EnerDel Th!nk City - Click above for high-res image gallery
Indianapolis-based battery maker EnerDel is tied closely to the Th!nk electric car company – which has yet to bring the car to the U.S. market – but they're also looking beyond the next generation of plug-in electric vehicles. EnerDel has announced a new partnership with Smart Grid Leader and the U.S. Department of Energy to use EnerDel batteries in five separate one-megawatt power system out in Portland, Oregon that can supply energy to up to 400 homes for an hour during peak load times. The batteries in the system will use the same core chemistry that is used the EnerDel's batteries "designed for the emerging new generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles." This is the second time we're hearing about this PHEV system (first mentioned here), but we still don't know details about which company EnerDel is working with. We like that EnerDel is testing the same chemistry in cars and home power storage, since it's almost a given that the big packs from plug-in cars will be used to stabilize the grid once they've served their vehicular purpose.
[Source: EnerDel]
PRESS RELEASE:
Lithium-Ion Battery Maker EnerDel Enters Utility Energy Storage Market, Will Supply New DOE-Backed Smart Grid Program
Partnership with Smart Grid Leader Will Smooth Integration of Renewable Resources in Pacific Northwest
INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel will enter the utility-scale energy storage market, supplying batteries for a major new smart grid program announced yesterday by the US Department of Energy. EnerDel will build the batteries for five one-megawatt power systems that will be used by Portland General Electric (PGE) - a pioneer in smart grid technology deployment -- to help manage peak demand and smooth the variations in power from renewable sources like wind and solar.
"Energy storage is a key component of the smart grid, as well as a crucial tool for enhancing both the reliability and the availability of renewable but often intermittent energy sources like wind and solar," said Cyrus Ashtiani, Chief Technology Officer at EnerDel. "We expect this sector to be a major growth area for the battery industry. This program is a breakthrough opportunity for EnerDel to prove the capabilities of our systems in partnership with one of the most innovative electric utilities in the country."
Each of the five EnerDel battery systems will store enough energy to power roughly 400 average American homes simultaneously for up to an hour at a time utilizing the same core chemistry as the EnerDel batteries designed for the emerging new generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The new systems will be used in concert with a variety of both hardware and software solutions to improve system reliability during peak demand loads.
The PGE project will be built in Salem, OR, where it will serve both residential and commercial customers. Equipment will be installed at 15 sites over the next two years, after which developers will spend two to three years testing system performance under wide variety of geographic and meteorological conditions. It is one of 16 announced by DOE, which is providing half the $178 million funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal stimulus package enacted in February. The balance will come from utilities and other participants. Overall, the Northwest regional program will serve up to 60,000 utility customers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
EnerDel is part of Ener1, Inc. (NASDAQ:HEV) . Based in Indianapolis, IN, the company has one of the most advanced lithium-ion battery manufacturing facilities in the world, and the only one of its kind in the United States.
About Ener1, Inc.:
Ener1 develops and manufactures compact, high performance lithium-ion batteries to power the next generation of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles. The publicly traded company (NASDAQ:HEV) is led by an experienced team of engineers and energy system experts at its EnerDel subsidiary located in Indiana. In addition to the automobile market, applications for Ener1 lithium-ion battery technology include the military, grid storage and other growing markets. Ener1 also develops commercial fuel cell products through its EnerFuel subsidiary and nanotechnology-based materials and manufacturing processes for batteries and other applications through its NanoEner subsidiary.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements that are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "believes," "scheduled," "estimates" and variations of these words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results and trends may differ materially from what is forecast in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and the company does not undertake any obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.
Source: Ener1, Inc.
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