Review Of The Top 10 Energy Storage Technologies For 2024

Review Of The Top 10 Energy Storage Technologies For 2024

2024 High Tech Energy Storage Annual Conference
Golden Globe Awards Ceremony

Host: GGII High Tech Energy Storage and High Tech Industry Research Institute (GGII) Title: Chu Neng New Energy Golden Globe Award Title: Huazi Technology Golden Globe Award Full Sponsorship: Sikeqi Golden Globe Award Ceremony Title: Xinwangda Energy Storage Session Title: Tianhe Solar Energy, Jingkong Energy, Singularity Energy, Sunshine Power Source Directional Dinner: Zhongtian Night Annual Meeting Time: December 11-13, 2024 Venue: JW Marriott Hotel, Qianhai Overseas Chinese Town, Shenzhen Conference: 2024 Gaogong Sodium Power Annual Meeting (December 12, 2024)

Since 2024, the increasingly competitive energy storage industry has accelerated into a stage of technological competition.

On the one hand, the simple price of energy storage has raised concerns among more and more industry professionals about the sustainable development of the energy storage industry. On the other hand, the development of energy storage technology is far from reaching the point where the pattern will be determined. The pressure of technological competition comes from both internal competition and the real needs of the industry.

According to Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL, although the energy storage equipment market is relatively small in scale, its complexity far exceeds that of the transportation market. Zeng Yuqun compared a gigawatt hour battery energy storage system to a Boeing 787 aircraft, which has as many as 7 to 9 million components.

In April of this year, Cao Renxian, Chairman of Sunac Power, pointed out to the public that the average utilization rate of energy storage equipment is currently low, and the business models of electricity spot and auxiliary services are not yet perfect. In addition, there are currently tens of thousands of energy storage enterprises in China, most of which have low gross profit margins. These enterprises lack the necessary resources and funding to continue investing in research and development, and safety hazards still exist.

Liu Jincheng, Chairman of EVE Energy, stated that a large industry that sells at a loss cannot be sustained. It is necessary to leave room for survival with every innovative and quality assured enterprise in the industry chain in order for this industry to continue to develop.

The industry leaders' insights into the current energy storage industry reflect the industry's "deformities". So, in order for the energy storage industry to enter the right track as soon as possible, competition in the field of technology is indispensable.

Currently, the competition in energy storage technology is focused on improving the safety, cost reduction, and performance of lithium batteries from multiple dimensions; On the other hand, the acceleration of research and application of flow batteries and sodium ion batteries in the field of energy storage has led to a diverse array of energy storage technologies.

Based on the new product situation of multiple exhibitions this year, Gaogong Energy Storage has sorted out some key energy storage technologies that have emerged this year, including string type, grid structure, AC/DC integration, full liquid cooling, large capacity battery cells, laminated process, high-temperature battery, silicon carbide, flow battery, sodium battery, etc., which may be the "top ten" energy storage technology evolution or differentiated development directions for 2024.

It is worth mentioning that the 2024 Golden Globe Awards selection event, jointly organized by Gaogong Energy Storage and Gaogong Industry Research Institute (GGII), will be announced at the 2024 Golden Globe Awards Ceremony held in Shenzhen on December 13th. Coming soon.

(PS: The annual technology inventory in this article is only based on observations of major exhibitions by Gaogong Energy Storage. It is not equivalent to the Gaogong Golden Globe Award for Annual Technology and may serve as a reference.)

A string type energy storage system is usually composed of multiple smaller capacity energy storage units connected in series, each unit having independent control and management functions. This decentralized architecture endows string based energy storage with high flexibility and scalability. At this year's exhibition, string PCS almost became the "standard configuration" for new products with 5MWh and above. Many industry insiders have stated that with the continuous increase in battery cells and system capacity, string PCS can significantly improve energy storage safety. In addition to mainstream energy storage system manufacturers such as Sunac and Huawei Digital Energy, many PCS manufacturers have followed this route. Shenghong Energy Storage has always adhered to and improved modular multi branch technology for 12 years, achieving precise cluster management of batteries and effectively eliminating parallel mismatch and circulation problems. In the field of large storage, it developed a modular PCS for large storage in 2024, which was also exhibited at the September exhibition. In the field of string energy storage, Hewang Electric brought air-cooled 250kW string PCS and 1-5MW string converter boost integrated machines at the SNEC exhibition in September. The series of products are fully certified and have been shipped in bulk. Similarly, at the SNEC exhibition in September, Shangneng Electric showcased a 5MW string type energy storage converter boost integrated machine. It is understood that the product adopts a highly integrated design, with a single unit equipped with IP66 protection and C5 anti-corrosion function, which can achieve battery cluster level management and flexible configuration expansion; The IP68 quick plug terminal design simplifies installation and maintenance work. It is worth mentioning that Shangneng Electric has shipped the first batch of 22 string type energy storage converter boost integrated machines for the US market. It is worth mentioning that Songsheng Innovation also showcased multiple new string type energy storage products - the 235kW three-phase high-voltage energy storage inverter SSE-HH235K-P3CN, the three-phase high-voltage 60kW hybrid inverter SSE-HH60K-P3EU, and the North American split phase 8kW~15kW household storage product SSE-HL8K~15K-P2US at the SNEC exhibition.

Since a bidding document was issued in Xizang in 2022, the industry has gradually realized the importance of network construction. With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy, the rigid demand for energy storage network construction is becoming increasingly evident, and the energy storage technology revolution triggered by network construction is still continuing. This urgent demand mainly comes from the current demand in the western region and some weak network areas. But in the future, the achievement of the "dual carbon" goal and the large-scale development of new energy no longer distinguish regions, supporting the stable operation of new energy power systems is a global demand. Grid based energy storage has obvious advantages in improving the capacity of new energy generation, enhancing the transmission capacity of transmission channels, improving power supply reliability, enhancing the voltage support capacity of load center power grids, increasing black start resources of power grids, and improving black start efficiency of power grids. The global demand for grid based energy storage will also be very clear. With the increasing demand for grid construction, there are mainly two types of energy storage system grid construction equipment: one is the grid construction of low-voltage energy storage systems, and the other is the grid construction of high-voltage energy storage systems. In the field of high-voltage power grid construction, major companies such as Nanrui Jibao, Yishite, Xinfengguang, Zhiguang Energy Storage, and Weiguang Energy have successively launched high-voltage direct mounted energy storage systems.

In the low-voltage network construction, in addition to NARI Jibao, Sunshine Power, Huawei Digital Energy, and Kehua Digital Energy have all demonstrated their network construction capabilities in the project. Among them, the PCS segment also focuses on grid based energy storage, with Shenghong Shares, Shangneng Electric, Soying Electric, and Weiguang Energy successively launching grid based PCS.

It is understood that the integration of AC and DC means saving the land and maintenance space of PCS, LC and other equipment, saving 29% of the land, and the 100MWh energy storage power station is only 2000 square meters. The integration of AC and DC can further eliminate the four major links of on-site PCS installation, DC wiring, communication testing, and charge and discharge testing. Traditional DC cables are long and exposed, posing significant risks and hazards. The AC/DC integrated system does not come out of the cabinet, and standardized short cables are built into the fully liquid cooled cooling "air conditioning room" to avoid various safety hazards. In addition, it is equipped with high current AI arc extinguishing technology, which can instantly turn off the arc and protect the safety of the entire cabinet. In October 2023, Sunshine Power Industry was the first to release the PowerTian 2.0, which integrates AC and DC and is fully liquid cooled. According to executives from Sunac Power, the "AC/DC integrated" design has multiple advantages, including (1) greatly simplifying on-site installation and debugging, improving engineering safety and efficiency; (2) High energy density; (3) Strong security; (4) Long cycle life and high maintainability; (5) Realize grid construction technology and be grid friendly; (6) Adopting multiple liquid cooling modes for automatic adjustment, with low operating energy consumption. According to incomplete statistics from Gaogong Energy Storage, companies such as Sunac Power, Yuanjing Energy, Kelu Electronics, Lishen Battery, and Ronghe Yuan Storage have all released integrated AC/DC energy storage systems. In the first half of this year, the "Huaneng Longteng Special Steel 20MW/40MWh User Side Energy Storage Project" invested by China Huaneng Group and constructed by Eleven Technology EPC was fully connected to the grid for power generation. A total of 8 sets of 2.5MW/5MWh solar power PowerTitan2.0 liquid cooled energy storage systems were put into operation. This is the first energy storage power station in China to adopt an "AC/DC integrated" design, with a system efficiency 2% -3% higher than traditional energy storage, marking the accelerated arrival of the "AC storage" era. In April of this year, Yuanjing Energy Storage released the world's first "AC-DC integrated" 5.6MWh energy storage system; In June of this year, Lishen Battery released a new generation of 20 foot 5MWh "AC/DC integrated" liquid cooled container; In September, Ronghe Yuanchu released a new generation of AC/DC integrated liquid cooled energy storage system container - "Ronghe Xuanwu". In September, Haibosichuang also released the "AC/DC integrated" energy storage technology roadmap to the public.

The fully liquid cooled energy storage system refers to the temperature control method of battery PACK and PCS, which all use liquid cooling. Last year, the newly released PowerTitan 2.0 adopted liquid cooling PACK+liquid cooling PCS "full liquid cooling" for heat dissipation. In the innovation of temperature control, Kehua Shuneng, Yingfeiyuan, Hemai Electronics, and Shenghong Co., Ltd. have also accelerated the addition of liquid cooled PCS arrays. Some equipment manufacturers have stated that the choice of liquid cooling and air cooling routes for energy storage PCS is actually a balance between power and heat dissipation requirements. At a power level of 2.5MW, air cooling has basically reached its heat dissipation limit. Liquid cooled PCS uses high thermal conductivity coolant as the medium, which is driven by a water pump to circulate antifreeze in the liquid cooled plate. This allows for more direct contact with PCS components, resulting in higher heat dissipation efficiency. In August of this year, Kehua ShuNeng launched a new generation of S ³ - EStation2.0 5MW/10MWh intelligent liquid cooled energy storage system. The system adopts an innovative design of "full liquid cooling and heat dissipation+whole station top air outlet" to eliminate the "heat island" crisis. It is revealed that the heat transfer coefficient and specific heat capacity of the coolant are higher, and are not affected by factors such as altitude and air pressure. Liquid cooling systems have stronger heat dissipation capabilities than air cooling systems and are more suitable for large-scale, high-energy density energy storage projects. In the opinion of people from Yingfeiyuan, the reliability of liquid cooled charging systems is much higher than traditional air-cooled charging systems. At the same time, the liquid cooled charging module does not have a cooling fan and uses a water pump to drive the cooling liquid for heat dissipation. The module itself has zero noise, while the system uses a high air volume low-frequency fan with low noise. Yingfei has been working on liquid cooled PCS since 2022, and they believe that the advantages of liquid cooling in charging modules can be replicated in the field of energy storage PCS. In April of this year, Yingfeiyuan released the Blue Ozean series of fully liquid cooled energy storage systems, designed for extremely harsh environmental applications such as construction sites, mines, and islands. The system adopts a fully liquid cooled heat dissipation design of liquid cooled PACK+liquid cooled PCS, which has excellent performance and meets the heat dissipation requirements for continuous 1C charging and discharging. It is worth mentioning that third-party PCS manufacturer Shenghong Co., Ltd. also unveiled a high-power liquid cooled modular energy storage converter PWS1-225/450K-H-L at the Shanghai exhibition in September, which is compatible with AC/DC integrated systems. Through efficient liquid cooling design, it not only improves heat dissipation efficiency, but also breaks the "heat island" effect that has long plagued the industry in large-scale energy storage power plants. In addition to full liquid cooling, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute recently collaborated with 14 industrial chain enterprises to release a future oriented 6.9MWh system. Among them, the first energy storage direct cooling machine is adopted, which uses phase change direct cooling and waterless circulation. From this perspective, direct cooling is entering the field of energy storage. In addition, wind liquid intelligent cooling or intelligent temperature control may become another "upgrade" under full liquid cooling and temperature control. Huawei Digital Energy has utilized wind and liquid intelligent cooling in industrial and commercial energy storage; Sunshine Power has adopted an intelligent temperature control mode in its new storage product, which allows the system to intelligently switch between three temperature control modes: rapid cooling, micro cooling, and heating based on the battery cell, ambient temperature, and operating conditions through the AI biomimetic thermal balance technology.

Since 2020, the energy storage market has launched 280Ah battery cells with a focus on long cycle life, which have become a standard configuration for energy storage project bidding or product procurement. In pursuit of better performance and lower costs, there is an endless stream of battery cell products in the market. Especially in the past year, more than 20 home battery manufacturers have released over 40 new battery cell products and are rapidly moving towards larger and ultra large capacity. According to different capacities, mainstream battery cells in the market can be divided into three generations: the first generation is 280Ah products, and the second generation is represented by 314Ah capacity. Currently, battery manufacturers are releasing third-generation energy storage batteries with capacities ranging from 500Ah to 600Ah, with a wide variety of specifications and capacities. In the third generation of energy storage batteries, two major system integrators, Sunac Power and CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, have joined the competition for definition rights. Xu Qingqing, Vice President of Sunshine Power Storage Group, stated that battery cells are important components in the system. To effectively integrate development and design, it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the overall specifications, industrial layout, and design performance of battery cells and adapt them to the best products. On the one hand, we need to consider the trends and processes of technological development from the perspective of upstream battery cells and even raw materials; On the other hand, from the customer's perspective, consider the product's lifespan, efficiency, energy density, footprint, and other requirements. At the same time, it is necessary to consider the compatibility of product performance standards, fire safety standards, overseas standards, as well as the application characteristics and logistics transportation situation of different scenarios. The 625Ah system solution has been developed and evaluated internally for over a year and a half, with multiple rounds of research and development, as well as market and R&D investments and customer demand judgments. Therefore, we have identified this battery cell, "said Xu Qingqing. In early September, CRRC Zhuzhou held a signing ceremony with 14 upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, covering three sub fields: battery cells, temperature control, and BMS/EMS. Among them, in terms of battery cells, CRRC Zhuzhou Institute, together with Xinwangda, Zhongchuang Chuanghang, Honeycomb Energy, Guoxuan High tech, and Lanjun New Energy, jointly released 688Ah large battery cells.

Throughout history, winding and laminating processes have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, in terms of maturity, the winding process is more advanced than the lamination process. But currently, high-capacity energy storage batteries with a capacity of over 600Ah have generally changed their 71773 square size, and the manufacturing process has also collectively shifted towards laminated technology. According to incomplete statistics from Gaogong Energy Storage, currently 9 battery manufacturers have launched over 10 types of 600Ah+energy storage batteries, all of which use laminated technology: including Ruipu Lanjun 625Ah battery cells, Yiwei Lithium Energy Mr Big 628Ah battery cell, Honeycomb Energy L500-660Ah/710Ah/730Ah energy storage battery cell, Haichen Energy Storage 1130Ah, Kunyu Power 720Ah battery cell, Chuneng New Energy 625Ah, Xinwangda Xinyue 625Ah, Nandu Power 690Ah battery cell, Tianyi Energy 630Ah battery cell, etc. Overall, the laminated process is expected to accelerate its penetration in the trend of high-capacity energy storage batteries.

In 2023, CATL's "Zero Auxiliary Source" optical storage integration solution will be released to the public. It is reported that this solution uses self-developed photovoltaic energy storage inverters, combined with high-temperature battery cell technology and advanced self heating technology, to eliminate the dependence of traditional energy storage solutions on cooling systems and their auxiliary power sources. Real time linkage between photovoltaic and energy storage achieves millisecond level power control response, while improving charging and discharging efficiency by 10%. This year, Tianhe and Xinneng An further announced similar solution ideas or products. Among them, Tianhe Energy Storage further revealed the timeline for the launch of its solution without air conditioning system. On April 11th, Ampace New Energy An launched a new industrial and commercial energy storage outdoor all-in-one machine "Ampace C5" in Beijing. The product achieves dual innovation in architecture and battery cells through its unique "helpless cooling full temperature control solution".   The all-new industrial and commercial energy storage outdoor all-in-one machine "Reno C5" launched by Xinneng An will achieve mass production in July 2024. From the perspective of system evolution, high-temperature batteries may be an important direction of evolution in the energy storage field this year.

Silicon carbide has superior characteristics in several parameters such as bandgap energy, breakdown field strength, and thermal conductivity. Silicon carbide enables energy storage systems to operate at higher frequencies without losing output power, thereby reducing the size of inductors. In some cases, the heat sink can be removed to save money and reduce weight. Silicon carbide, as a more efficient core material for PCS power devices, has accelerated its application in new industrial and commercial energy storage products. According to incomplete statistics from Gaogong Energy Storage, companies such as Shenghong Corporation, Yingfeiyuan Technology, and Songsheng Innovation have successively launched energy storage PCS or systems with silicon carbide devices. Shenghong Corporation has already launched a silicon carbide version of energy storage inverters in the second half of 2023. And this year's exhibition continued to showcase industrial and commercial PCS in silicon carbide version. In response to the growing demand for small and medium-sized industrial and commercial energy storage markets, Songsheng Innovation launched the SSE-HH40K~60K-P3EU series at the SNEC Energy Storage Exhibition in September. The series adopts full silicon carbide technology, with excellent energy efficiency and lightweight body design, comprehensively improving the power density and reliability of the energy storage system. Due to its layout in silicon carbide raw materials and the widespread use of silicon carbide devices in its fast charging products, Yingfeiyuan Technology has been experimenting with silicon carbide in the industrial and commercial energy storage field and has already achieved mass shipments. It was heavily showcased at the exhibition in early September.

GGII predicts that the domestic shipment of flow batteries is expected to exceed 10 GWh (calculated in 4 hours, including exports) by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of over 90%. At present, flow batteries will enter a period of rapid development, and new players will continue to flock to the flow battery industry track. Various flow battery technology routes such as vanadium, zinc bromide, iron chromium, zinc iron, and sulfur iron are vying for attention. GGII predicts that flow batteries are expected to enter a high-speed growth stage in the next 10 years, driven by the following main factors: 1) high compatibility between flow battery technology and long-term energy storage, battery cycle life generally above 10000 times, no risk of fire or explosion, power and capacity can be designed separately, and energy storage capacity can be flexibly expanded according to specific capacity; 2) After ten years of engineering demonstrations, the maturity of domestic industrial supporting facilities for flow batteries has rapidly increased, and manufacturing costs have significantly decreased; With the demonstration scale breaking through 100 megawatts and the expansion of production capacity of leading enterprises, its investment cost is expected to further decrease; 3) The 14th Five Year Plan for Energy Storage proposes to focus on supporting the demonstration of 100 MW flow battery technology projects, and it is expected that more central enterprises and local governments will adopt this technology route. Since 2023, liquid flow energy storage has entered a period of rapid development in terms of production capacity and technology. Flow batteries have become a key force in the field of energy storage due to their long cycle life, high safety, and wide application scenarios.

Sodium ions themselves started around the same time as lithium-ion batteries in the 1980s, but due to differences in their characteristics, the development of sodium positive electrode materials was not mature until 2015 when there were some signs of industrialization. There are two logics driving the rise of sodium ion batteries: cost and market. In the "14th Five Year Plan for the Development and Implementation of New Energy Storage" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration in 2022, sodium ion battery technology is one of the key directions for the research and development of new energy storage core technology equipment. 2023 is a year of rapid development for sodium electric energy storage. Firstly, the sodium storage demonstration project has exceeded 100 megawatt hours, and secondly, the low-temperature advantage of sodium electricity in household storage, industrial and commercial storage, and large-scale storage scenarios is obvious. 2024 is the concentrated demonstration period for sodium based energy storage, with the potential to exceed GWh in scale. In addition to the highly anticipated polyanions, the Prussian blue technology route is also worth paying attention to. In 2023, the Prussian Blue Sodium Electric Energy Storage Demonstration Project will be put into use at the Management Training Center of State Grid Liaoning Electric Power Co., Ltd. Moreover, due to the relatively simple synthesis of Prussian blue material, it can be synthesized by aqueous co precipitation method without the need for high-temperature sintering process, and the synthesis cost is relatively low, which has a price advantage in entering the field of energy storage.