Energy storage roundup: If solar development was checkers, then storage is three-dimensional chess.

Also in the roundup: Preliminary permit for pumped hydro in Nevada, solid-state batteries and a China battery slowdown.

If solar development was checkers, storage looks like three-dimensional chess: Storage is complicated, and a new study of the value of energy storage explains some patterns in storage adoption and deployment… Competitive solicitations in the western U.S. are selecting renewable energy projects with eye-popping low prices that include batteries able to shift production several hours. Unfortunately, in contrast, the organized markets in the eastern U.S. have really struggled to use existing tools, markets and models to understand storage. Read more: Union of Concerned Scientists

Battery companies and automakers racing to develop all-solid-state batteries: Toyota has invested $13.5 billion in developing all-solid-state batteries in a bid to launch an EV loaded with them by 2022. Germany’s Volkswagen and BMW are planning to launch models with all-solid-state batteries in 2025 or 2026. They have forged a partnership with American QuantumScape and Solid Power, respectively. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and Hyundai Motor Group are also preparing for the era of all-solid-state batteries by investing in Ionic Materials, a U.S. battery technology startup. Three Korean battery manufacturers — LG Chem, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation — are conducting research on all-solid-state batteries with the goal of developing them around 2025. Source: Business Korea

FERC approved a preliminary permit to build a new reservoir in the mountains above Pyramid Lake as part of an energy storage project. The commission’s approval comes despite environmental and cultural concerns that were expressed in comments from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, which manages most of the land where the project would be sited. The proposed pumped storage project, backed by Premium Energy Holdings, is similar to a plan at Walker Lake which won a preliminary permit earlier this month. Source: The Nevada Independent

China, a battery manufacturing powerhouse in the world, is now dealing with a slowdown from the coronavirus outbreak. China’s major Li-ion manufacturing players, CATL and BYD, are faced with a high probability of additional production delays. Even Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai is hinting of possible of supply shortages for the U.S., UK and Australia. The coronavirus outbreak is expected to cost Chinese battery manufacturers around 26 GWh of output in 2020. Read more: Power Technology

23 March 2020

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