energy storage: it's all about the software - electrical energy storage systems

New batteries that store solar and wind energy have received widespread attention from researchers and investors, but without software to tell them the time and energy of charging and discharging, they will not be able to complete the work.
A startup called the growing energy lab.
The company is developing an operating system that will provide the battery system with the brain to perform tasks, and the company plans to launch a beta version of the software in a few weeks.
The operating system that manages the battery is very similar to the operating system of the computer or mobile phone: it coordinates communication between hardware and applications to ensure that various programs, for example, those who take pictures and browse the internet in the case of mobile phones, run well and do not interfere with each other.
"It's like a computer for energy or energy computers," said Ryan Wartena, founder and CEO of the growing energy lab (
He also called it GELI)
About the technology of his company
Wartena began GELI in 2010 in response to emerging markets that store renewable energy such as solar energy and manage electric vehicle charging.
The idea is to find a way to put network and communication technologies, including the use of the Internet, into the operation of the battery system.
GELI can make money through software authorization.
More than half of the states are now asking their utilities to buy more and more renewable energy, but, in particular, wind and solar power plants, do not generate electricity in a 24-hour stable manner like coal or natural gas power plants.
Therefore, utilities must find out how to balance supply and demand when supply may be insufficient or exceed demand at any given time of day.
Storing solar and wind energy using a battery and releasing it when needed seems like a good answer.
A good battery system requires an operating system to manage the communication between the battery and the inverter, and when to respond to the commands of the utility, the scheduling speed and quantity of energy stored in the battery.
The inverter converts DC from the battery into AC current to power the grid.
It is not only utilities that consider using batteries for energy storage.
Consumers and businesses with solar panels on the roof may want batteries to provide backup power or sell excess power to utilities.
At present, battery systems typically include batteries for storing energy, as well as electronic and software for monitoring battery temperature and performance to ensure that they do not overheat or fail.
Another layer of software is needed to tell the battery what to do.
Because the use of batteries for renewable energy storage is relatively new, the software used to run them can find its source in the software originally designed to run other types of industrial equipment, for example, a computer system that runs power generation and power distribution operations for utilities.
Wartena said the software also tends to restrict the battery from performing one or several tasks.
On the other hand, GELI is building operating software specifically for running an energy storage device that will enable the battery to perform more tasks, Wartena said.
"The real insight that we are building an energy operating system is that you want to use the battery for multiple uses," he said . ".
In fact, a battery system can complete more than a dozen tasks to stabilize the power grid from sending short bursts of power, to release stable power supply for a long time with a large demand for electricity.
The company also plans to provide developers with the core language of their operating system this summer, which developers can then use to design new applications, just as companies like Apple have cultivated an app developer community around their gadgets.
GELI will oversee the project and pay to developers who can incorporate GELI into their software.
Wartena wants to raise $750,000 to provide the beta version of the OS to battery manufacturers willing to test it to see if they will incorporate it into the product.
He then hopes to raise another $3 million in early 2013 to release an improved version of the operating system.
The company is one of five startups who recently graduated from the incubator program called Greenstart.
Greenstart offers $115,000 for each startup and gets guidance from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
GELI has lined up some battery manufacturers, such as South Korea.
Based on Kokam, they are willing to test their operating system to see if the software is suitable for their batteries.
The beta version of its operating system will be used in several battery systems in South Korea, Washington, D. C. C.
In the coming weeks, field tests will be conducted in Canada.
These battery systems are small in size and are used to store renewable energy in devices designed by homes and businesses.
The company is marketing its technology to battery manufacturers, which primarily provide products for consumer electronics and do not have the expertise to design software to run batteries as a renewable energy storage system.
Some battery developers did design their own operating systems. Texas-
For example, Xtreme Power-based software regards the software that controls its battery system as its core technology.
Xtreme has been building and running battery systems for solar and wind power projects in several states. Maryland-
On the other hand, based on Greensmith, focus on the development of energy storage operation software. Virginia-
Purchase battery systems to build and operate energy storage projects based on AES Energy Storage, relying on its internal
The internal software development team creates the operating system.
There are not many options available on the market for licensing, and there is not a good enough option to run the battery system AES wants in order to sell its services to power producers and utilities, john zahurankk, vice president of energy storage operations and deployment at AES, said.
The company has completed 32 projects includingmegawatt (8 megawatt-hour)
Battery system located next to a wind farm in West Virginia, which can be in 15-
Minute increments.
"We entered the market very early and we think we need to customize the products our customers want," zahurankk said . ".
"With the growth of the energy storage market, the demand for software control will also increase.