The project aims to assess, validate, and demonstrate the operational effectiveness of vanadium-redox flow battery storage technology
Ameresco completes first phase of flow battery technology investigation. (Credit: Pixabay/pasja1000)
US-based renewable energy company Ameresco has completed the first phase of a multi-stage investigation to know how flow battery technology can support microgrids with the Department of Defense (DoD).
The research, which was conducted in partnership with 2ndPath Energy, is funded by the US Department of Defense’s Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP).
The ESTCP project promotes the transfer of innovative technologies from proof-of-concept to field or production use.
The project aims to assess, validate, and demonstrate the operational effectiveness of vanadium-redox flow battery storage technology.
It also quantifies the extent to that the technology can replace or significantly reduce the need for diesel generators in military microgrids.
The phase-two of research project is scheduled to begin later this year
The phase-one of the project also included the study of economic benefits that flow batteries can provide via utility billing savings and energy market participation at five installations spread across different geographic regions of the US.
Scheduled to commence later this year, the phase two of the research project includes Hardware in the Loop (HIL) testing in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado.
The work will involve validating phase one observations by physically testing the flow battery equipment in a laboratory environment. The phase two will also focus on characterising the performance of a flow battery in a sequence of grid tied and islanded scenarios.
Recently, McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD) in California has selected Ameresco to design and build an integrated microgrid at the Hiller Park wastewater treatment plant.