Hitachi Energy has unveiled improved and new versions of its PowerStore Battery Storage System, as well as other updated products and services in its Grid Edge solution portfolio, foreign media reported.
This is the first time the company has updated its distributed energy solutions portfolio since it went public in October, after trading as Hitachi ABB Power Grid.
Hitachi Energy's 30MW/8MWh Dalrymple battery Storage project, which opened in 2018, is Australia's first "virtual synchronous generator"
Hitachi Energy earlier this year set up a "collaborative Operations Center," a global network of facilities that can be used to service grid remote interaction and grid automation for utilities and industrial customers.
The company's portfolio of digital automation products and services, named "E-Mesh," is designed to control, schedule and optimize distributed energy use, including PowerStore battery storage systems.
"The energy market is currently in transition and the scope and urgency of the challenge is increasing," said Maxine Ghavi, Head of Grid Edge Solutions at Hitachi Energy. It's no longer one change, it's multiple changes happening at the same time, and it's always built on accelerating electrification."
Hitachi Energy said the PowerStore battery storage system has been upgraded to be integrated or modular, depending on customer needs. It has an optimized interface to connect with different Lithium Ion Battery solutions from two battery suppliers, such as Ningde era's Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and Samsung's nickel-manganese-cobalt ternary lithium battery (NMC).
According to a company spokesman, it has "harmonized" grid specification availability -- enabling it to operate flexibly in different markets and regions with different grid specifications as well as security features. The system, available in classes from 50kW to MW, is also designed to meet the needs of larger scale energy storage projects with enhanced network security features.
"In addition, there is a growing need to manage battery storage projects connected to the grid. We help customers meet these requirements by providing a full range of dynamic simulation models. Renewables integration will have different impacts depending on the local grid."
Also included in the e-Mesh portfolio update are new energy management systems (EMS), additional options for cloud-based monitoring and performance tuning, and new options for MicroSCADA automation and RTU-based control. E-mesh now also includes technology that can be used for vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional power flow.
'These updates make E-Mesh well suited for the electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging market; The E-Mesh suite is capable of creating the microgrid-like infrastructure needed to charge a fleet of electric vehicles, from integrated battery storage systems to managing and predicting loads.
Scott Gibson, principal engineer at SnoPUD, a Customer of Hitachi Energy, said battery storage systems are key to future infrastructure with superior reliability as demand for renewable energy and V2G increases.
"The right control and automation technologies are also needed to synchronize assets to maximize and optimize microgrid system performance. By partnering with Hitachi Energy, looking to the future, we can embark on a sustainable development path that maximizes renewable energy integration and meets future energy needs."
Hitachi energy companies Maxine Ghavi said. "we learned from customers from all over the world, they just want a used in micro grid energy storage system, or control system of the product, but need a flexible and optimization solution to reduce the complexity, and provides the highest penetration of renewable energy, at the same time improve the integral stability and reliability. It also means they will eventually need more digital services for their own governance, productivity and growth."
