Lithium-ion Battery Maker EnerDel Crashes Smart Grid Party

Lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel, better known for its electric vehicle battery products, is entering the utility-scale storage market. The company will supply the batteries for five 1MW power systems that will be used by Portland General Electric to help manage and control peak power demand and level out the inconsistent power production inherent in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Each of the five EnerDel systems will be capable of storing enough energy to power about 400 homes for up to an hour at a time. The core chemistry technology will be the same technology EnerDel designed for the new generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

EnerDel is a subsidiary of Ener1, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, which develops and builds compact high-performance lithium-ion batteries  for next-generation hybrid, plug-in hybrid and purely electric vehicles.

The project will be built in Salem, Oregon, and will serve both residential and commercial customers. The storage equipment will be installed at 15 locations over the next two years. Then developers will spend two to three years testing its performance in a variety of geographic and meteorological conditions.

The Salem project is part of a $178 million Recovery Act Smart Grid demonstration project grant. Grant awards totaling $620 million for demonstration projects were announced by the DOE early last week.

"Energy storage is a key component of the Smart Grid, and well as a crucial tool for enhancing both the reliability and the availability of renewable but often intermittent energy sources like wind and solar," said Cyrus Ashtiani, EnerDel's chief technology officer. "We expect this sector to be a major growth area for the battery industry. This program is a breakthrough opportunity for EnerDel to prove the capabilities of our systems in partnership with one of the most innovative electric utilities in the country."

   Ener1 press release 

   Smart Grid Storage technologies on SGN

   The Three Best Things About Today's Smart Grid Investment Grants