The objective of the SEGIS program, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, is to develop high performance products that will allow photovoltaics to become a more integral part of household and commercial Smart-Energy systems.
Apollo Solar has been selected by the DOE to design and develop a cost competitive and more efficient smart grid inverter to enhance the value of solar electric systems to home and business users. The new design will incorporate energy storage and two-way communications between solar electrical systems and utilities.
The role of the Saft Li-ion battery system, which will be sized at around 10 kWh, will be to provide efficient energy storage that will enable the solar energy to be effectively ‘time shifted’ to make it available for home consumption during periods of peak demand, or for injection into the grid when needed either for support or when it will generate the most economic value. Saft is already demonstrating this approach in SOL-ION, a Franco-German project dedicated to the development of a new concept in energy conversion and storage for grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems in Europe.
“The SEGIS program aims to maximise the value of distributed solar electric generation, offer greater control of electricity consumption and its cost and to anticipate the emergence of future smart grids” says John Pfeifer, president and chief executive officer of Apollo Solar. “The inclusion of Li-ion energy storage and its capability for time-shifting was therefore a key success factor in our project proposal.”
This contract means that the partnership is well-positioned to progress to the next phase of SEGIS, which will focus on the field demonstration, deployment, and commercialization of the products being developed.
Apollo Solar is a US-based company specializing in the design and manufacture of power electronics for solar energy systems.
