Tag: recyclablebattery

Advantages of SoNick battery for installations

Posted on by Linda

Below is a summary of some of the differences between the SoNick battery and other battery technologies.

SoNick will not catch fire

The SoNick battery cannot catch fire or explode. It is the only chemistry UL9540A certified for safety from thermal runaway. This means no risk of fire or explosion, even in the presence of external fire.

All lithium-ion batteries have the potential to catch fire. Depending on the particular lithium-ion technology and safety features included with the battery, the ignition point may change, i.e. the ignition point for lithium ion phosphate is higher than that for lithium manganese cobalt.

If a battery installation is situated next to a building and the battery catches fire it is quite possible for the whole building to be burnt as a result of the difficulties associated with extinguishing lithium-ion fires. Also, when lithium batteries catch fire toxic fumes are given off.

SoNick capacity doesn’t degrade over service life

The SoNick battery doesn’t degrade over its service life. After 10 years you should still be operating at your original capacity.

Continue reading “Advantages of SoNick battery for installations” →

MIGROS gets the largest salt battery storage facility in Switzerland

Posted on by Linda

It’s great to see the newest installation of the #SoNick batteries in Switzerland by Innovenergy.

This installation is a 540 kWh salt battery storage system and now stands in the basement of MIGROS Schlieren/ZH. The molten salt batteries are 620V SoNick batteries supplied by FZSoNick and inverters by Indrivetec.

The SoNick batteries are charged with a large 806 KW solar PV system.

The purpose of the large-scale project is to save energy costs by optimising self-consumption. The other benefit is to maximise peak shaving which ensures the supermarket doesn’t have a lot of intermittent high energy draws which would increase energy bills substantially.

Continue reading “MIGROS gets the largest salt battery storage facility in Switzerland” →

Recyclable batteries that do not require maintenance – FZSonick

Posted on by Linda

A chat with Giovanni Zola, General Manager of FZSonick SA of Stabio: the only company in the world that manufactures and markets accumulators (batteries) with the innovative sodium-chloride technology. The same have various fields of application. Let’s find out which ones.

FZSONICK was born from the historical passion of the Dolcetta family for the world of energy which, since the early 2000s, began to take an interest in green batteries. In 2010, following the agreement signed with the Swiss company Mes-Dea, manufacturer of the same type of batteries known as “Zebra”, the current company was born that markets accumulators with the innovative Nickel Sodium Chloride technology commonly also called “Salt Batteries”. For the moment FZSONICK is the only company in the world to produce batteries with this technology. The company is present in Stabio, Switzerland, with a production plant and a research center; in Italy (in the province of Vicenza), it has a sales office as well as in North America (in Elgin, Illinois) for worldwide distribution. With its product lines, FZSONICK currently serves 3 reference markets:

Continue reading “Recyclable batteries that do not require maintenance – FZSonick” →

Battery capacity depends on user needs

Posted on by Linda

 

There are many things to take into account when looking at an energy storage battery for your home or business. These include what you want your energy storage battery to do as well as its safety, performance, operating temperature and end of life recyclability.

Unfortunately many people only look at the initial purchase cost of batteries and this is what they use to compare different batteries. This doesn’t take into account what a battery may cost them over its lifetime or the cost to the environment of both the battery’s manufacture and end of life disposal. To make a realistic comparison of a battery’s cost you need to consider it’s full “cradle to grave” impact on all areas, including its safety during operation and it’s environmental impact. Continue reading “Battery capacity depends on user needs” →

Climate of the Nation 2017 Australian attitudes on climate change

Posted on by Linda

 

 

  1. Climate Change: The majority of Australians agree that climate change is occurring (71 %) and accept the scientific consensus that human activity is the main cause (57 %).
  2. Action: The majority of Australians want Australia to address climate change because they see strong economic, environmental and social benefits and opportunities in the shift to a clean economy (73 %).

Continue reading “Climate of the Nation 2017 Australian attitudes on climate change” →

What is a Molten Salt Battery

Posted on by Linda

Molten Salt Battery

When it comes to green energy, the intermittent nature of renewable sources like wind, solar, and tidal power presents a difficult problem for the electrical grid management. Peak energy production often doesn’t correlate well with peak energy demand, necessitating a means of storing excess energy when consumption is low. As renewable energy sources become more prevalent, and the need to curb fossil fuel emissions continues to increase, finding a new grid energy storage solution has never been more important. It is the final piece of technology required to bring about wide scale adoption of renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines.

  • What is a Molten Salt Battery?

Molten salt batteries, especially liquid metal batteries, are increasingly gaining interest from the energy community as a grid energy storage solution for renewable energy sources. Combining high energy and power densities, long life times, and low cost materials, they have the potential to meet the unique demands of grid scale energy storage. A molten salt battery is a class of battery that uses a molten salts electrolyte. The components of molten salt batteries are solid at room temperature, allowing them to be stored inactive for long periods time. During activation, the cathode, anode and electrolyte layers separate due to their relative densities and immiscibility. The molten salt layer in the middle serves as an electrolyte with a high ionic conductivity, and is the medium through which the ionic species travel as the battery charges and discharges.

  • Advantages of Molten Salt Batteries

Continue reading “What is a Molten Salt Battery” →

Battery Standards and Lithium battery fires

Posted on by Linda

It is interesting that everyone is up in arms about the battery standards being introduced into Australia but maybe people should be asking why these standards are being brought in. It is not only government and coal company lobbying.

Yes, lithium ion batteries are currently cheaper and installing them in safer locations will add cost to installing them, however there are already safer battery technologies on the market that are being pushed out of the market due to the cheap cost of lithium ion batteries.

It is easy to say there is a low probability of your lithium ion battery catching fire, (and some lithium battery technologies are safer than others), but if it is your house that burns down or someone in your house that is injured you may be taking a different view on the safety standards.

The thing that is not being addressed here is that a fire doesn’t have to start in the battery due to a fault in the battery for the battery to catch fire; it can start in the vicinity of the battery and then move to the battery. The standards are designed to help the fire brigade protect your property and their members safety by limiting the dangers caused by battery fires that can’t be put out. Continue reading “Battery Standards and Lithium battery fires” →

Battery Recycling

Posted on by Linda

One of the things that you should consider when putting battery storage on your home is whether or not the battery will be recyclable at the end of its life.
Recycling batteries at the end of their life has a number of benefits:

  • It enables the recovery and reuse of materials including lead, iron, plastics, aluminium, copper, lithium, cobalt and electrolyte
  • It diverts toxic and hazardous materials from landfill
  • It ensures that batteries are managed safely
  • There may be a financial return (depending on the battery type).

Often, one of the reasons that people put solar panels on their house and put in battery storage to collect the excess usage is to protect the environment and reduce the need for coal powered power stations. This can be counterproductive if you choose a battery that is made from toxic materials or has components that can’t be recycled at end of life of the battery.

When batteries go to landfill toxic substances can cause damage to the waste stream, waterways, humans and the general environment. This can be nickel, cadmium, lead or lithium ion.

Recycling of energy storage batteries is a current weakness in the industry for many battery technologies.

Continue reading “Battery Recycling” →

Cheaper battery prices can have unforseen consequences

Posted on by Linda

 

There are many things to take into account when looking at an energy storage battery for your home or business. These include safety, performance, operating temperature as well as recyclability and environmental impact.

Unfortunately many people only look at the initial purchase cost of batteries and this is what they use to compare different batteries. This doesn’t take into account what a battery may cost them over its lifetime or the cost to the environment of both the battery’s manufacture and end of life disposal. To make a realistic comparison of a battery’s cost you need to consider its full “cradle to grave” impact on all areas, including its safety during operation and its environmental impact. Continue reading “Cheaper battery prices can have unforseen consequences” →

Battery Recyclability

Posted on by Linda

 

One of the things that you should consider when putting battery storage on your home is whether or not the battery will be recyclable at the end of its life.

Often, one of the reasons that people put solar panels on their house and put in battery storage to collect the excess usage is to protect the environment and reduce the need for coal powered power stations.

This can be counterproductive if you choose a battery that is made from toxic materials or has components that can’t be recycled. Continue reading “Battery Recyclability” →