The Smarter E expo was huge! 10+ halls full of solar and battery people! Here are my top four takeaways from the show:
· Cells and systems are getting bigger and more energy dense
· Poly-crystalline is having a comeback
· Cell manufacturers are struggling with over-capacity and are selling with no margin
· Sodium-ion is still more expensive than LFP, but hard carbon anode prices have fallen
Energy storage cells are improving in multiple ways. The first is that – through welding optimization – the same volume of cell can now hold more active material, and therefore contain a greater energy. This enables slight increases in 20 ft container energy. Secondly, the physical size of the cell is increasing dramatically, with several 500+ Ah cell designs planned. These improvements are enabling systems of 6+ MWh today and potentially up to 8 MWh in the near future.
Single-crystalline cathodes, due to their crack resistance have been the focus of OEMs for a while now. However, with better crack mitigation strategies, many OEMs are looking to refer back to poly-crystalline materials, due to the greater cell level energy density they can provide.
Over-capacity is very real in China, and the low prices we are seeing in the market today are a direct result of this. Many manufacturers are selling at or even below cost, in order to keep market share and ensure a revenue stream.
As expected, a sodium-ion cell is more expensive than an LFP cell, and the sodium-ion hype has definitely quietened due to low lithium prices. However, anode prices have fallen significantly, also as expected, meaning price parity isn’t too far away.
If you'd like to chat about any of these topics, or batteries/battery costs in general please do reach out!
#sustainability #batteries #energystorage #TheSmarterE