Dive Brief:
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Primus Power says it has begun producing its second generation flow battery with a five hour duration and a 20 year expected life span.
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Primus says its EnergyPod 2 delivers energy storage a total cost of ownership up to 50% less than conventional lithium-ion battery systems.
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The company says Microsoft is testing Primus storage systems for peak shaving applications at a Redmond, Wash., data center.
Dive Insight:
Lithium-ion batteries represent about 70% of grid-connected battery installations, according to the Department of Energy.
Li-ion’s strongest challenge comes from flow batteries that use the exchange of electrolyte fluids to store and discharge electrical energy. Vanadium-based flow batteries account for about 79% of worldwide flow battery installations.
Primus, of Hayward, Calif., uses zinc bromine chemistry in its 25-kW, 125 kWh EnergyPod 2 battery that just began production. The company says the battery is configurable in capacities up to 25 MW.
The company is looking to the small footprint and cost on par with gas or diesel generation to spur uses in corporate and utility applications.
Primus says it is shipping its battery systems to U.S. and international utilities, including Puget Sound Energy in Washington State, where it can be used as an alternative to distribution substation upgrades, especially in crowded urban areas.
The company is also looking at the California market where the state’s Self Generation Incentive Program encourages five- and six-hour battery systems by rewarding additional discharge hours with additional incentive payments.
