Automotive giant Toyota and electronics firm Panasonic have announced a joint venture which will look to lead the field in EV battery technology.

Initially rumoured over the weekend, the two Japanese companies confirmed this week their intent to form a joint venture (JV) under a business-integration contract.

The JV, to be established by the end of next year pending regulatory approvals, will be 51% owned by Toyota and 49% by Panasonic.

The scope of the JV is to cover R&D, production engineering, manufacturing, procurement and a host of other business activities related to lithium-ion, solid-state and next generation batteries, outlining the duo’s commitment to leading the field in battery technology.

The JV is expected to house up to 3,500 employees, with Toyota committed to transferring equipment and personnel in battery cell-related fields while Panasonic will transfer equipment, personnel and other assets related to the automotive prismatic battery business.

And while Toyota will hold a majority stake in the JV, Panasonic will be free to sell batteries to other automakers in principle.

The duo said that the automotive sector faced growing calls to find solutions to issues including global warming and energy, with battery solutions quickly becoming the most important element in the electrification of vehicles.

But while this is the case, numerous challenges require solving. Energy density, charging time and safety were listed alongside stable supply chains and effective recycling structures.

Toyota and Panasonic said that independent efforts from battery and automotive manufacturers alone are not enough to solve those issues, prompting a more conclusive agreement between the two.

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More than 700 MW of utility-scale battery capacity has been installed in the United States, 80% of which is based on Lithium-ion chemistry. For lithium-ion batteries to secure their place as a global energy infrastructure staple, there is a real and growing need for a robust supply chain that includes end-of-life processing that is both efficient and cost-effective.

The rise of Li-ion battery formats rich in cobalt for applications in the vehicle and stationary power storage markets has caused periodic commodity price spikes that are a major cause of anxiety for OEMs who are unable to pass along the added costs. Battery recycling presents an opportunity to hedge against commodity fluctuations by tapping into existing material stockpiles in the form of end-of-life batteries and manufacturing scrap. 

China has emerged as a leading nation in the rollout of renewable technology, becoming the largest market for renewable generation, electric vehicles, and Li-ion batteries. Hungry for resources to fuel its economic and infrastructure expansion, China has been investing to secure mineral resources across the world and has made Li-ion battery recycling mandatory. With more than $10,000 of material value in every ton of Li-ion batteries, it is no wonder that many companies have been investing heavily in recycling technologies and it seems only a matter of time before Li-ion batteries recycling is mandatory in the United States.

However, batteries have compact and complex architectures, layering high-grade materials in thin layers encased in much lower value commodity components such as aluminum, copper, and plastic films making them difficult to process efficiently. Also, rapid innovation in the battery industry means that for a recycling process to be scalable, it must be able to handle a broad range of physical formats and evolutions in composition. 

One of the most widely deployed methods of Li-ion battery recycling is pyrometallurgical, where Li-ion batteries are incinerated in a blast furnace to recover the nickel and cobalt as an alloy. Recently some practitioners have reported being able to recover lithium from the resultant slag. The companies deploying this technique typically have a large book of assets and experience in operating these systems and are able to efficiently transition these high cap-ex assets to capture some of the metal value from these Li-ion battery material streams.  While this technique can accept most any Li-ion battery format and has little preprocessing required, it releases one ton of CO2 for every ton of batteries processed and fails to capture a significant fraction of the economic value.

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Rocks in the seabed off the UK coast could provide long-term storage locations for renewable energy production, according to new research.

Engineers and geoscientists from the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde used mathematical models to assess the potential of compressed air energy storage (CAES).

The researchers found that porous rocks on the seabed could store about one and a half times the UK’s typical electricity demand for January and February months.
CAES-based techniques could use electricity generated by renewables to power a motor that generates compressed air.

This air could potentially be stored at high pressure in the pores found in sandstone, using a deep well drilled into the rock.

The pressurised air could later be released to drive a turbine to generate large amounts of electricity, at times when energy supplies are shorter.

The approach could help deliver steady and reliable supplies of energy from renewable sources – such as wind and tidal turbines.

However, the amount of energy produced by many renewable technologies varies depending on weather conditions.

There is a need for new processes that can store energy cheaply and reliably for months at a time, the researchers said.

A similar process storing air in deep salt caverns has been used at sites in Germany and the US.

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The market for energy storage in Texas is in limbo, in part because key issues regarding utility ownership of energy storage have yet to be resolved.

The issue arose a year ago when the PUCT dismissed a request by AEP Texas, a unit of American Electric Power, to install two battery storage projects because the regulators said they lacked sufficient information.

Instead, the PUCT in February opened a docket (#48023) on the issue to “develop facts necessary to establish a regulatory framework” that would allow energy storage and other technologies to operate within the confines of Texas’ Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA).

The docket, or “project” as the PUCT calls it, exposed the deep divide between utility and non-utility stakeholders in Texas’ competitive wholesale market, which does not allow transmission and distribution utilities (TDUs) to own generation assets.

Texas law classifies energy storage as generation, but TDUs argue that they are within their rights owning energy storage facilities for use on their distribution systems because they do not intend to use them as generation.

Texas competitive generators, along with competitive service providers and other parties, however, argued that utility-owned storage devices would be generation and would inevitably affect wholesale power markets and wholesale power prices.

The TDUs counter that even though the storage device might affect the wholesale market, they would be indistinguishable from any of the actions a TDU might take that could affect the wholesale market, such as the construction of new transmission line.

In its report to the legislature, the PUCT shows that PURA provides conflicting definitions of “generator” with respect to the ownership of energy storage devices. One section makes intent to sell to the wholesale market key. Another section appears to make an exception for self-use of power from a storage device.

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I started covering the solar energy industry seriously in 2009. It seemed like a hopping, exciting time in the industry — growth was exploding. I remember one early story in which readers admonished me a little because I put “Solar Power Exploding” in a headline, and they thought I was referring to genuine explosions. In 2019, 2009 and 2010 progress looks like anthills.

Scrolling back through our What Changed archives, below is a lengthy rundown of notable changes within the solar energy and energy storage industries in 2018. I’m sure I missed some of them — drop a note in the comments if you have a favorite I skipped. I’m also sure this post is far too long for the casual reader — do your best. Additionally, stay tuned for record-breaking progress in 2019.

Nevada raised its renewable electricity standard (requirement) from 15% by 2025 to 50% by 2030.

California approved new standards requiring that solar panels be installed on the roofs of nearly all new homes, condos, and apartment buildings by 2020.

California approved the “Million Solar Roofs of Energy Storage” bill.

California passed a law requiring 100% clean energy by 2045.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) kicked off a $1 billion Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program — $100 million a year for solar power on multifamily housing buildings.

Illinois Governor Rauner signed two bills to support solar development conditions for Illinois farmers and rural areas, bills projected to generate $250–350 million in tax revenue.

New York started becoming much more of a solar power player in the United States, with 26 new large-scale solar power plants approved for development, a community solar push, and broader efforts to stimulate the industry.

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Commercial solar battery cost fell significantly in 2018 and are set for further falls in 2019, according to S&P Global.

The financial analyst giant reported a drop of 40 per cent in the cost of installed battery storage between 2017 and 2018.

The world also doubled its energy storage capacity between 2017 and 2018 to 9 GWh. A further surge of close to 80 per cent is expected by the end of 2019.

Falling costs boost Australian battery storage industry

According to S&P Global, analysts are now predicting a “new era” of energy storage in 2019. This is due to the dramatic reduction in cost.

Energy prices from large-scale battery storage in southwest US are less than AUD$42 per MWh, based on Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) figures.

BNEF is predicting exponential growth in global energy storage. Current prices will subsequently be more than halved by 2030.

Solar battery cost far lower than gas backup

The cost of a solar storage power plant is up to half that a new gas peaker, according to US solar power developer 8minutenergy.

A gas peaker is a  gas-fired generator that supplies power to the national grid at times of peak demand.

8minutenergy CEO Tom Buttgenbach says a solar battery plant is “a factor of two cheaper” than a gas peaker.

Electric vehicles powering global battery boom

Electric vehicles (EVs) still make up most battery demand. Global EV sales passed four million in mid-2018 according to BNEF. They should reach five million during the first quarter of 2019.

Commercial and home energy storage has also made big strides. Large-scale batteries like Tesla Powerpack are now storing energy in wind and solar farms across Australia.

Australian states’ home battery rebate schemes

Meanwhile, several Australian states are running solar battery rebate schemes. The South Australian Marshall Government is offering rebates up to $6,000 for 40,000 home-owners.

In addition, the Queensland Government will help 1,500 households and small businesses access batteries like Tesla Powerwall 2.

The Andrews Government in Victoria is providing half-price solar batteries for 10,000 households.

Meanwhile, a 2018 report by Alternative Technology Australia found new homes with solar panels could save owners up to $18,000 over ten years compared to those powered by non-solar electricity and gas.

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“There will not be an electrification revolution within mobility without some adaptation of how we generate, consume and transform energy because all of these cars will have to be charged somehow,” Lior Handelsman of SolarEdge says.

We are talking to discuss the company’s recently-announced acquisition of SMRE, an Italian integrated EV technology firm. SMRE has since 1999 been producing e-mobility solutions including powertrains and batter management systems (BMS), software and a range of other critical components.

SolarEdge agreed to purchase 51% of SMRE for an investment of around US$77 million, valuing the Italian company at US$150 million. Handelsman said that while there are no immediate plans to integrate the EV company’s technologies with SolarEdge’s own offerings, or indeed with the supply chain of Kokam – the battery and storage system manufacturer SolarEdge bought into earlier in 2018 – there are obvious synergies.

The acquisition feeds into the inverter and smart energy company’s overall ‘masterplan’ to involve itself in the full gamut of distributed and clean energy market segments, according to the SolarEdge co-founder, who is also VP of product strategy and marketing.

“We are at an interesting time when the world of energy and the world of mobility are changing and are changing together and that change is also related,” Handelsman says.

“These are related revolutions. We are already covering a big part of the energy revolution with PV, which we’ve spoken about in the past, pro-suming and the smart grid of the future. That is actually tied to mobility. It’s tied in with the supply chain, for the lithium cells involved, it’s tied in the consumption side, the demand side, so this is something that was done by design. It has a masterplan behind it.”

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Stefan Schauss: The British energy storage industry should move forward strongly, independent from [exiting] the Brexit [process] or [a] no-deal Brexit. [The] fact is that Great Britain always has been an, electrically, [relatively] isolated terrain. However, we would expect a shift in the applications that would generate future deployment of energy storage. In case of [a disorderly] Brexit, there will be a currency impact that most likely leads to higher energy storage prices, and will shift supplies from countries with no bilateral agreements to countries of origin that do have trade agreements in place.

Another impact will surely come from import factors – customs, trade routes – to service battery deliveries in fast asset deployments. Delays and higher fees should, however, be short lived.

CellCube’s engagement in the UK is focused on long-duration, capacity-driven projects either in front or behind the meter. We take a more long-term oriented view and hence do not foresee a major impact on our strategy. Instead, it might accelerate our timeline. However, there will be some risk factors to be priced in, like currency fluctuations and, immediately following the event, most likely some delivery time adjustments.

In all, it will be a manageable risk for CellCube going forward, and project impacts for UK installations are scheduled into our plans.

How can British companies still participate and compete?

In a hard Brexit case, [the] U.K.’s many energy storage manufacturers are expanding globally. British companies should be able to participate in much the same fashion as any Asian company.

Europe has just launched its Battery Alliance, to become a world leader in battery manufacturing. Is Britain out of the equation from that project, if a chaotic Brexit were to come?

We do believe this will have a major impact for [production operations] which are to be set up in Britain and would be planned under an EBA [European Banking Authority] funding scheme. Most likely [it would] also impact British companies who are trying to establish [production] in the EU.

There are rumors Europe will achieve its battery ambitions by turning away from Li-ion solutions for better alternatives, performancewise and socio-ecologically.

Across Europe, there is a common consensus building that lithium might be limited, by its cost structure, to solve the transition to a fully renewable power grid on the stationary energy storage side.[That is] paired with some of the safety problems we are currently experiencing on global deployments of large-scale lithium cell-based installations, as well as the recycling question, which still remains unsolved to a large extent.

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The utility will use Sunverge’s platform to integrate battery energy storage systems with consumer on-site distributed energy resources including solar photovoltaic, smart thermostats, electric vehicle chargers and other smart controllable loads.

The aim is to ensure grid reliability, as well as reduce consumer energy bills and carbon footprint by making the grid greener and smarter for the state’s largest utility.

The system will be used by both the utility and consumers to monitor onsite energy generation, storage and usage, as well as grid status and integrated energy.

Ben Farrow, manager of new products and services at PSE, said: “These batteries can help by giving our customers reliable backup power, while providing us with the ability to learn more about operational capabilities and efficiencies of energy storage on our distribution grid.

“By gaining experience with battery storage on our grid, we hope to expand this technology to benefit all customers in the future.”

Martin Milani, CEO of Sunverge, added: “DERs and Virtual Power Plant technologies are becoming a key component in many utilities’ future planning. Increasingly, it will be a required capability to achieving the optimal mix of traditional infrastructure, renewables integration, grid modernisation, resiliency and cost-effective demand-side management efforts and 

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