ZBB Energy Announces Agile Hybrid Series Energy Storage for Commercial and Industrial Building Market - Seite 2

While many companies claim to have "behind the meter" storage products, the reality is that no single battery covers the breadth of applications. Every energy storage technology has a "sweet spot" for safety, performance and operational economics. The Agile Flow Battery is designed for, and is inherently best for longer discharge, high-energy applications, and ZBB then integrates complementary storage technology best suited for the balance of the applications, such as super-capacitors, flywheels or aqueous storage. Lithium ion battery storage is most frequently selected, as it is a good technology for renewable firming and other shorter discharge, high power applications. ZBB made news in January by announcing that it would ship and commission the first large commercial hybrid storage system consisting of flow batteries and a Li ion module to a multi-tenant residential building in Hawaii. The system, configured with (2) ZBB's EnerStore V3.3 flow batteries and Li ion has since been successfully commissioned and signed-off by the customer, providing validation of ZBB's system design and control capability.

"For the Agile Hybrid Li-ion, we work with the best lithium ion products for C&I applications, meaning those that are safe and have the right thermal and lifetime performance characteristics for a high reliability, high quality system," said Hansen. "We have the advantage of being able to pick and choose only the best of many available lithium ion battery alternatives. It is well known that some are better than others in protecting against thermal runaway and accelerated capacity erosion. By integrating the right lithium ion battery into the Agile Hybrid Li-ion, the lifetime and overall performance of the lithium ion battery is far greater than it would be if utilized on its own, running outside of its optimum operating window. With an Agile Hybrid Li-ion we deliver the most cost effective power and energy storage system for every possible C&I building application," concluded Mr. Hansen.

The challenge of concurrently performing multiple applications in the same C&I building energy management system is significant because each application has unique requirements and economic drivers, and can be either scheduled or intermittent. In the 20 year life of storage equipment, C&I building owners will experience a number of utility tariffs, reliability and security changes that may, on a moment's notice, render the storage equipment less economical and even obsolete. ZBB's proprietary "Auto-Sync" DC-Bus technology is foundational to the design of a simple, highly productive energy management system for any C&I opportunity, regardless of application or energy storage technology. Coupling this Auto-Sync technology with the Agile Hybrid provides the C&I building owner with the peace of mind that no matter what energy system changes occur, the ZBB Agile Hybrid Series can be re-optimized to maximize its cost effectiveness. ZBB is the first to hybridize large-scale hybrid energy storage systems for the C&I market, with multiple storage technologies working in harmony to accomplish different applications. The "Auto-Sync" DC-Bus enables any system in any building to be quickly optimized or expanded with additional distributed generation and/or new applications. Initial shipments of the Agile Hybrid Li-ion are expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this calendar year.