ees Europe 2016 opened today with one of the highlights: The winners of the third ees AWARD were announced at a formal ceremony. The ceremony saw Europe’s largest exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems celebrate the industry’s outstanding innovations. This year, the companies Ferroamp Elektronik AB, LG Chem, Ltd., and SMA Solar Technology AG were able to impress the panel of judges.
The three winners stood out, despite fierce competition. This year, the panel of judges was particularly impressed by systems which feature high economic viability have versatile possibilities for application, and which prioritize durability, efficiency and security. The panel judges the submission’s degree of technological innovation, their benefits for industry, environment and society, their economic viability as well as their innovative strength. Additionally, the finalists and winners have to prove that their technologies were undergoing testing or were already in use, and that they are presented for the first time or feature significant developments to existing solutions.
This year, the innovative EnergyHub system, a bidirectional inverter for different PV strings, batteries and DC consumers developed by Ferroamp Elektronik from Sweden earned the panel of judges’ favor. LG Chem from Korea presented a new generation of domestic storage systems, the LG RESU LV and LG RESU HV, which are worthy of recognition for their high energy density and advanced cell technology (JH3 cells). A transformerless high-voltage inverter, the innovative battery inverter Sunny Boy Storage 2.5 from SMA Solar Technology AG impressed the panel of judges as it has closed a gap in the inverter market and is ideal for retrofitting existing PV installations with storage devices.
An overview of the ees AWARD winners:
Ferroamp Elektronik AB (Sweden): With the EnergyHub system, the Swedish manufacturer Ferroamp Elektronik AB has developed an intelligent photovoltaic storage combination. This highly flexible, low-loss system brings together a local DC nanogrid, the most up-to-date circuitry and smart meter function. The basic set-up: a bidirectional 3-phase inverter with internal phase compensation and distributed DC-DC converters for diverse PV strings, batteries and DC consumers. Different generators are networked over a DC high-voltage connection, and wind and hydropower plants can also be integrated via rectifiers. This system particularly impressed the panel of judges with its high levels of efficiency enabled by the DC coupling, and considerable scalability from 3.5 kW to the MW range. The grid connection via a smart meter, the cloud application, the future coupling to charging stations for electric vehicles, and above all, the low losses thanks to the high-voltage DC grid all offer numerous advantages.
LG Chem, Ltd. (Korea): The Residential Energy Storage Unit RESU from the Korean company LG Chem, Ltd. is an innovative storage solution which uses lithium-ion batteries with advanced JH3 cell technology. The RESU range boasts the world’s highest energy density in the low-voltage range. Thanks to different low-voltage and high-voltage variants, it supports a wide range of compatible inverters. The basic device in the range is available from 3.3 to 10 kWh and can easily be expanded, therefore increasing storage capacity. The software upgrades of the Battery Management System are available on an SD card: extremely convenient. Easy to install and space-saving, RESU lends itself to external and internal assembly, as well as application in new and existing systems around the world. The panel of judges was impressed by the capacity, energy density, durability and security of this storage solution.
SMA Solar Technology AG (Germany): With the compact, transformerless high-voltage battery inverter Sunny Boy Storage 2.5, SMA Solar Technology AG from Niesetal, Germany has developed a solution which is particularly well suited to retrofitting existing PV plants, and at an attractive price. Weighing just 9 kg, it can easily be assembled by a single person and used with high-voltage batteries from a variety of manufacturers. With 2.5 kW charging and discharging power, it is ideal for electricity consumption in private households. The high efficiency level of over 97% means that the battery storage system can boast an overall efficiency (AC-AC) of up to 90%. And thanks to the AC coupling, it is suitable for installation in new and existing plants. Following the trend set by high-voltage batteries, the Sunny Boy Storage 2.5 can be flexibly deployed as an independent component, gaining therefore huge market potential – a groundbreaking and particularly cost-effective solution for storing energy generated on site. Its light weight, low costs and a very high efficiency level won the panel of judges over.