As hurricanes, fires and other extreme weather incidents become more common, the world needs to take steps to improve energy resilience. Power outages caused by extreme weather can impact critical services like emergency response, hospitals and communications networks. Building more resilient energy systems that are equipped to handle the challenges of our modern world is essential, particularly as more and more systems come to rely on electricity.
The U.S. Department of Energy identifies a key characteristic of a resilient electrical grid as one that “uses local resources, such as solar panels and battery storage in homes and buildings, to quickly reconfigure power flows and recover electricity services during a disturbance.” This points to the use of distributed energy resources (DERs) and battery energy storage as critical energy resiliency technologies.
Additionally, our power grid is becoming more distributed and more renewable by the day with shifting methods of power generation and distribution. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates 90% of the world’s electricity may come from renewables by 2050. Energy storage is a critical technology component to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and building a low carbon future. Microgrids, net zero buildings and local renewable energy resources are all enabled by energy storage.
How Can DERs Improve Energy Resiliency?
DERs are small-scale, localized sources of energy capable of producing, storing and distributing energy to users. They typically include renewable energy generation like solar or wind, battery energy storage systems and a distribution network. Residential homes or small communities can improve energy resiliency by using well-protected battery energy storage systems alongside rooftop solar energy. These systems can also reduce energy costs by using stored power during times when grid power is particularly expensive.
Battery energy storage systems improve grid resiliency at a base level even before considering climate impacts and extreme environments. Increased demand for electricity places strain on grid infrastructure. In addition to modernizing the electrical grid—an important project that is underway around the globe—building more energy storage can help take pressure off the grid.
Energy storage is also critical in distributed energy systems to decouple the time of energy production from the time of power use. Using energy storage, consumers who deploy DER systems like rooftop solar can, for example, generate power when it’s sunny out and deploy that power later during the peak of energy demand in the evening. Consequently, energy storage systems can also play a pivotal role in preparing energy systems to manage environmental threats and support people through times when grid power is unavailable.
As energy storage becomes more of a focus in the power industry, the systems themselves are changing. There are a few key elements battery energy storage manufacturers and integrators are particularly focused on:
Footprint Reduction: Given the limited physical space available in various applications like grid installations, EV charging stations, and commercial and residential buildings, reducing the footprint of energy storage systems is crucial. This involves optimizing technology and design to maximize the storage capacity within a smaller physical footprint.
Higher Energy Densities: New developments are resulting in battery modules that have greater energy density. This increase in energy in a smaller form factor provides thermal management challenges and has led to the rise of liquid cooling and heating to effectively manage battery modules’ thermal management requirements.
Infrastructure Support: Energy storage installations require appropriate infrastructure support to accommodate the batteries and associated components. This includes considerations for cooling systems, electrical connections and structural support to ensure efficient operation and safety.
Technologies to Support Resilient Energy Storage Systems
For those looking to implement battery energy storage systems in distributed grid applications need to find the right technologies to meet their needs. While requirements might differ depending on the scale of an installation, and many battery energy storage manufacturers sell complete systems, the performance of the following technologies will affect the performance of energy storage systems as a whole.
Cooling technology: To maintain both performance and safety, batteries must be kept cool. There are a wide range of cooling technologies deployed in energy storage systems depending on the power density of a particular installation. For many systems, air cooling is a good solution. Air cooling is becoming more efficient, and many companies are taking a look at the refrigerants they use to make them more environmentally friendly. Air cooling is also commonly used to cool controls and monitoring technology in addition to batteries themselves. However, for installations with higher energy density, liquid cooling is often a better option due to superior efficiency and effectiveness.
Liquid cooling was pioneered by the data center industry, but it is extremely useful in energy storage. In data center applications, liquid cooling ranges from using chilled liquid lines to supplement the performance of air cooling to completely submerging equipment in nonconductive liquid. Liquid cooling is an effective cooling technique because liquid provides a much greater heat transfer capacity than air. It can also be pumped closer to the source of heat, capturing and transporting heat out of the system from the point at which it is generated. This helps liquid cooling increase power usage effectiveness, manage heat loads effectively, reduce energy costs and contribute to environmental sustainability.
Liquid cooling works in battery energy storage applications by using a chiller to pump cooled fluid through the system in a closed loop, with precision control adjusting fluid temperature and flow rates to maximize efficiency. Hot or cold liquid is pumped through hoses and manifolds to racks of batteries. Liquid is then pumped through hoses to each individual battery and back to the chiller where it is cooled and recirculated. The entire system is a completely closed loop, so risks of leaks or liquid coming into contact with electrical infrastructure are minimized. However, to reduce the risk of leaks, reliable systems are nonnegotiable.
In the same way data center managers want to prioritize using power on computing instead of cooling infrastructure, battery energy storage system manufacturers want to reduce total cost of energy (TCOE) by minimizing the power consumption of auxiliary systems. By improving the cooling efficiency of energy storage systems with liquid cooling, battery module manufacturers can use higher energy dense batteries to increase the total power capacity of their installations without extreme increases in the amount of energy spent on cooling.
Flexible conductors: Even with batteries appropriately cooled, they need to be connected to one another, and to the applications they are powering. Traditional cable solutions, while appropriate in some applications, can be difficult to use when footprint reduction is a primary concern because they often do not have a safe bending radius to accommodate tight turns in small spaces. In these instances, flexible conductors, such as flexible busbars or braids, can offer more design options due to their reduced cross-section and minimal bend radius requirements. These busbars can be prefabricated to save time and labor on job sites.
Advanced battery technology and materials: The development of advanced materials and environmental protection, such as lightweight and durable enclosure materials, reliable gasketing and enclosure designs, thermal cable coatings, fire-resistant materials and low-smoke zero-halogen insulation, contributes to the safety, efficiency and longevity of battery energy storage systems. The development of battery technology itself, alongside the technology that supports it, is fundamental to these systems. Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used due to their high energy density, scalability and relatively long lifespan. Lithium Iron Phosphate technology has come a long way and is helping reduce TCOE for energy storage users while improving safety. Demand for energy storage will continue to grow as investments in infrastructure increase around the world and microgrids become more common, data centers are built to support AI expansion and electric vehicles see more widespread adoption. Reducing footprint while providing reliable environmental protection, liquid cooling and efficient electrical distribution and grounding for energy storage systems will be a challenge for battery module manufacturers, power companies, commercial buildings and more. Thinking about these challenges and developing technology to address them now will help energy storage companies get out ahead of the competition.
John Turner is the vertical growth leader for renewable power generation and energy storage at nVent. He is responsible for driving technology development, mindshare and growth in these key areas. He brings a deep understanding of the challenges facing the energy industry and a passion for finding innovative solutions that benefit both customers and the environment. He is committed to advancing the adoption of sustainable energy practices and is a vocal advocate for the role renewable power generation and energy storage can play in shaping a more sustainable future.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Turner
John Turner is the vertical growth leader for renewable power generation and energy storage at nVent. He is responsible for driving technology development, mindshare and growth in these key areas. He brings a deep understanding of the challenges facing the energy industry and a passion for finding innovative solutions that benefit both customers and the environment. He is committed to advancing the adoption of sustainable energy practices and is a vocal advocate for the role renewable power generation and energy storage can play in shaping a more sustainable future.
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