Although the Tesla Powerwall is one of the most widely publicised and well-known, there are a number of exciting companies that have also entered the market, increasing competition, driving the development of storage capacity and pushing down prices. Some of these models are more developed than others, but all highlight the huge investment, innovation and research going into this area. Whilst not an exhaustive list, below are some of the organisations that have introduced their renewable batteries into this expanding market.
Dyson
By partnering with the battery start-up Sakti3, Dyson are set to invest $1bn by 2020 to develop solid-state lithium ion batteries which are able to store far greater amounts of energy than the current liquid-state batteries. This development could revolutionise electric vehicles by enabling greater renewable energy storage, making them direct competition for petrol vehicles.
Nissan
This exciting announcement happened only in the last few days, with Nissan's "xStorage" set to compete with Tesla's domestic battery for renewable energy storage. The battery is a 4.2kWh system, costing £3,000, available to order across Europe from September. This is smaller an more expensive than the Tesla Powerwall which is expected to be around £2,000 for the smaller 7kWh system and £2,500 for the larger 10kWh system. However, xStorage costs include installation and will also be available to order in Europe. Comparatively, the Powerwall (sold-out to mid-2016) is predominately focused at present on Australian and US markets.
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| Nissan's "xStorage" domestic battery Source: www.alphr.com |
Mercedes-Benz
This battery is smaller than some of the others, with 2.5kWh's of storage. However, it has the potential to be combined with other batteries to increase its capacity for use on an industrial-scale- therefore it is not limited to purely domestic use. Prices have not yet been released, with orders currently confined to Germany but future plans to expand its geographical remit.
Samsung
The Samsung SDI ESS is a lithium-ion energy storage battery, ranging from domestic model capacities of 3.6kWh to 8kWh's. In addition, there is also a commercial option with potential to function both as an energy saving and back-up power option for businesses in the case of power shortages.
Powervault
This is an extremely exciting battery option, predominately due to the size and nature of the company behind the model. Powervault went on sale in 2015 and is the work of a small London-based start-up. The battery capacity ranges from 2 to 4kWh's and is a cheaper than other options at around £1,000, all designed and assembled in the UK.
There is certainly increasing demand for renewable energy storage and it is clear that companies are competing to be the key market supplier. It is fantastic to see this competition forcing greater financial investments and research in order to produce more compact and cost-effective models with greater storage capacity. Additionally, small, innovative and flexible start-ups are also developing their own models which makes this competition even more exciting as these companies can sometimes be more flexible, imaginative and innovative than some of the larger, more bureaucratic, multi-national organisations. There are certainly many small companies with big names and funding behind them that we need to keep a keen eye on in future.
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