Saft is said to be working in collaboration with Apollo Solar, a company engaged in the design and manufacture of power electronics for solar energy systems.
Saft claimed that the objective of the SEGIS program, managed by Sandia National Laboratories, is to develop products that will allow photovoltaics to become an integral part of household and commercial Smart-Energy systems.
Apollo Solar has reportedly been selected by the DOE to design and develop a 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 energy storage that will enable the solar energy to be ‘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 said.
John Pfeifer, president and CEO of Apollo Solar, said: “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. The inclusion of Li-ion energy storage and its capability for time-shifting was therefore a key success factor in our project proposal.”
