Marija Maisch – pv magazine USA

Northvolt closes Cuberg’s ops, shifts lithium-metal battery R&D to Sweden

Marija Maisch — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 13:01:10 +0000

Three years after acquiring U.S.-based Cuberg, Swedish battery maker Northvolt has decided to shut down the California unit and move future lithium-metal battery R&D to Sweden.

From pv magazine ESS News

Northvolt, Europe’s battery manufacturing torchbearer, has announced the decision to shift development of its next-generation lithium-metal battery technology from California to its R&D campus, Northvolt Labs, in Västerås, Sweden.

To date, Northvolt has been engaged in the development of energy-dense lithium-metal battery technology for aviation applications and high-performance vehicles at its Cuberg subsidiary, based in San Leandro, California.

The Stanford University spinoff has developed a 20 Ah commercial-format lithium-metal pouch cell with an energy density of 405 Wh/kg. It has integrated those cells into an aviation-specific battery module offering gravimetric and volumetric energy density of 280 Wh/kg and 320 Wh/L, respectively.

Now, Cuberg employees are being encouraged to apply to open positions matching their skillset within Northvolt.

To continue reading, please visit our pv magazine ESS News website.

Liquid metal battery storage specialist Ambri emerges from restructuring

Marija Maisch — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 16:10:46 +0000

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the calcium-antimony liquid metal battery startup incubated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has now confirmed the closing of the sale of its assets.

From ESS News

Ambri has confirmed the closing of the sale of its assets in accordance with Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code to a consortium of its lenders, as it prepares to take fresh steps toward commercialization of its long-duration storage technology.

Earlier this year, Ambri’s board, management and its lenders determined that a court-supervised 363 sale process was the best course to facilitate a comprehensive recapitalization in a bid to ensure long-term growth and profitability. The company filed for bankruptcy in May, blaming a challenging fundraising environment and thwarted plans to expand into manufacturing.

Now, the liquid metal battery storage startup has emerged with additional capital contribution from the Lender Consortium, whose bid was selected following a competitive sale process. The Lender Consortium comprises a group of Ambri’s pre-bankruptcy investors, including funds managed by each of Gates Frontier, Paulson and Co. Inc., Fortistar, and other investors.

“The team at Ambri has continued to make impressive progress towards a commercial long-duration battery system, including developing our third-generation cell product,” said David Bradwell, Ambri’s cofounder who is now taking the reins as the company’s new CEO.

“I am grateful for the dedication of our team and the support of our investors as we emerge as a leaner and more capital efficient organization. We look forward to offering our unique, safe, and low-cost commercial product to our customers at scale, to meet the strong customer demand for our battery systems, and for a cleaner energy future. As we embark on this fresh start with a stronger balance sheet and new capital, we are focused on positioning Ambri to play a leading role in the long duration energy storage market for the benefit of our stakeholders,” Bradwell said.

Founded in 2010 at MIT, Ambri has been working on building industrial-scale, liquid-metal batteries for over a decade. With Reliance Industries as one of its key investors, the company had plans to set up a large-scale battery manufacturing facility in India, in addition to building a 140,000 square foot facility in Milford, Massachusetts.

As it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company said it had seen strong demand for its technology from across the market, equaling the planned output of its factory in Milford, Massachusetts, for three years.

Ambri’s batteries feature a liquid calcium alloy anode, a molten salt electrolyte, and a cathode comprised of solid particles of antimony, enabling the use of low-cost materials and a low number of steps in the cell assembly process.

To continue reading, visit our ESS News website.

California state grant advances 2 GWh iron flow battery deployment plans

Marija Maisch — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 13:23:54 +0000

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s long-duration battery energy storage project in partnership with ESS Tech, Inc. has been awarded a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission to demonstrate the capability of iron flow battery technology.

From ESS News

While most long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are still early stage, flow batteries have already had significant commercial success due to their long cycle life, excellent recyclability, and low fire risk.

In one of the biggest developments in the field, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), the sixth-largest community-owned electric service provider in the US, has partnered with iron flow battery specialist ESS Tech, Inc. to deliver up to 200 MW/ 2 GWh of iron flow long-duration energy storage systems.

With the partnership closed in 2022, the project reached a new milestone last week with the approval of a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission. The funding will be used for developing a 3.6 MW, eight-hour iron flow battery project, which is expected to set the foundation for future large-scale battery deployments and manufacturing at energy centers in Sacramento.

The project aims to showcase the capability and reliability of iron flow battery technology in supporting grid distribution and transmission systems as SMUD transitions to a carbon-free power portfolio by 2030.

Founded in 2011, ESS manufactures iron flow batteries using widely available materials such as iron, salt, and water. Designed for applications that require up to twelve hours of flexible energy capacity, the batteries are used in utility-scale renewable energy installations, remote solar-plus-storage microgrids, solar load-shifting and peak shaving, as well as other ancillary grid services.

To continue reading, please visit our ESS News website.