AMTE Power, Brill Power and Starke Energy are joining forces to demonstrate new energy storage product innovations at a commercial-scale testbed at Harwell Campus, in Oxfordshire, England.

Three new technologies will be proved at a battery energy storage system to be integrated with the Science and Engineering Facilities Council’s (STFC) solar array at the South Car Park at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus.

The testbed will demonstrate AMTE's sodium-ion battery module using Brill Power’s battery intelligence technology and Stark Energy's energy management system, which links stored energy into the electricity grid and markets.

This is the first time that these technologies are being deployed in a commercially relevant project.

Emma Southwell-Sander from STFC and manager of the EnergyTec Cluster at Harwell Campus said: “STFC is delighted to host and support the project via site access, installation, operational access and maintenance.

“This is a prime example of how, through the Net Zero Living Laboratory, Harwell’s EnergyTec cluster is facilitating access to young innovative businesses to a wealth of resources to supercharge their route to market.”

The energy storage system at Harwell is expected to be in operation from March 2022 and will run for a minimum of 12 months.

As a benchmark, in the project’s first phase AMTE Power will deploy lithium ion cells before switching to use the company’s Ultra Safe sodium-ion cell technology in the second demonstration phase of the project.

John Fox, director of business development at AMTE Power, said: “The ability to test our new products in a commercial operating environment is invaluable. Having access to the Harwell site will accelerate the time to market for our new energy storage products incorporating our Ultra Safe cells.”

Sodium ion batteries offer an alternative to lithium ion in those markets where cost is more important than weight or performance: particularly energy storage, network resilience and energy in remote locations.

Starke Energy’s energy management system will integrate the battery system with the local energy network at Harwell.

The system, using artificial intelligence, learns how much energy is being produced by renewable sources, and how much is being used to optimise the storage and release of energy across a network of connected intelligent batteries.