return of the facility, pending an investigation and any needed repairs. 

The company will update the status of Phase I Moss Landing as it learns more. 

LC Chem battery woes

It has been an interesting year for LG Energy Solutions, the subsidiary of the Korean battery giant LG Chem.

Earlier this month, a billion dollar recall of GM’s electric vehicles was made after a torn anode tab and a folded separator were found on cells. LG packs the cells into the modules, then into a battery pack battery at LG Energy Solution Michigan facility in Holland, Michigan, US.

In August, LG Energy Solution extended its scheme to replace lithium-ion batteries used in its home energy storage systems (ESS) to include all geographical markets.

ESSs manufactured between April 2017 and September 2018 are being recalled due to overheating concerns.

Battery maker Sunlight will invest an additional €50 million ($59 million) into its US and European plants to increase lead-acid and lithium-ion battery manufacturing.

The Greek firm will invest €30 million ($35.5 million) to increase production of motive power lead-acid flooded products at its plant in Xanthi, northeastern Greece, from 4GWh to 5.3GWh up to Q3 next year.

This investment will include the expansion of existing infrastructure with automated, state-of-the-art machinery in the battery plant. 

The remaining €20 million ($24 million) is being invested to expand its lithium-ion battery assembly plants in Verona, Italy, and North Carolina, US.

Those plants will install three automated assembly lines for lithium modules and complete lithium battery systems, as well as one assembly line for prototyping and R&D purposes.

This investment is part of the company’s goal to offer integrated lithium products for off-road mobility, industrial use, and energy storage applications. 

Production is anticipated to begin by Q3 next year and deliver 1.7GWh of manufacturing capacity a year, while additional space reserved with the potential to increase capacity up to 4GWh.

This latest investment brings Sunlight’s total committed CAPEX spend for 2021-2023 to €180 million ($213 million), with €150million ($170 million) committed to the expansion of lithium production. 

Sunlight’s CEO Lampros Bisalas said: "The investment is already under implementation, and we’re excited for the new, state-of-the art machinery to be installed and further expand our capabilities.

“We’re keen to meet both current and future demands in the off-road mobility and RES energy storage, by scaling up capacity and rendering our Xanthi industrial park a true gigafactory.”

Battery Resourcers is set to build two facilities in the US to accelerate the growth of its lithium-ion battery recycling and manufacturing business model.

The new facilities in Massachusetts and Michigan mark a step in Battery Resourcers’ scaling up pilot operations before continued commercial expansion in North America and Europe.

A facility in Westborough, Massachusetts, will process black mass to cathode precursor material and purify the recovered graphite to a level higher than 99.9%. 

The company’s battery material research and development team will be relocated to Westborough to integrate laboratory development and increase manufacturing scaling efforts. 

The Novi, Michigan, facility will support the company’s goal of developing and commercialising battery materials, including the sintering and finishing of nickel manganese cobalt cathode. 

The Novi site also contains a state-of-the-art materials analytical laboratory, as well as laboratory-scale battery production and test capabilities, to evaluate the performance of its battery materials.  

The new pilot plants are in addition to Battery Resourcers’ operation in Worcester, Massachusetts.

As part of the expansion, the operation center in Worcester will be converted into a mechanical shredding operation, including disassembly, discharge and shredding operation for cells, modules and complete battery packs. 

A cohort of US battery companies will collaborate with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and The University of Toledo (UToledo) to improve lead-battery cycling efficiency. 

The new two-year research collaboration is focused on improving the performance of advanced lead batteries, which includes work to identify methods to extend their cycle life. 

The project will explore lignosulfonates use on a lead battery’s negative plates to maintain the optimum flow of energy from the battery. 

The research team will conduct an atomic level examination of organic materials (known as expanders) to extend the life of lead batteries by improving their cycling efficiency.

The project will be led by Argonne’s Material Science Division in collaboration with Dr. Cora Lind-Kovacs, professor in the UToledo Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. 

Joining Argonne and UToledo are: Crown Battery; Clarios; EnerSys; East Penn Manufacturing; and Ecobat. 

The aim is to develop longer life batteries to assist the US’ transition to an electric and decarbonised future as part of president Joe Biden’s February Executive Order for the US to assert global leadership with home-grown technology. 

Lind-Kovacs said: “We are excited to collaborate with Argonne National Laboratory and the American Battery Research Group to investigate the atomic level mechanism of how expander molecules interact with the different lead species present in batteries.

“This is a great opportunity to use our expertise in materials chemistry at UToledo to work closely with several companies to help address a relevant industrial problem.” 

This cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) marks the second major collaborative research project between the lead battery industry and Argonne. 

The first research program, identified several critical battery additives for intensive research, including the lignosulfonates under investigation here. 

Two lead battery organisations have prepared a joint roadmap that identifies 13 key areas for the advancement of the next generation lead batteries.

Trade association Battery Council International (BCI) and research organisation Consortium for Battery Innovation’s (CBI) report positions lead batteries at the heart of the US’ decarbonisation goals.

The ‘Lead Battery Grand Challenge’ roadmap was authored in response to the calls from the US Department of Energy (DOE) for greater levels of advanced energy storage, including batteries.

The roadmap highlights the opportunities for the US lead battery industry, in particular how to secure future opportunities for research and funding as well as targets for increasing the performance of lead batteries. Read the full report here 

Those targets include: increasing cycle life by 1,000 (at 80% and 100% depth of discharge), round trip efficiency (82% to 88%), acquisition costs (from $135/kWh to $35) and operating costs ($0.09/kWh/cycle down to $0.025).

The industry’s goal is to innovate and improve lead battery performance for key markets, such as residential and commercial demand reduction and load response for solar generation.

Lead battery energy storage solutions have intrinsic safety measures, are highly sustainable, manufactured domestically and meet the technoeconomic needs of the US utility sector for decarbonisation and distribution of the US grid. 

Roger Miksad, executive vice president of BCI, said: “This roadmap identifies key research areas which offer opportunities for the next generation of advanced lead batteries to deliver significant performance gains and to play an even greater role in the diverse energy mix that will power the nation’s grid. 

“It’s a call to arms for lead battery manufacturers, DOE, and the national laboratories to partner on collaborative research that takes science from the laboratory to the marketplace.”

Dr. Matt Raiford, senior technical manager, CBI, an author of the roadmap said: “DOE’s renewed focus on energy storage R&D represents a unique opportunity for demonstrable gains in the U.S. battery industry. 

“A high-performing and sustainable energy storage solution is key, and this is possible through a collaboration between the US lead battery industry and the scientific excellence of the DOE.” 

The roadmap’s thirteen research work areas identified to aid DOE in meeting the challenge include: 

1. Lead industry support 
2. Lead Battery Science Research Program 
3. Additive modelling 
4. Bipolar innovation 
5. Manufacturing 
6. Technoeconomic analysis 
7. Pilot manufacturing 
8. Supply Chain issues 
9. Logistics 
10. Balance of plant optimisation 
11. Energy storage system demonstration 
12. Operational Issues 
13. Recycling 

Energy grand challenge

The report follows the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issue of its Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) program last December to accelerate the development, commercialisation, and use of next-generation energy storage technologies in the US.

Last September, BCI lobbied the U.S. DOE to recognise the benefits of lead batteries and invest in the technology to the same degree it does lithium-ion.

BCI sent comments reiterating that lead-based batteries could meet the three objectives of its ESGC roadmap: innovate here; make here; and deploy everywhere.

In February, president Biden issued an executive order to ensure resilient and diverse supply chains that put the spotlight on the need for the US to assert global leadership with home-grown technology to assist in the transition to an electric and low carbon future. 

The ESGC roadmap includes the goal of developing and domestically manufacturing energy storage technologies that can meet all US market demands by 2030.

Its six use cases identify energy storage applications, benefits, and functional requirements for 2030 and beyond.

The ESGC has identified cost and performance targets, which include:

• $0.05/kWh levelised cost of storage for long-duration stationary applications, a 90% reduction from 2020 baseline costs by 2030. Achieving this levelised cost target would facilitate commercial viability for storage across a wide range of uses including: meeting load during periods of peak demand, grid preparation for fast charging of electric vehicles and applications to ensure reliability of critical services.
• Other emerging applications for stationary storage include serving remote communities, increasing facility flexibility, increasing the resilience of interdependent networks, and facilitating the transformation of the power system.
• $80/kWh manufactured cost for a battery pack by 2030 for a 300-mile range electric vehicle, a 44% reduction from the current cost of $143 per rated kWh. Achieving this cost target would lead to cost competitive electric vehicles and could benefit the production, performance, and safety of batteries for stationary applications. 

You can read the full ESGC report here

The U.S. lead battery industry has an annual economic impact of $26.3 billion across 38 states.

Lead batteries provide 60% of the global rechargeable energy storage market, and have significant potential for even better performance to serve increasingly demanding requirements for vehicle electrification and the integration of renewable power to the electric grid.