SoNick battery replaces lead acid batteries in off-grid installation – case study.

People install battery systems for many reasons and likewise people choose battery technologies for various reasons.

For many years people have used lead acid batteries as a known battery technology, particularly in off grid installations. A battery of choice has often been used Telecom batteries which are replaced regularly from telecom installations that need guaranteed UPS (uninterrupted power supply) capabilities. As these batteries are often sold at a vastly reduced cost it is economical for off-grid households to add a large number of batteries to an off-grid system to allow for reduced capacity of the batteries.

Unfortunately, for lead acid battery systems the battery system operates at the capacity of the weakest battery so you are unable to use new lead acid batteries in older systems and would need to replace the whole bank of batteries when more capacity is needed.

Lead acid batteries are well known for having a “falling off the cliff reputation” and degrading very suddenly and quickly, often with no warning. This happens particularly often in cold or hot weather. Coincidentally this is often when batteries are needed the most for heating and cooling. At the same time, most people who live off grid have learnt to manage their electricity usage to only use what is available and to use a generator when batteries are unavailable.

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Stability of SoNick battery – case study.

An installer recently contacted us to talk about the performance of a SoNick battery he had bought 8 years ago.

Originally it was purchased as part of a portable trailer system. The battery was utilised in this capacity for a number of years. It was used to supply power in power outages and at events, as well as being used as a showcase of the SoNick battery and what could be achieved in a portable power system.

*** Note: not all batteries are suitable for use in portable power systems due to the risk of damaging their cells due to trailer movements and due to the risk of fire in case of accident or cell damage.

Due to the intermittent use of this trailer, the battery was often left to go cold between uses then heated up again when needed.

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SoNick the non-flammable battery

If you’re serious about battery safety, one battery stands head and shoulders above all other battery technologies.

It’s the Sodium Nickel (SoNick) salt battery, manufactured by FZSoNick and distributed in Australia by GridEdge.

With increasing demands for battery safety standards, SoNick is a unique product that helps our partners stand out.

The SoNick battery technology was the first and still is one of very few that have UL9540A certification for safety, stating it will not go into thermal runaway, both on a cell and complete module basis. This means no risk of fire or explosion, even in the presence of external fire.

UL9540A certified

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SoNick batteries support Radial Renewable Energy Park in Yarram

GridEdge is currently involved in a project to create a Renewable Energy Park at the Radial Timbers Sawmill in Yarram.

This project uses the GridEdge SoNick Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and solar, added to a pyrolysis machine to create a “Bioenergy Cell” that provides power for the mill and further processes residual timber products into valuable bioproducts.

The battery installations are using 4 x 620V SoNick batteries in a SoNick Zebra container.

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Radial Renewable Energy Park at Yarram Sawmill

GridEdge is currently involved in a project to create a Renewable Energy Park at the Radial Timbers Sawmill in Yarram.

The project will establish a “Bioenergy Cell” that incorporates the GridEdge SoNick Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and The Earth Systems Charmaker Pyrolysis Unit and solar installations.

Stage 1 of the Renewable Energy will be the installation of 2 installations of 100kW solar & 90 kWh battery storage on each of the 2 mills at Radial timber.

The battery installations are using 4 x 620V SoNick batteries in a SoNick Zebra container. Each battery installation is supported by an ELPower 100 KW PCS (power conditioning system).

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SoNick – the ESG battery

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is a term that is often used by ethical investors to evaluate a company’s sustainable and ethical performance when they are investigating the long term investability of a company.

A crucial part of our new energy transition is the usage of batteries to store energy, either as backup power, to stabilize the grid or in EV’s. This transition will involve trade-offs and by adhering to ESG principles companies can make sure their governance covers factors that make sure that the net result of this transition is positive from the environment and social angles.

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Advantages of SoNick battery for installations

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.

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Using your SoNick battery, energy storage system in winter

During summer, when you have an energy storage system on your house, as long as it is sized correctly and you have enough solar PV, you should always be able to fill your batteries to full capacity on a daily basis. You will probably generate excess electricity and export it to the grid, although you will rarely be paid enough to justify this as a useful use of your green energy production system.

In summer, you can generally just ignore your energy storage system and it will cover as much of your power needs as you have designed the system to provide.

However, in winter the situation changes as the hours of solar generation decrease and the sun is lower in the sky, so often produces less PV generation on your solar panels. This is particularly relevant when you have several days in a row of rainy and / or cloudy weather with little to no PV generation. In order to maximise the solar PV available and get the most use from your batteries it may be a good idea to change the way your battery is utilised.

Instead of only filling your battery from solar which is the cheapest and most environmentally friendly way to fill a household battery you can fill it using off-peak power then using the battery system to provide electricity to your house during peak power usage times, often 3 – 9pm each day. Not as good as charging the battery with the sun but better than paying peak electricity rates.

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Brackenridge – Domestic Case Study using SoNick batteries

This domestic installation was designed to run as a grid minimisation installation. Although the grid remains connected it is rarely used.

This is an area with frequent power outages, often for many days so the ability to have power in an off-grid installation when the grid wasn’t available was a major requirement.

Sodium Nickel Chloride (SoNick) batteries were selected as they have the highest energy density of any batteries and are completely safe with no off-gassing or fire risk, meaning there are no safety issues with installing the batteries. As the SoNick batteries operate with no temperature effects and no degradation from -20°C to +60°C there are no issues with either heat or freezing temperatures that are often experienced and the batteries don’t require air conditioning to keep them cool or heaters to heat them enough for them to work.

Lithium-ion batteries weren’t considered due to the difficulty in recycling lithium batteries at end of life and to their inherent fire risk.

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Off grid office – Commercial Case Study using SoNick batteries

Portable commercial office running in off grid situation.

Situated at a crushing plant used to crush concrete blocks for road fill. The portable office is placed near the weighbridge which didn’t have a grid connection to that particular part of site. Connecting to the grid was going to be very expensive and the portable off-grid hut was a perfect solution.

Battery usually discharges to around 50 – 60% capacity each day and is generally fully charged by 12 to 2pm each day.

Installation was easy as batteries could be installed anywhere in the office. As the SoNick battery doesn’t have any gasses given off no special enclosures were needed, unlike lead acid batteries which are what would have been used in this situation previously and would have needed a special room to contain gassing.

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