NEWS
Oakridge move to take controlling stake in Leclanché ‘expensive’, but could work Oakridge Global Energy Solutions, the solid-state battery system firm, is to acquire a controlling stake in Leclanché, one of Europe’s oldest battery makers in a deal that analysts call ‘expensive’ but say could ultimately work for both companies. Oakridge will acquire 11,000,000 Leclanché shares from Precept Fund Management in a deal worth $45 million. Leclanché also invested heavily in recent years in lithium titanate energy storage technology. One analyst said this will be a big attraction for Oakridge — though it could prove difficult to
commercialize. “The deal looks expensive but the company has made significant investments in lithium titanate cell production which, so far, is loss making and needs cash,” he said. “They need sales in utility energy storage and related markets at a premium price which will be a challenge.” The deal follows a joint development and marketing agreement between the two in April 2014 that provided Leclanché with a Sfr3 million ($3.1 million) loan in June 2014. However, the agreement with Oakridge is a nonexclusive relationship. CEO
Anil Srivastava says the two companies are not under obligation to use the others’ technology in each market. In the US, Leclanche’s batteries for energy storage are undergoing testing with a national research laboratory to gain certification. Two and half years ago Leclanché began promoting and field-testing energy storage products using its lithium chemistry, including residential energy storage products as well as supplying its cells for testing with wind and solar farms. In 2013, the company said it begun ramping production at its factory and validating lithium titan-
Aquion to supply aqueous hybrid ion battery to Hawaii private estate Aquion Energy, a developer of aqueous hybrid ion batteries and energy storage systems, is to supply a 1MWh battery system to complement an off-grid solar microgrid at Bakken Hale, a private residential estate on Hawaii. The battery system will store energy generated from the solar installation and enable the estate to operate entirely from self-generated solar power. The off-grid microgrid system will be designed and installed by Renewable Energy Services. The microgrid uses a 176kW solar array, a 1MWh Aquion AHI battery system, and a propanefuelled generator for emergency backup. It is designed to generate 350MWh annually from the sun, with little maintenance for 20 years. The battery storage system will enable Bakken Hale to meet most of its electricity needs with solar generation and will reduce fossil fuel usage by 97%.” Scott Pearson, chief executive of Aquion, says: “This
is the first of several very large microgrid projects we plan to supply using our MLine battery modules.” The company’s battery technology is attracting interest from the energy storage market. Last year, Greensmith, a company that integrates advanced batteries with its software controls for grid and commercial storage applications, announced it would deploy Aquion’s aqueous sodiumion batteries in its storage systems. The company confirms it is bidding for a couple of projects that will use Aquion’s batteries. Separately, Aquion announced the closing of a $36.8 million series ‘E’ financing round in November and included participation from new investors. Hawaii and other islands have begun turning to green microgrid technologies, which use solar PV and wind with batteries, to reduce the cost of producing electricity from running diesel generators and to cut emissions.
12 • Energy Storage Journal • Spring 2015
Navigant Research predicts microgrid-enabling technologies could exceed $155 billion by 2023 with energy storage using advanced battery technologies being one of the big winners from this change. In February last year, US power company NRG Energy announced a contract to provide a renewables-driven microgrid for Necker Island, owned by UK billionaire Richard Branson. NRG’s microgrid system is designed to provide electricity powered at least 75% by an integrated array of solar, wind and energy storage technologies. The system will be supported by energy efficiency and control automation designed to reduce energy use and synchronize consumption with renewable energy production on the island. The agreement was signed and announced at the Creating Climate Wealth Summit, by Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, and NRG CEO David Crane. ■
ate cells from the line, but since then the company has been quiet on its activities concerning energy storage. Anil Srivastava, chief executive of Leclanché, in a keynote speech at the Energy Storage Europe conference in Düsseldorf in March, is to say that instead of debating the merits of individual storage technologies the industry needs to adopt a multipletechnology approach that consolidates the strengths of different options into hybrid systems. “Different storage applications often require different capabilities. While some areas of application need high output and quick reaction, others demand inexpensive storage technologies with a high capacity,” he will say. “Frequently these various features need to be combined seamlessly with each other. These days, many people are on the lookout for a kind of miracle system that fulfils all their requirements equally as well.” Separately, Leclanché has secured a Sfr21 million ($23.6 million) credit from Danish financial services firm Recharge. The facility matures on June 30, 2016. The financing consists of two parts. A Sfr13 million portion will provide Leclanché with working capital until it can achieve steady-state cashflow break-even, which it expects to happen by the end of the year. A second Sfr8 million will fund the company’s 2015 Growth Plan, which aims to create sustained profitability and increase market share through various initiatives. Leclanché, founded in 1909 in Switzerland, is one of the oldest continuously operating battery businesses globally. It is credited with inventing the lead acid battery used for starter motors. ■
www.energystoragejournal.com