Falling costs, new revenues fuel Britain's big battery boom - lithium ion battery price

LONDON (Reuters )-
Britain is becoming a hotbed of utilities.
With massive battery development, two of Europe's three largest projects are underway, and several companies have joined a competition that could shake the energy market.
The rapid growth of solar and wind power means that power supply is increasingly dependent on whether the wind blows or the sun shines.
As a result, utilities are looking for new ways to store renewable energy in order to be released into the grid when there is insufficient supply.
In the UK, this challenge is particularly severe, because with the closure of old fossil fuel plants, the buffer between supply and demand is more intense than other European countries, although the UK lacks German power lines to import power and maintain the frequency of the grid
Change in current direction-
When local supply fell
"(Renewable energy) intermittently means that the frequency of the grid changes faster than before, so we need faster technology to deal with that change," said Cathy McClay . ", Business Head of the national grid system operator.
Last year, the State Grid held the world's first tender to provide fast grid dynamic balance service No. 4year contracts.
"The State Grid tender needs such a quick response that it almost completely creates a battery market that we don't see anywhere else in Europe," said Andy Houston, senior UK analyst --
Headquartered in Poyry, a consulting firm.
Swedish utility
UL] is developing battery projects in the Netherlands and Germany, but has chosen the UK as its largest-
22 MW (MW )-
After winning the State Grid contract, the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm in Wales.
"The National Grid tender is one of the best opportunities for batteries," said Sebastian Gerhard, head of the Vattenfall battery project.
Vattenfall is using lithium-ion batteries purchased from the German carmaker BMW (BMWG.
DE), same as used in i3 electric vehicles, piled up in portacabin-sized units.
Vattenfall estimates that efforts to manufacture commercially viable electric vehicles have led to a reduction in battery costs by about 40% since 2010.
Energy trader [VITOLV.
UL] built two battery plants in Cambria and Kent through its subsidiary VPI imingham, which previously won two state grid contracts with the joint venture partner low carbon and plans to connect them to the grid by the end of the year.
These projects are part of the £ 0. 25 billion investment plan, in part to build expertise in markets outside of the Vitol gasoline distribution business.
Global electric vehicle market
Simon Hale, director of VPI Immingham, said that here, Vitol operates about 5,000 gas stations worldwide, "so in the long run, electric vehicles can have a significant impact on our business.
"Now accumulating our knowledge and experience of the battery system will be of great benefit to us.
UK utility Center (CNA ).
L) is building a 49 MW battery project on site at its former Roosecote Power Station in northwest England, which was dismantled in 2015, the UK is part of a £ 0. 18 billion investment in storage and flexible power plants.
The site is unlikely to create many local jobs-the battery unit is expected to be operated remotely-but Centrica says it will help the company build up the knowledge it needs to sell battery units to its customers.
"The real reward for us is to open up the customer market," said Mark Fuyan, director of business dynamics at Centrica . ".
"Some customers want battery solutions to improve the elasticity and safety of power supply.
For others, this is about being able to invest and return.
"Under the frequency balance tender enhanced by the State Grid, the 49 MW project did not ensure the safety of the work, but won 15-
The annual contract in the government capacity auction, which began on 2020, pays for generators when demand is high.
The German energy storage company Younicos will provide batteries for the project, which will become one of the largest batteries in Europe after completion, consisting of more than 100,000 batteries.
Industry experts believe that the size of the other two companies in Europe compete with the Centrica website: The French utility company EDF (EDF ).
PA) subsidiary, EDF Energy Renewables, is building a 49 MW project in the UK after winning the national grid tender, while the Dutch utility, Eneco [ENECO.
Mitsubishi, a Japanese multinational company, plans to build a 48 MW project in Germany.
Large energy storage sites, if used in conjunction with renewable energy, may also help fill the country's looming power supply gap, as aging nuclear power plants and coal-fired power plants shut down in their 2020 s.
As part of Prime Minister Theresa May's industrial strategy, the government has asked Chief Science Officer Mark Walport to review whether a new agency should be set up to support battery technology and energy storage.
If mass battery storage starts, it will be a welcome relief for a government forced to shut down carbon storage
Just as many nuclear power plants are about to die, motivating coal-fired power stations has raised concerns about future energy security.
Due to the high cost in the early stage, it is difficult for large new traditional power stations to land.
The relatively high price of industrial electricity in Britain has become an obstacle for British companies to try to compete with their mainland neighbors.
The British Department of Commerce, Energy And Industry Strategy (BEIS) predicts that by 2030, the UK will have a storage capacity of 3 gigawatts, by which time renewable energy can provide about 50% of the UK's electricity.
In the past six years, renewable energy production has doubled to about 20% of Britain's total.
"If we (UK) can get 50% renewable energy backed by storage
"In order to provide flexible local power, we don't need to build all the new generation capacity to meet peak demand," said Steve Shine, chairman of the board of directors of clean technology and battery project developer Anesco.
At the moment, the goal of Vattenfall, Centrica and others seems to be to prove the technical feasibility of large-scale battery storage, with profits back in the second line.
Anesco developed the first business in the UK-
In 2014, battery units of scale did not win the State Grid contract.
"I don't think some of these projects will be built because interest rates are too low," Shine said . ".
He said that the State Grid's tender was settled at a much lower price than expected, and ultimately was cheaper than the State Grid's usual contract to award a slower frequency balance service.
"I doubt if they have a big return on these initial projects, but it could be a more strategic move because these companies want batteries to play an important role in the future, "They want to experience it without being left behind," said Houston.
McClay of the State Grid said seven of the eight projects that won the bid had already passed their first milestone, and the final project is expected to pass in the next two weeks.