Report: Hitachi Chemical to quadruple output of large lithium-ion batteries for wind and solar
24 July 2013
The Nikkei reports that Hitachi Chemical Co. will more than quadruple production capacity for large lithium ion batteries (LIBs) for solar and wind power generation.
The company will spend ¥2.2 billion to boost capacity at a plant of subsidiary Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Co., according to the report. Hitachi Chemical recently integrated Shin-Kobe fully into its business, making it a 100% subsidiary. In October 2012, the development group of Hitachi Chemical’s Tsukuba Research Laboratory and the LIB equipment development group of Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Co., Ltd. were consolidated.
Writing in Hitachi Chemical Technical Report Nº 55, Hitachi engineers noted that:
LIB for industrial use has now reached the stage of performing wide-range verification tests for output variation control for photovoltaic power generation system and wind power generators, back-up power supply while striving to reduce power consumption during peak demand at factories, buildings, etc., back-up power supply during power outages and partly employed for practical use. Performance requirements for LIB for industrial use vary significantly depending on the intended applications but the extended service life, high-level safety and reliability are common baseline performances, which development activity is thus continuing to achieve.
The current Hitachi cells for large-scale energy storage systems have 75 Ah capacity (CH75). CH75 can maintain continuous discharge at 3 CA (225 A) and meet the required discharge current of a battery for 30 minutes or less while reducing power consumption during peak demand at factories, etc. Also, CH75 can expect a service life to endure up to 4,000 repeated charge-discharge cycles (25 °C, at a 75% depth of discharge).
To achieve the high output power and extended service life, Hitachi Chemical employed a newly Mn-rich cathode active material, reduced the electrode and electrolyte resistance and stabilized the SEI layer formed on the anode surface.
Capacity will be increased from 5,000 cells per month to 12,500 cells per month; a new production line will then increase the maximum capacity to 22,000 cells a month.
In addition to targeting domestic demand for renewable energy storage, Hitachi Chemical will also seek to export the batteries to Europe, the US and other parts of Asia.
So are you better off building specialist load leveling battery stations for the grid, or piggybacking on EVs to do it.
My guess is that you are better off with dedicated load leveling because:
It will be available when you need it (no-one is going to drive off just when you need the power).
It does not have to withstand crashes, and be road safe.
It can be heavy.
It won't add extra cycles to your car battery.
Its purpose is clear.
Nonetheless, the idea of being able to run your house off the car is very appealing. (or maybe you should just get a small generator - just in case).
Posted by: mahonj | 24 July 2013 at 05:41 AM
Recent heavy rains with very strong winds have disturbed our domestic 'aerial' e-distribution lines. Falling trees were the major cause in most cases and lightning in some cases.
Our area, with 100% underground distribution e-cables, TV cables and telephone fiber cables, had no service interruptions. However, many boats suffered damages from falling trees.
This year frequent very high winds are taking its toll on aerial transmission e-lines and communication cables. As the on-going climate change may even get worse, North Americans will have to give serious considerations to a national program to bury cables and/or to install alternative ways for e-supply (V2G, emergency generators or FC or battery banks etc)
A massive program to bury unsightly distribution cables (paid at 50% by end-users and 50% by service providers) could be an excellent make work program for the next 10 to 20 years.
Posted by: HarveyD | 26 July 2013 at 09:37 AM