Altech Chemicals designs larger 60KWh battery pack for Cerenergy sodium alumina solid state project
Altech is commercialising the Cerenergy battery in joint venture with Germany-based Fraunhofer IKTS.
Altech Chemicals (ASX: ATC) has designed and launched the Cerenergy sodium alumina solid state 60 kilowatts per hour (ABS60) battery pack designed for the renewable energy and grid storage market.
The high-voltage pack replaces a proposed module for 10 kilowatt hours (KWh) following preliminary discussions with potential offtake customers of the 100MWh Cerenergy battery project.
Each ABS60 pack consists of 240 Cerenergy cells rated at 2.5 volts each, arranged in four rows of 12 cells and five cell modules high.
They measure 2.6 metres in height, 0.4m in length and 1m in width and are rated to IP65 (ingress protection) standard, making them dust, fire and weatherproof.
They can be installed in all outdoor conditions as well as indoor where lithium-ion installations are prohibited.
Altech said replacing the 10KWh battery with the larger ABS60 pack would allow for more efficient installation in renewable energy and grid storage applications, reducing module assembly casing and connection costs.
The new design uses one battery management system (BMS) processor compared to six processors employed by the 10KWh modules.
The fuse and disconnectors will also be reduced by the same factor for the larger battery.
Battery joint venture
In September, Altech announced a 75:25 joint venture agreement with German battery institute Fraunhofer IKTS to commercialise the Cerenergy battery.
The partners will build a 100MWh battery manufacturing plant on Altech’s land at the Schwarze Pumpe Industrial Park in Saxony.
Altech said the plant would be re-designed to produce ABS60 battery packs as a standard product to meet Europe’s renewable energy and grid storage market.
Game-changing alternative
Cerenergy batteries are reported to be a “game-changing grid storage alternative” to lithium-ion batteries.
They are fire and explosion-proof, have a life span of more than 15 years and can operate in extreme climates.
The technology uses table salt and is free of lithium, cobalt, graphite and copper, eliminating exposure to critical metal price rises and supply chain concerns.
Fraunhofer has previously estimated that the cost of producing Cerenergy batteries could be up to 40% cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, primarily due to the absence of these metals.
Altech said this estimate would be confirmed in a bankable feasibility study currently being completed for the project.