With the introduction of its third-generation vanadium flow battery, Imergy Power Systems is stirring up excitement within the commercial and industrial energy storage market. The ESP250 is the latest addition to the Imergy product line and features an output power capability of 250 kW and a storage capacity of 1 MWh. It will provide utilities, renewable energy developers, and commercial customers with a low-cost, high-performance energy storage solution for a range of large-scale applications.
The 40-foot ESP250 batteries are designed for both short- and long-term storage, with power output ranging from two to 12 hours of duration. The batteries can be deployed individually or linked together for larger projects. The ESP250 is well-suited for a number of applications including peaker plant replacement, transmission and distribution investment deferral, renewables management, microgrid implementation and back-up power system delivery. Customers can also use the ESP250 for frequency regulation and peak shaving.
The ESP250 technology follows on the heels of the ESP30, which Imergy unveiled last year. By using low-cost electrolytes and recycled vanadium (from mining slag, fly ash and other environmental waste), Imgery has largely succeeded in manufacturing vanadium flow batteries at a fraction of the cost quoted by its competitors, which include Rongke Power, Gildemeister, and Sumitomo. The company has also benefited from licensing electrolyte research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Vanadium flow batteries can be cycled an unlimited number of times and are much cheaper than lithium-ion batteries – the dominant energy storage technology in the marketplace. Flow batteries can also operate under much wider temperature ranges.
Imergy recently announced its involvement in a microgrid project at Las Positas College in Livermore, CA. The microgrid will consist of several ESP30 batteries, a 2.35 megawatt solar array, ice thermal storage, and ten level two electric vehicle charging stations. The project is expected to save the campus $75,000 in annual energy costs.
Worldwide customer delivery of the ESP250 will begin in the second quarter of 2015.
Top image via Imergy.
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