The California Energy Commission (CEC) selected UK-based Invinity Energy Systems for funding as part of an initiative for long-duration, non-lithium energy storage with the use of its vanadium flow batteries (VFBs) technology. CEC also awarded modular microgrid energy solution company, BoxPower, a $1.2 million dollar grant to further develop its software and hardware solution at 15 microgrid sites in California.
California’s renewable generation often outstrips demand, though not always when energy is most needed. The CEC, California’s primary energy policy and planning agency, sees long-duration storage as a key to stabilize the grid and deliver on the state’s decarbonization goals.
State officials expect that California needs 1 gigawatt (GW) of new long-duration energy storage to advance its targets for electricity sector decarbonization. Consequently, a $20m solicitation was launched this year to fund innovative long-duration non-lithium storage.
The CEC received 23 proposals and selected eight for funding, with four of the winning eight including VFBs supplied by Invinity. The project sites in California are comprised of 7.8MWh of Invinity VFBs. Invinity’s long-duration batteries will be paired with renewable energy to perform services including peak shaving, demand charge reduction and provision of back-up power.
Invinity’s VFBs are a form of heavy duty, non-degrading, stationary energy storage which are deployed in high-utilization, industrial applications such as grid balancing, renewable ‘firming’ and electric vehicle integration. In addition to the state’s wind and solar generation, the storage system can power for eight to ten hours for a 20- to 30-year lifespan. This solution yields better economics for these energy-shifting applications than comparable lithium-ion batteries.
“California has pioneered renewable technology for decades, but their electric grid is currently plagued by problems, with wildfires, regular blackouts and tremendous instability in electricity supply,” said Matt Harper, Chief Commercial Officer at Invinity. “Our vanadium flow batteries can help to address these issues by dispatching clean, low-cost renewable energy on demand, delivering the stability needed to achieve California’s ambitious decarbonization targets.”
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