Different types of battery have different effects when applied to energy storage. The world is increasingly reliant on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, and the demand for reliable energy storage is also growing. Therefore, the types of batteries are constantly being invented and expanded accordingly.
We store the energy generated during peak energy periods for use during peak demand periods or when renewable energy is unavailable. The method of storing energy is to store electrical energy as direct current (DC) through energy storage batteries, which need to be converted into alternating current (AC) for human use through storage or solar inverters.
Therefore, in recent years, the battery industry has made significant progress, with more advanced technology and more economical prices.
Many people prefer integrated energy solutions, such as GycxSolar’s solar energy storage, because it is easy to use and has better performance.
In this article, we will investigate the most suitable battery types for energy storage systems and explore some factors that should be considered when selecting energy storage batteries.
Table of Contents
What is energy storage?
Energy storage is the process of storing energy in specific devices or systems for continued use as needed. In a broad sense, energy storage refers to storing energy in one form or converting it into another form through a medium or device, and then releasing it through equipment according to future application needs.
Narrowly defined energy storage refers to a series of technologies and measures that use chemical or physical methods to store the electrical energy generated by power generation and release it when needed.
Energy storage helps humans save energy and use it when demand increases or energy is interrupted. Therefore, energy storage always maintains a balance between supply and demand for consumers, and prevents challenges such as unstable electricity and rising costs.
Because the energy storage process involves the conversion of different forms of energy, energy storage can help store solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources, making the operation of energy storage increasingly important.
What are the different types of energy storage?
From the attached diagram, it can be seen that there are various types of energy storage. The selection of energy storage types can be comprehensively considered by evaluating scalability, duration of charging and discharging cycles, storage costs, environmental friendliness, and other aspects. There are several common types of energy storage in the market.
Mechanical energy storage
It involves the use of thermal energy, wind energy, hydro energy, and some renewable energy sources. Popular mechanical systems include pumped storage, flywheel energy storage compression, and air energy storage.
Electrochemical storage
Electrochemical energy storage involves various types of battery energy storage systems. Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy. The two most common types are rechargeable batteries and flow batteries. Different types of batteries have their own characteristics, and this article mainly discusses rechargeable batteries.
Comparison of 9 types of energy storage batteries
Next, you will see the advantages and disadvantages of 9 types of batteries in the field of energy storage. They are the big brother in batteries – lead-acid batteries, the popular mainstream in the market – lithium-ion batteries, the popular research and development target – sodium ion batteries, the eye-catching new star in lithium polymer elements – lithium sulfur batteries, nickel hydrogen batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, flow batteries, and lithium cobalt oxide batteries (LCO) in lithium cobalt oxide batteries.
① Lead acid battery
Lead acid batteries are one of the oldest, most mature, and widely used types of rechargeable batteries, which have been used for energy storage for decades.
Lead acid batteries may be familiar to you because they are the most popular battery for vehicles.
Lead acid batteries are generally heavy and have a short lifespan. Calculated based on a daily charge and discharge operation, their typical cycle life is less than three years. But its price is the cheapest.
Lead acid batteries have a comprehensive recycling system and are also the most mature type of battery in the recycling process. According to the Energy Storage Association, its material recycling rate exceeds 90%, and ordinary lead batteries are made from over 80% recycled materials, which is also environmentally friendly to a certain extent. And lead-acid batteries are also safer than some other chemical batteries because their active ingredients are not flammable.
Advantage:
- Raw materials are easily obtainable
- The price and cost are relatively low
- Mature and complete technology
- Good temperature performance, can work in an environment of -40 ℃ -60 ℃.
- Suitable for float charging, no memory effect.
- Waste batteries are easy to recycle and help protect the environment.
Disadvantages:
- Low energy density (energy density), generally between 30-40 Wh/kg.
- Short cycle life (300 to 500 cycles)
- Relatively low efficiency (79-85%)
- Poor high-temperature performance
- The manufacturing process of this type of battery is highly prone to environmental pollution and must be equipped with three waste treatment equipment.
Suitable applications:
- Off grid energy storage system
- Backup power system
- Applications requiring low power/energy density
② Lithium ion battery
After understanding the big brother lead-acid batteries in the battery market, let’s take a look at the current mainstream market – lithium-ion batteries.
Among the 9 types of batteries, lithium batteries dominate the market, accounting for 92% of the global installed capacity of electrochemical energy storage and 90% of the global grid battery storage market.
Lithium battery technology is currently the most important and commonly used electrochemical energy storage technology, with its main market applications in energy storage and electronic consumer products such as mobile phones, laptops, and new energy electric vehicles. According to the report on energy storage technology and cost characteristics by the US Department of Energy, for a 4-hour energy storage system, considering cost, performance, calendar and cycle life, as well as technological maturity, lithium-ion batteries are the best choice.
The main types of lithium-ion batteries used for energy storage are:
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP)
It is considered the best choice for fixed energy storage due to its high safety, long lifespan, and low cost.
LFP batteries are less prone to thermal runaway.
Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC)
Provides higher energy density than LFP, but with higher cost and slightly lower thermal stability.
Lithium titanate (LTO)
It has excellent power density and cycle life (over 10000 cycles), and low energy density, making it suitable for applications that require frequent charging/discharging.
Advantage:
- Lightweight and fast charging speed
- Long cycle life (2000-5000 cycles)
- High energy density and power density: The energy density of lithium iron phosphate batteries can reach 210Wh/kg, and the energy density of ternary lithium batteries has exceeded 300Wh/kg
- High energy conversion efficiency, up to 80-90%
- Fast response time (sub second to second), no memory effect
- The self discharge rate is relatively low: the fully charged Li ion has a self discharge rate of about 3% after being stored at room temperature for one month, which is much lower than the 25-30% of Ni Cd and the 30-35% of Ni MH
- Does not contain any harmful heavy metal elements to the human body, green and environmentally friendly
Disadvantages:
- The cost is higher than lead-acid batteries and other batteries
- Safety issues (risk of thermal runaway)
- Poor high-temperature performance
- The difficulty of recycling is high, and the recycling process is complex
- The reserves are limited, and the content of lithium resources in the earth’s crust is only 0.0065%. The current lithium resources cannot support the vigorous development of the electrochemical energy storage industry in the future.
Suitable applications:
- Electric vehicles
- Energy storage (especially residential/commercial solar energy storage)
- Grid scale energy storage
③ Sodium ion battery
As mentioned earlier, although lithium batteries are currently the mainstream in the market, the resource reserves of lithium on Earth are limited.
Since its introduction in 1991, lithium batteries have dominated the field of energy storage. However, the demand for this mineral has led to a shortage of lithium supply, as well as the resulting price increases and delays, which have become prominent.
In recent years, various industries have been exploring alternative raw materials for lithium to manufacture energy storage systems. One of the most feasible types of batteries is sodium ion batteries: the relative abundance and low cost of this mineral make it the next revolution in renewable energy storage.
Sodium is a silver soft alkaline metal that is very abundant in nature. A sodium ion battery is a rechargeable battery that uses sodium ions (Na+) for charging.
The working principle of sodium ion batteries is similar to that of lithium-ion batteries, and their chemical properties are both alkaline. This means that many electrochemical reactions can be applied to this type of battery, or at least considered.
Over the past 20 years, 53% of patent research activities in the field of sodium ion batteries have been conducted in China, followed by Japan (16%) and the United States (13%). The company currently playing the most important role in this technology is the Chinese company CATL.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by 2030, sodium ion batteries may account for 23% of the fixed energy storage market, equivalent to over 50 GWh of market revenue.
Advantage:
- High energy density: The energy density of sodium energy storage batteries can reach 200Wh/kg
- Long lifespan, with a cycle life of over thousands of times
- Abundant raw materials: Sodium batteries for energy storage use sodium ions, which are widely present elements on Earth.
- Low cost, because compared to rare metals such as lithium, the material resources of energy storage sodium batteries are more abundant and productive, so the price of sodium is relatively cheap, which is conducive to reducing the overall cost of batteries
- Sodium ions do not contain heavy metals that pollute the environment and have a relatively small impact on the environment
Disadvantages:
- Larger battery volume: Due to the larger size of sodium ions, a larger electrode surface area is required to accommodate more ions, resulting in a larger volume of sodium energy storage batteries with certain space requirements.
- Stability is average: especially in complex environments such as high temperature and high pressure, sodium ions are prone to unstable reactions, which may cause safety issues such as battery combustion and explosion, and further research and development are needed to solve them.
- Limited commercial application: The commercial application of sodium energy storage batteries is relatively limited, currently mainly used for large-scale energy storage systems and specific energy storage needs in certain scenarios, such as solar and wind energy storage.
④ Nickel hydrogen battery
Advantage:
- The weight energy density is 65Wh/kg, and the volume energy density has increased by 200Wh/L.
- High power density, capable of accepting larger currents during charging and discharging activities
- Good low-temperature discharge performance
- High cycle life
- Environmentally friendly and pollution-free
Disadvantages:
- Normal operating temperature range -15-40 ℃, poor high-temperature performance
- High self discharge rate
- Low working voltage, working voltage range 1.0-1.4V
- Nickel hydrogen battery price is more expensive than lead-acid batteries, but the performance is worse than lithium-ion batteries
- Therefore, as a type of battery for energy storage, it is not recommended.
⑤ Supercapacitors
Supercapacitors, also known as supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors, are an energy storage system that has attracted attention from industry professionals. Storing energy through electrostatic charges.
Compared to batteries, supercapacitors have higher power and can be charged and discharged in a shorter amount of time. Compared to batteries, their specific energy is relatively low. Therefore, the most effective use of supercapacitors is to provide a very brief power surge for energy supply. From this perspective, supercapacitors are currently not suitable for mainstream energy storage.
Advantage:
- High power density
- Short charging time
Disadvantages:
- Low energy density, only 1-10 Wh/kg
- The battery life is too short
Here is a datasheet for supercapacitors and regular energy storage batteries for reference.
⑥ Fuel cell
There are multiple types of fuel cells, and their uniqueness lies in the various possibilities of potential applications, with each type working slightly differently. If hydrogen is used as fuel, the products are electricity, water, and heat, which can be used to generate clean and efficient electricity.
The working principle of fuel cells is similar to that of batteries, but they do not deplete their power or require charging. As long as there is a fuel supply, they will generate electricity and heat.
Advantage:
- Higher than energy
- High individual capacity
- High power density
- Environmentally friendly and pollution-free
Disadvantages:
- The system is complex and the technical maturity is poor
- High requirements for sulfur dioxide in the air
- It is difficult to determine the quality or superiority of using different fuels as energy storage batteries, as their service life varies
⑦ Flow battery
Flow batteries are a relatively new battery technology that is becoming increasingly popular in large-scale energy storage applications.
It is a rechargeable battery in which electrolyte flows from one or more storage tanks through an electrochemical cell, storing and releasing energy through the liquid electrolyte pumped by the battery pack.
At the same time, the storage capacity can be increased by increasing the amount of electrolyte stored in the tank.
The separation of energy level and power level is an important performance characteristic of flow battery systems.
The main types are:
Vanadium Flow Battery (VRFB)
Can be fully discharged for a long time without performance degradation.
Suitable for large-scale storage in the power grid, but expensive in price.
Zinc bromide flow battery
It has high energy density and broad prospects in terms of cost and lifespan.
However, there is still room for improvement in material availability, technology, and manufacturing maturity.
Advantage:
- Safe and reliable performance (non flammable electrolyte)
- Deep discharge capability
- Has a high charge discharge rate
- Lithium ion battery life span: cycle life up to 30 years
- Fast response time: Fast switching between charging and discharging, only 0.02 seconds;
Disadvantages:
- Low power density
- Large footprint (electrolyte storage tank)
- Higher maintenance requirements
- Cross contamination of positive and negative electrolytes
- Some require expensive ion exchange membranes
- The two solutions have larger volumes and lower specific energies
- Low energy conversion efficiency (65-70%)
Suitable applications:
Long term large-scale energy storage
Applications that require long-term sustained low power consumption
⑧ Lithium sulfur battery
Lithium sulfur battery is a rechargeable battery with lithium as the anode and sulfur as the cathode. It belongs to lithium batteries, but like sodium ions, sulfur is also abundant in reserves on Earth and has its own high-quality characteristics.
There is a more comprehensive and detailed introduction to Lithium Sulfur Battery vs. Lithium ion Battery – How to Choose in this article.
Advantage:
- High energy density, theoretical energy density can reach 2600 Wh/kg;
- Low cost
- Low energy consumption
Disadvantages：
- Solid reaction products can block the contact between electrolyte and air, affecting the reaction process
- The technical difficulty is high, and the commercialization implementation is still under research.
⑨ Lithium cobalt oxide battery(LCO, LiCoO2)
Lithium cobalt oxide battery is also a lithium battery , in 6 Chemical Types of Lithium-ion Batteries that You Can Choose From has detailed information about Lithium cobalt oxide battery (LCO, LiCoO2) has been introduced in the article.
Advantage:
- High specific energy (energy density)
- Suitable for small portable electronic devices
Disadvantages:
- Not a long lifetime lithium battery: typically has a lifespan of 500-1000 cycles
- The price of cobalt is quite expensive and not cost-effective.
- Low thermal stability and potential safety hazards.
- Specific power limitation: The lower specific power limits the performance of Lithium cobalt oxide battery.
Based on current market data, LCO is not a particularly popular battery type.
Choosing it as one of the considered types of energy storage batteries is due to research such as Lanthanide Contract Buildings Better High Voltage LiCoO2 Batteries.
Lanthanide elements are also very rare in nature, but their contribution to long-lasting batteries is difficult to ignore.
The chemical reactions of lithium polymer batteries can compensate for the scarcity of lithium elements, and the different types of batteries produced by the reactions of various elements also give the market more choices and vitality.
In addition to focusing on the mainstream market, attention should also be paid to the future development of the battery industry. It can be said that Lithium lanthanum cobalt oxide batteries are also a type of battery worth paying attention to.
Summary
As can be seen, the optimal battery selection for energy storage takes into account basic usage requirements such as specific power, energy density, cost, safety, and cycle life.
Lithium ion batteries have good performance but high cost, while lead-acid batteries have low cost but their comprehensive strength does not fully meet the current energy storage market demand.
The development of sodium ion batteries and LCO lanthanide lithium polymer batteries is also promising for the future.
GycxSolar has popular products in the market such as lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. Welcome feel free to inquire.
