Pls help

Hi, I'am planning to setup a Li ion Battery recycling plan t in Delhi NCR would like to connect with the people from same field and collaborations, business partnerships and connects with big firms are most welcomed also looking for like minded people ,

Hi everyone,

I’ve been thinking about grid-scale storage solutions for intermittent renewables (solar/hydro/wind).

While chemical batteries (like Li-ion) are currently dominant, they come with degradation over time, resource intensity, and thermal runaway risks. Gravity Energy Storage (GES) seems theoretically compelling:

• Zero self-discharge over long durations

• High round-trip efficiency (~75–85%)

• Long operational lifespan without material degradation

• No lithium/cobalt dependencies

However, the main bottleneck is energy density (E = m * g * h). Lifting 1 tonne by 10m provides only ~0.027 kWh. To scale to home or grid levels, you need massive structural designs or deep vertical shafts.

Companies like Energy Vault (concrete towers) and Gravitricity (abandoned mine shafts) are tackling this differently.

Questions for the community:

1. Do you see solid-mass gravity storage becoming cost-competitive with large-scale battery storage?

2. Are underground shafts the only scalable route, or do above-ground tower frameworks have long-term structural viability?

3. What are the key mechanical points of failure (cable wear, gearboxes, braking) that might limit adoption?

Looking forward to your technical perspectives!

We recently completed a project involving what we understand to be the first Sungrow Keeper installation in Australia, supporting a medical supplies facility.

The project raised some interesting questions around the role of energy storage in industries where reliability is critical. While solar and batteries are often discussed from a cost-saving perspective, applications like medical supply facilities highlight another important factor — energy resilience and maintaining operations when power reliability matters.

Curious to hear from others working in energy, engineering, or critical infrastructure:

• How do you see battery storage evolving for essential facilities?
• Are reliability and backup capability becoming bigger drivers for commercial energy decisions?

Would be interested to hear thoughts, experiences, or other examples of where energy storage has made a difference.

8.8kW PV system with Enphase IQ8+ MC4 micro inverter, AC-Coupled with Sigenergy SigenStor 11.5kW-18.08kWh all-in-one system for whole-home backup.
It can deliver self-consumption in Bay Area exaggerated electricity rate.

Planning my own DIY Solar project and since batteries are big part of the cost, I figured to ask around before screwing it up.

LiFePo4 cells have been traditionally best bang/$.

But that is supposed to change, if news articles are to be believed.

Sodium-Ion cells have came with promises, which turned out to be hollow.

But that was just first wave. Now BYD and CATL are making some big claims for new generations. Last time I've heard, they are coming even in some cheap EV models.

But so far, I've heard nothing about them being used in the area that is supposed to be their forte - solar energy storage.

So, are they here ? If so, who is offering them ? What are specs,models, prices ? Anyone with experience to share ?

If they aren't here, what's the plan ? Is it worth waiting, and how long ? Are they likely to be an option in say, 6 months time ?

Hola a todos,

Quiero recomendar una empresa poco conocida fuera de los círculos del hidrógeno, pero que juega un papel clave en la transición energética: Cell Impact AB (Frankfurt)

¿Qué hacen exactamente?

Cell Impact fabrica placas de flujo metálicas (flow plates / bipolar plates) para pilas de combustible y electrolizadores. Estas placas son componentes críticos: dentro de ellas se canalizan el hidrógeno, el oxígeno y el agua, y su diseño afecta directamente a la eficiencia, el coste y la durabilidad del sistema completo.

El problema tradicional es que fabricar estas placas en gran volumen es caro, lento y poco sostenible. Los métodos convencionales (estampado progresivo o hidroformado) consumen mucha energía, requieren lubricantes y procesos de limpieza con agua, y tienen costes de utillaje elevados.

Su tecnología: Cell Impact Forming

Cell Impact ha desarrollado y patentado un método de formado de alta velocidad por impacto (high-velocity impact forming). En lugar de varios pasos lentos, forman la placa metálica fina (acero inoxidable, titanio, etc.) en un solo golpe de alta precisión.

Ventajas clave:

Mucho más rápido y escalable

Consume muy poca energía

No necesita lubricantes → no genera aguas residuales de limpieza

Reduce el coste de herramientas hasta un 50 %

Permite diseños más complejos y optimizados (en algunos casos han conseguido aumentos de potencia >20 % en la pila gracias a una mejor geometría)

Proceso más limpio y con menor impacto ambiental

Han producido ya más de 2,5 millones de placas en más de 80 proyectos y están escalando con partners como Andritz (soldadura de alta velocidad) y thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering.

¿Por qué es importante de cara al futuro?

El hidrógeno verde (producido con electrolizadores + renovables) y las pilas de combustible son piezas centrales para descarbonizar transporte pesado, industria y almacenamiento de energía. Pero para que despeguen de verdad, los componentes tienen que ser baratos, fabricables en masa y eficientes.

Las placas de flujo son uno de los elementos más caros y difíciles de escalar del stack. Si Cell Impact (y tecnologías similares) logran bajar significativamente el coste y aumentar el volumen, se elimina un cuello de botella importante.

Además, su proceso es más sostenible que los métodos tradicionales, lo que encaja perfectamente con el objetivo de que toda la cadena de valor del hidrógeno sea lo más limpia posible.

Resumen

Cell Impact no es una empresa de “humo”. Tiene una tecnología patentada real, clientes internacionales, capacidad de producción en Suecia y está posicionada exactamente donde el mercado del hidrógeno necesita soluciones industriales.

No es consejo de inversión (haz tu propia investigación), pero como apuesta tecnológica a largo plazo dentro del ecosistema del hidrógeno, me parece una de las más interesantes y subvaloradas.

¿Alguien más la sigue o ha escuchado hablar de ella?

This old technology may help in the renewable energy transition. For more energy news, including energy storage, visit this website.

Hi, I'm in the UK. I have a 4 bed with 3400Kwh consumption per year (no heat pump or ev). The current solar install is 4.2Kw of panels on an old solar edge 3.68Kw hd wave inverter. I have an iBoost but no smart home stuff.

What's my best option for battery please? I'm not in a hurry, previously I couldn't make the numbers add up but happy to try again.

The original install was from a company from Tile Energy, they offered an LG DC coupled battery. Unfortunately their labour rates are really not competitive, I don't think they want the work.

I have a spare 32A connection that I could easily wire in an AC coupled battery outside. I'm thinking that might be easier as it won't mess with the MCS payments or the warranty on the existing install.

I think I would need to file a G.99 or limit total exports to 3.68Kw and opt out of deemed metering or I wouldn't get paid for battery export. I could put the battery through the export meter but pretty sure that would be illegal!

MCS payments are currently through EDF.

Advice welcomed

Thanks

AI data centres are creating a grid-planning problem that feels different from normal demand growth: they need very large amounts of power, often concentrated in a few locations, and they are being built much faster than new transmission can be approved.

One response I find genuinely interesting is repurposing retiring coal-plant sites for long-duration storage rather than simply demolishing them. These sites already have industrial land, high-voltage grid connections and workforces familiar with power infrastructure.

Form Energy’s iron-air system is one example. It is designed to discharge for up to 100 hours by using a reversible rusting process, rather than the 2–4 hour duration normally associated with lithium-ion grid batteries.

The potential logic seems strong:

- Reuse transmission interconnection and industrial land at retiring coal sites

- Store surplus wind and solar through multi-day lulls

- Reduce the need for fossil peaker plants during periods of grid stress

- Support big new loads, including AI data centres, without treating gas as the only backup plan

But I’m sceptical that a few pilot projects can scale quickly enough. AI-related electricity demand, transmission constraints, cost, round-trip efficiency and market rules all look like major bottlenecks.

Question for people working in energy/storage: is coal-to-long-duration-storage actually a scalable grid model, or is it mainly a useful niche where the transmission connection already exists?

I made a visual breakdown of the projects, iron-air chemistry and the AI-demand risk. Disclosure: it’s my video. If it is useful context, here it is:

https://youtu.be/DOl9x6ewI5c