Why EV batteries are like Star Wars™

I'm one of the very few people that I know who hasn't ever watched a Star Wars™ film (I see this as a badge of honour).  Arguably therefore, I'm not the best person to reflect on the parallels between Star Wars™ and Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries.  So I won't, other than to say that in the same way Star Wars™ has its sequel and prequel, business models are emerging which give EV batteries the same accolade.

The original - Batteries used in EVs and hybrids

We're all familiar now with batteries in a vehicle's powertrain.  There are a variety of different approaches - conventional hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.  Due to ever-tightening tailpipe regulations and tax incentives for drivers, almost all manufacturers have at least one of these in their model range, and I expect by 2020, almost every model from every manufacturer will have a hybrid/electric option.

Toyota Prius 2016 - Conventional Hybrid

BMW 740e -Plug-in Hybrid

Nissan Leaf - Electric Vehicle

In all of these cases, it's expected that the battery lasts as long as the vehicle itself.  Obviously, as a relatively new technology, time will tell, however, there is some very encouraging news from Nissan, showing a 99.99% reliability after 5 years (only 3 problems with 35,000 sales in Europe) - a much better reliability record than cars with a conventional engine.

One of the perceived drawbacks of an electric vehicle is the time taken to charge the battery.  Although the growth of rapid chargers makes this a reduced issue, an alternative is to be able to 'swap-out' the batteries.  Popularised by Israeli start-up Better Place, now Elon Musk's Tesla is trialling a similar approach to compliment its fast charger network:

Eventually though, EV/hybrid batteries will reach the end of their life in a car, but that doesn't mean the battery cannot be used in another form... Time for a sequel...

The sequel - the EV/hybrid battery secondary market

To minimise the carbon footprint of a battery, and extend its use phase for as long possible, manufacturers are starting to look at partnerships where their batteries can be re-used in another form.

Renault have announced a partnership with Connected Energy, where their E-STOR proposition uses batteries from Renault cars to support storage from intermittent renewable sources, or for EV charging solutions.

Connected Energy's collaboration with Renault

And in the US, Nissan are partnering with Green Charge Networks with a similar proposition.

Nissan's US partnership with Green Charge Networks

Finally, in the US, BMW are running an innovative V2G demand response programme, BMW i Charge Forward, allowing 100 BMW i3 drivers to earn extra income from demand response requests from their utility PG&E. In parallel to this, some additional static storage is being provided by used Mini E batteries.

So that's the sequel understood.  But a prequel...?

The Prequel - a living parts store

Earlier in this article, news from Nissan gave us confidence that batteries in vehicles are more reliable than sceptics assumed.  But of course, there are situations where batteries will need to be replaced... and manufacturers need to have spares available.  In an innovative partnership with enercity, Daimler will create a 15MWh storage facility, using batteries which are yet to be used in a car - they call it a 'living parts store'.  Its energy storage will be marketed in the German primary balancing power market, helping provide a lower-carbon mechanism to flatten/shift grid peaks.  And incredibly, managed charging and discharging is exactly what a battery benefits from, rather than a 'deep discharge' if it's just sat on a shelf.

Daimler's Energy Storage facility

The spin-offs

Obviously lithium-ion batteries don't need to have a direct use-case around vehicles, and car manufacturers are very aware of that.  Telsa is making an impact in the domestic energy storage market with its Tesla Powerwall (the first UK installation was made in a home in Wales last week). 

Tesla Powerwall

They are also making the technology available at the utility level, with the Powerpack. Their Gigafactory will be churning-out large numbers of batteries (it's ahead of schedule) - I wonder if they are exploring the 'living parts store' option too...

And, as I wrote in an earlier article, Daimler are actively working in the same way, partnering with EnBW AG for private customers.

Daimler Energy Storage Solution

Summary

As car manufacturers introduce lithium-ion batteries into powertrains, the driver benefits from improved fuel consumption, tailpipe emissions are reduced/eliminated, and they may even be able to use their car battery to provide energy to their home (V2H) or the grid (V2G).  But as we've seen above, the associated business models mean the potential for car batteries to provide an even greater contribution to our energy ecosystem are really exciting.

So, a tenuous link to Star Wars™ I admit, but with the humble lithium-ion battery making futuristic transformations to our energy system today, who needs fantasy action adventure films? 

End Credits

All images © respective manufacturers unless otherwise stated.

Vehicles powering the future

Since the 'Benz Patent Motorwagen' was launched in 1879, cars have evolved into technological marvels, with new features like electric powertrains and autonomous driving capabilities pushing our expectations into the realms of science fiction.  Additionally, new ownership models like car-sharing mean the once-important aspiration of owning a car has evolved into Generation Y just wanting to access one.

 

However, to-date, the car fundamentally does exactly what the horse and cart did before it - to transport people (and luggage) from A to B.  But is that about to change, with in-car battery storage introducing new propositions and business models?

This week, in partnership with ENEL, Nissan introduced smart grid trials, with the car being an 'energy hub' for the home. 

The concept is straightforward:

• 'Vehicle to Home' (V2H) allows energy stored in the car battery to be used to power the home - useful when buying electricity directly from the grid may be more expensive, e.g. at peak times
• 'Vehicle to Grid' (V2G) allows the car owner to sell excess stored energy from the car battery back to the grid, helping to flatten peaks and/or meet short-term energy demand

 

A video from Nissan describes a little more about the concept:

Other energy storage options can be found in static battery solutions much like the recent Tesla Powerwall and a similar approach from Daimler, but of course these can't also transport you to difference places!

Other manufacturers are investing in similar propositions (some using hydrogen fuel cells), with several concepts unveiled at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show in October 2015

 

Models shown above from Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi respectively.

There are two propositions which seem to make sense to exploit this technology - it will be interesting to see how soon they may appear...

Household energy

In the most basic model, a single household uses their charged car when at home to provide additional energy for their home (V2H), reducing the reliance on peak grid electricity (and avoiding potential high-carbon emitting loads like backup diesel generators).  This can be more intelligent still if the household can also generate their own electricity, e.g. via solar panels... potentially getting close to being 'off grid'.  Excess energy can be sold to the grid (V2G).

Community/collective energy

The proposition above may be attractive enough to households to reverse the trend of declining car ownership, but perhaps that's an irreversible trend.  If so, there may be some innovative business models which emerge, using a fleet of vehicles, where households do not own a vehicle:

• A community own a fleet of vehicles, leasing vehicles to households/businesses, or providing a car-sharing pool.  This consolidated fleet of batteries together provide a 'virtual distributed energy storage solution'
• The concept could be extended to public transport too, as electrification emerges as a viable powertrain in buses
• Combined with solar arrays on a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial premises, a 'portfolio' effect within the geographical community can start to automatically match energy demand with supply, perhaps setting dynamic price signals to nudge behaviours to optimise the system.  Excess energy would be sold to the 'national grid', or neighbouring communities
• As autonomous vehicles become a reality, could a fleet of driverless taxis spend part of their day ferrying passengers around a city, and during 'downtime', find a local dock to either recharge or sell some of the stored energy to the grid, using predictive 'big data' analysis to be positioned for likely customer pick-ups?

Of course there are a significant number of barriers to overcome:

• Cost - both Capex and Opex
• Behaviour change - for households to be willing to share data, to trust the system will work, and to nudge their energy usage to fit the most efficient model
• Battery density and cycling performance
• The need for a 'smart grid' (including metering and billing platforms) to be able to manage a hugely complex and dynamic distributed energy lifeform
• Regulation, with some incumbent parties potentially lobbying against progress
• Insurance liabilities
• Operations - servicing, cleaning, asset protection, infrastructure reliability, health & safety, etc. 

...but there are also a large number of parties who may be interested to making it successful, as they want to diversify, or see their traditional revenues/funding decline:

• Car manufacturers
• Energy retailers or network operators
• Data/information firms (Google)
• Trusted retailers (IKEA?)
• Cities, or local councils
• Existing vehicle fleet owner (courier service)

Do you think any of these concepts could become a commercial reality, at scale?

*UPDATE* In fact, BMW are currently running a trial in the US, with 100 BMW i3 drivers, and their utility, PG&E.   As part of the BMW i Charge Forward programme, BMWi will be able to remotely delay the charging of EVs by up to an hour, to better match the grid requirements, whilst allowing the driver to override/opt-out if required.

All images © respective manufacturers

Tesla Powerwall - Energy Storage

Tesla have launched their new internet-enabled energy storage solution, Powerwall.  Aimed at domestic customers, at launch in the US, there is a 10 kWh version for $3,500, or a 7 kWh model for $3,000 (costs exclude the inverter and installation).

*June 10th 2015 update* Tesla have announced that the continuous power from the batteries will be increased from 2.0kW to 5kW, with peak increased from 3.3kW to 7kW. Additionally, it is reported that 38,000 orders were taken within the first week of launch for the Powerwall.

Tesla's $5bn Gigafactory in Nevada, which is aiming to produce 500,000 batteries a year by 2020 means the production facility scale will be there to support the expected demand.  And with Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, as Chairman of his cousin’s business SolarCity (the leading full-service solar company in the US), there's a natural route to market.

Tesla Powerwall (two batteries installed together)

The solution is also scalable for enterprise and network applications. This is called the Powerpack, and is scalable in 100kWh blocks, up to 10MWh.

Energy storage can help smooth the inherent intermittency of solar energy generation, so has the potential to offer a proposition which could make households effectively become self-sufficient for energy (off-grid).  

The importance of storage to balance solar energy supply and demand (image by Tesla)

It should also encourage the uptake of electric vehicles and electrification of heat, helping decarbonise society's energy use.

Tesla Model S with Powerwall