Six major lithium-ion brands are to be tested against lead-acid battery technology in an Australian based energy storage trial.
IT Power (ITP) will carry out the trial examine whether lithium-ion batteries could enhance electricity grids and increase the use of renewable energy.
The Canberra-based trial will be supported by $450,000 of Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding.
ITP will analyse the performance of lithium-ion battery brands, comparing them to existing and advanced lead-acid battery technologies to determine how they could operate in large and small electricity grids.
Australia aims to use renewable energy for smoothing its on-grid and off-grid energy supply. said ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht.
Mr Frischknecht said testing would give them an idea of how to adopt lithium-ion in to storage that can compete with lead-acid batteries on cost and reliability.
ITP is building a test facility at the Canberra Institute of Technology to put each battery through repeated charge and discharge cycles simulating real-world applications and Australian environmental conditions.
The findings will be shared across the energy industry with investors, power companies and researchers in line with ARENA’s commitment to knowledge sharing.
The trial will proceed for three years and is scheduled for completion in June 2018.
