UK energy storage market targeted by CellCube flow battery maker

Image: CellCube

Canadian energy storage company Immersa said flow battery manufacturer CellCube will bring its large-scale vanadium redox flow system to the UK, with the UK energy storage market also within its focus. The two companies have signed a relevant cooperation agreement.

UK-based solutions provider Immersa will offer its vanadium redox flow systems to customers in the UK market. As the two companies announced their strategic partnership, Immersa CEO Robert Miles pointed to the market trend towards longer battery life.

“We have been active in the UK energy storage sector for nearly three years and have seen a dramatic change in the adoption of the technology and the revenues generated from it.”

“We have designed a system that uses multiple generations of technology and by combining it with these long-life batteries, we have demonstrated that producing, storing and consuming self-generated electricity is not only possible but also commercially viable,” he said.

A key driver of long-term battery demand in the UK market is the de-rating factor that electricity transmission system operator National Grid applies to battery storage projects bidding in the capacity market.

As administrator of the mechanism, National Grid applies derating factors ranging from 30 minutes to four hours based on the duration of the project; the maximum expected length of a system stress event.

Under the regime, batteries that can discharge continuously for four hours will receive the highest level of support, a factor that has prompted many developers, including Anesco, to explore the possibility of adopting longer-lasting but more expensive battery technologies such as vanadium flow batteries.

Flow machines have already been installed at several energy storage projects in the UK, with redT an early market leader. Last year, water utility Anglian Water signed a deal with redT to use flow battery-based energy storage to optimise solar generation at one of its facilities as part of a “pathfinder for future projects”.

CellCube president Stefan Schauss said the partnership with Immersa reinforces the company’s strategy to target large-scale energy storage infrastructure projects.

He said: “With many solar and wind farms in the UK, the capacity-driven market is our next focus, with large-scale energy storage infrastructure projects around it delivering high value streams to asset owners. Immersa and CellCube are inviting potential customers to discuss the options and benefits of renewable energy and battery storage solutions.”

(Original source: Energy Storage News New Energy Network Comprehensive)