Energy storage technology must be economically, socially, and environmentally responsible to maximise battery energy storage system returns. Advanced Battery Concepts of Michigan, US, claims its advanced bipolar battery technology achieves that. Ed Shaffer, founder & CEO, talks to BEST magazine about costs and margins on ABC’s battery energy storage system (BESS) products.
BEST: A number of markets have been highlighted for BESSs, arbitrage, balancing, capacity, and frequency response. Which of those would be suitable for lead-acid batteries to operate in?
Shaffer: At a high level, any energy storage system can be optimised for any application regardless of chemistry. The question is “At what price” and then the more difficult question is “And how much do I make”. In general, our approach is to offer the lowest price to power providers to help maximise their return. Our first project is for a wind farm that has high clipping losses.
With the new Inflation Reduction Act, we have 40% lower installation costs than foreign LIB batteries and a total 35% NPV cost over 25-year projects. That means that ABC’s EverGreenSeal technology and our Box-BE energy storage products offer ESS customers much higher margins for all applications.
When did the light bulb go on in your head to concentrate on BESS applications for the bipolar battery?
During Covid, we had the chance to innovate in both the technical and commercial space. The “work from home” experience really stressed the importance of constant reliable energy, which led to our home emergency energy storage product (HEES) in 2021. From there we kept going, aligning technology innovation with commercial requirements for large-scale energy storage. The result was our EverGreenSeal technology.
What does the Box-Be offer that is special or even unique for BESSs; would you include environmental impact, resource availability and recycling in your considerations?
Yes. Box-Be offers three advantages over today’s ESS products, specifically lithium-based solutions.
First, it is economically beneficial to developers. Based on real-world pricing we offer developers a 25-35% NPV saving over the life of the project. And with the limited supply of lithium and increasing demand from EV batteries, our economic advantage will only grow.
Second, it is simply safer. The use of aqueous electrolytes ensures that thermal run-away cannot result in auto-ignition.
And third, it is environmentally beneficial. Our ability to recover, disassemble and recycle all components with a low-energy, environmentally benign process makes our approach much more sustainable and eco-friendly than other ESS chemistries.
Is the control BMS system based on single batteries or strings?
We control at the string level.
If strings, how confident are you that the ABC bipolar battery can meet the consistency requirements?
Fairly confident, but our BMS is designed to monitor voltage and impedance and adjust recharge to keep the strings balanced.
How big can you go with this technology?
That’s the best part – as big as you would like. Two things – first, there is ample lead available from both secondary and primary sources to ensure hundreds of GWhs of ESS deployment per year.
Second, Box-Be systems, like others, can be connected to go from kWh to GWh solutions. And we have a third-generation technology for >GWh energy storage, which results in significant cost reductions.
The economics look favourable according to your data. This is based on discharging to 58% and voltage-limited recharging to maximise the life and round-trip efficiency. Are you worried about partial-state-of-charge effects including stratification?
No. First, we start with extremely low stratification at the end of formation. We are seeing a 2-3 mV one-sigma standard deviation across our 250 mm plates.
Second, we operate the batteries in pancake orientation to avoid gravitational effects. And third, we control the recharging to cycle it from 100% down to 42% so that we never really get stuck in a long-term PSoC state.
Are there operational issues with dry-out/gas evolution/recombination?
Our recombination efficiency is very high which helps reduce the dry-out. Like all AGM battery manufacturers, we pay close attention to the charging voltage to avoid dry-out as our life limiter.
One big advantage of your Box-Be compared to, say, lithium is the low upfront capital cost. This makes it appealing to underdeveloped economies. Is this market on your radar?
Not yet, but it will be. Today we are focused on getting Box-Be units out in the US market, but we are looking for partners to take it to other regions, especially underdeveloped economies.
Do you see the economic advantages as paving the way for a faster route to global net-zero CO2 emissions?
Absolutely. The only way to ensure a zero-carbon electric grid is energy storage. But to achieve this, energy storage needs to be responsible – economically, socially, and environmentally – and that’s exactly what our Box-Be solution does.
Tell us about your pricing model.
Of course, I have to add “it depends” as every project is different. For example, we adjust the maintenance schedule depending on how the system is actually used versus projected use. But for our base case (4h discharge 360 days a year) the 25-year Box-BE system costs would be $300/kWh installation + $12/kWh-PA * 25 years maintenance = $600/kWh or $0.067/kWh-cycle. Today’s lead batteries do not achieve this cost/performance level.
ABC claims its GreenSeal technology gives off fewer carbon emissions than other energy storage products and is based on the lead ecosystem. The company’s EverGreenSeal technology is made to be disassembled and recycled back into life with the bulk of its own material composition.
