The selection of battery energy storage routes can be considered diverse, including at least lead-acid (lead carbon batteries), lithium-ion batteries (ternary, lithium iron phosphate), supercapacitors, nanobase batteries, liquid flow batteries, sodium sulfur batteries, etc. How should energy storage users and integrators make choices in the dazzling battery technology? What principles should be used for designing solutions and long-term planning? Recently, our magazine interviewed senior figures, including multiple academician level experts, and their answer was that energy storage batteries must adhere to the principle of safety first, and the specific technical route should be combined with the scene. The next generation of batteries may be more disruptive and worth looking forward to.

 

safety first

 

Experts say that as an emerging industry, energy storage must first stand firm before it can be talked about and move forward. Leaving forward or rushing forward without safety will bring endless harm to the industry.

 

In mid June, the South Korean Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the investigation results of 23 previous energy storage power plant fire accidents, which summarized the following reasons: battery system defects, insufficient protection systems for insulation testing, insufficient management and maintenance after the completion of energy storage power plant construction, and poor comprehensive management system between the inverter (PCS) and energy storage system (ESS).

 

The energy storage battery system must meet four application requirements: energy transfer, peak shaving and frequency regulation, smooth output, and tracking scheduling curve. How to strengthen regulations without hindering development is a problem that needs to be jointly explored by the entire industry.

 

Gu Guobiao, an academician of the CAE Member, said that compared with physical energy storage, the biggest problem of electrochemical energy storage at present is that large capacity battery systems are prone to safety problems. Even the best batteries of mature manufacturers can cause safety accidents if they do not master the power balance when working.