Page | 006 3. Introduction to Lithium-Ion Battery Energy Storage Systems
3.1 Types of Lithium-Ion Battery
A lithium-ion battery or li-ion battery (abbreviated as LIB) is a type of rechargeable battery. It was first pioneered by chemist Dr M. Stanley Whittingham at Exxon in the 1970s. Lithium-ion batteries have increasingly been used for portable electronics, electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems over the last 50 years. They are an established, proven and reliable form of battery technology.4
All lithium-ion technologies today are based on the same principle. Lithium is stored in the anode (or negative electrode) and transported during the discharge to the cathode (or positive electrode) via an organic electrolyte.
There are a wide range of sub-categories of lithium-ion chemistry with different safety, cost, energy density and performance characteristics.
Handheld electronics like mobile phones and laptops mostly use LIBs based on lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2, or LCO). However, LCO has limited use for large power applications and has relatively limited cycling ability (i.e. the number of charge/discharge cycles) so it is typically not utilised in grid-scale energy storage systems.
Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP), lithium ion manganese oxide (LiMn2O4, Li2MnO3, or LMO), and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNiMnCoO2 or NMC) battery chemistries offer lower energy density but longer battery lives and are the safest types of lithium-ion batteries.
These batteries are widely used in electric tools, medical equipment (for example defibrillators and implanted cardiac and neurostimulation devices) and other roles. NMC and LFP are leading contenders for automotive and stationary storage applications, such as grid-scale battery energy storage systems, based on their combination of density, safety and cost characteristics.
3.2 The Benefits of Battery Energy Storage Systems
As storage technologies continue to mature, and their costs continue to fall, they will be increasingly deployed as a flexible asset to support national decarbonisation goals. In June 2021, Baringa released ‘Endgame – A zero-carbon electricity plan for Ireland’ which projects up to 1,700 MW of large-scale battery storage will be needed on an all-island basis to meet 2030 RES-E targets and deliver a zero- carbon pwoer system.5 The benefits these battery storage projects are as follows:
Ensuring System Stability and Reducing Power Sector Emissions
One of the main uses for battery energy storage systems is to provide system services such as fast acting frequency response and energy reserves that can replace the need to use fossil fuel generators for these services.
For example, to ensure the stability of the system in case of a sudden disruption to power generation or demand, such as a large generator failing unexpectedly, the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) must make sure that there is sufficient reserve back-up power on the system at all times. This reserve power must be available at a moment’s notice and currently the TSOs meet the majority of their
4 Scrosati, Bruno (4 May 2011). "History of lithium batteries". Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry. 15 (7–8): 1623–1630. doi:10.1007/s10008-011-1386-8
5 https://windenergyireland.com/images/files/20210629-baringa-endgame-final-version.pdf
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