EnerVenue, US metal-hydrogen battery maker, announced the launch of EnerVenue Energy Storage Vessels (ESVs), its second-generation energy storage product.
It said customers can cycle ESVs up to three times per day without rest, and the batteries have an expected lifetime of 30 years or 30,000 cycles. They deliver 86% capacity beyond 30,000 cycles, it said.
The metal-hydrogen technology differentiates from lithium-ion by offering improved fire safety, it claimed. “ESVs have been tested and demonstrate no thermal runaway or propagation risk, and there is no need for costly, preventative fire suppression systems,” the company said.
According to the company, the batteries are built to thrive, even in extreme temperatures and other environments where grid-scale lithium-ion batteries struggle. The product features flexible charge/discharge rates and can discharge to 100% without suffering damage.
The ESV measures 142mm x 1806mm and features a nominal energy capacity of 1200Wh each. It is designed for stationary energy storage applications. Brad Dore, Senior Director at EnerVenue, said: “EnerVenue storage solutions sit in between the density of flow batteries and lithium-ion. While lithium-ion is 3-4 times denser than EnerVenue, EnerVenue’s batteries do not require HVAC, fire suppression, or DC disconnect switches like grid-scale lithium-ion.”
He said for space-constrained applications, EnerVenue’s fire safety characteristics allow you to build vertically with a racking system or tie to existing building infrastructure (e.g. to a building wall). This ability to stack vessels vertically can result in footprint savings.
Dore said that EnerVenue spun out the Stanford University business accelerator, where researchers had been studying next-generation storage technologies. “The Stanford lab found they could remove the prohibitively expensive materials from NASA’s original nickel-hydrogen batteries and actually improve performance while reducing cost.”
EnerVenue commercialised the technology further with its metal-alloy design, which, it said, gives additional performance gains and cost reductions. The core chemistry is the same as NASA’s proven design, but it has been optimised for today’s terrestrial applications, Dore said.
EnerVenue will begin shipping ESVs to customers in 2023.
The company is already committed to providing 7GWh of ESVs as part of existing agreements with customers. Previously announced deals include Pine Gate Renewables, Sonnell Power Solutions, and Nicon-Industries-affiliated Green Energy Renewable Solutions.
Updated with more technical detail 6.12.22
