Electrovaya Inc., a developer and manufacturer of its proprietary Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery systems, reportedly plans to enter the stationary power and smart grid energy storage market in Japan.

 

Company officials said that Nippon Kouatsu Electric Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of power distribution equipment, and Electrovaya have already signed a memorandum of understanding for the development and sales of Electrovaya’s integrated advanced battery storage systems for both stationary power and smart grid systems applications, initially targeted for the Japanese market.

 

“The emerging need for grid energy storage solutions is a worldwide phenomena, but most acute in Japan,” said Motokuni Takaoka, president of NKE, in a statement.

 

Takaoka said that to date, various storage battery technologies and kinetic storage techniques, such as pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage, have been investigated. These technologies are less than ideal with expensive set-up, ongoing operating costs and a large physical and environmental footprint.

 

He said that the company is excited to partner with Electrovaya to develop and distribute an integrated solution that is smaller, has lower capital cost, negligible operating cost and a zero-emission production process.

 

Takaoka said that after initial success in the Japanese market, the company plans to extend its distribution to additional fast-growing markets.

 

Sankar DasGupta, CEO of Electrovaya, said that the application of the Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery technology and system solutions to the smart grid and stationary market in Japan is a very exciting development.

 

“The applications we will address with NKE perfectly complement the capabilities of Electrovaya’s electric vehicle division,” he said.

 

DasGupta said that the emerging stationary, smart-grid and electric vehicle (battery and plug-in hybrid) markets require large battery systems that are high performance and cost-effective. This is where Electrovaya’s proprietary battery technology advantages are most evident and are a natural technology market fit.

 

“Our Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery technology is distinguished by two critical features-superior energy density results in smaller and lighter battery systems, and our large-format prismatic cell design enables large-system scale up,” said DasGupta. “These two features together enable custom energy storage solutions that overcome the standard challenges of packaging, performance and volume cost.”

 

DasGupta said Electrovaya is delighted to collaborate with NKE, as it has strong relationships and experience in the Japanese utility, electric power and generation markets. NKE’s successful track record of launching new products and technologies to these markets will be particularly valuable in introducing Electrovaya’s advanced solutions to these fast-growing emerging markets, he added.