AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group N.V, a metals supplier in the Netherlands, has said that its AMG Liva unit has started operating its first hybrid energy storage system. It combines lithium batteries and vanadium redox flow batteries at a facility owned by the group’s AMG Graphite subsidiary in Hauzenberg, Germany.
The company said it will use the storage facility to flatten production-driven spikes in electricity demand, as a backup power supply and black-start source in case of full power failure.
“The battery was developed by AMG Engineering and AMG LIVA, and it is also suitable for solar energy storage,” a company spokesperson said.
The representative said that the battery will be integrated with a large-scale solar power plant in the future. The aim is to further lower the facility’s energy costs and enable it to also provide grid services.
“All critical main parts are manufacturer of assembled in Germany,” the spokesperson said. “The vanadium redox flow battery is assembled in Hanau and the vanadium electrolyte in Nuremberg. The lithium-ion-modules for the Lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery come from strategic partners and the battery system is also assembled in Hanau.”
The company says the new battery ensures the optimal use of the technical and electrochemical properties of both storage technologies in a virtual battery configuration, and an optimal design for the energy storage assets. It reportedly takes advantage of lithium-ion battery tech’s high power and energy density, fast response time, and high degree of standardization. It also benefits from the high cycle stability, fast charging-discharging, and flexible power-to-energy scaling of the vanadium redox flow battery concept. In addition, the battery offers automated monitoring and optimization based on self-learning algorithms.
“The economic implications of our approach is that the battery offers advantages in terms of both power and energy costs,” the spokesperson said, noting that the system has an expected lifecycle of more than 20,000 cycles.
AMG Group is currently developing three additional LIVA batteries. It says one at AMG Titanium Alloys’ plant in Nuremberg will focus on peak shaving, the integration of solar power, and the production of green hydrogen. Another, at AMG Chrome in Rotherham, England, will be used for solar power integration. A third one at AMG Engineering in Hanau will be used as a demonstration facility for a range of applications, the company said.
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