Lithium-ion batteries optimize energy storage when compared to traditional VRLA batteries
August 22, 2016 (India): Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, has introduced a Lithium-ion battery solution for UPS operations. The new lithium-ion battery solution for three-phase uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs), brings compact, lightweight, long-lasting and sophisticated energy storage protection to data centers, industrial process, or critical infrastructure.
“It is important for companies to choose the right energy storage solution for their data centers, industrial processes, or critical infrastructure. The backup storage solution must maintain or even increase availability and manageability while reducing UPS footprint”, says Mr.Nikhil Pathak, Vice President and Country General Manager – IT Business India & SAARC, Schneider Electric India. In addition, there is a challenge to manage TCO (total cost of ownership), cooling costs, maintenance overheads and other operating expenses, in addition to minimizing the upfront capital cost.
“The traditional valve regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries have been the mainstay of energy storage systems with advantages like low costs, mature technology and relatively stable performance. However, its shortcomings, which are sensitivity to elevated temperatures, large footprint, heavyweight and short lifespan has created a new set of customers shifting to Li-ion batteries (LIB)”, says Mr.Pathak. Reduced battery footprint, maintenance, weight, total cost of ownership (TCO) and cooling requirements, improved backup storage predictability and double the life cycle, is making LIBs the preferred energy storage solution.
The LIB system from Schneider comes as a complete package comprising a standard cabinet / rack which houses the battery modules, the SMPS which powers the BMS and the protection switchgear. This solution is currently supported by Schneider Electric’s Symmetra MW, Galaxy 7000, Galaxy VM, and Galaxy VX UPSs.