Welcome to the era of the Lithium-ion-Battery.
The deep cycle battery is considered the single most expensive investment in any Solar Installation. It is a critical part of the whole system and is constantly undergoing changes. Recently, the technology grabbing all attention, is the lithium ion Battery (LIB). Poised to take over from the traditional lead acid, it is widely used in Electric Vehicles, aerospace and military applications. It is characterized by high energy density, small memory effect and low self-discharge.
Telsa's Powerwall
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Types
Lithium ion battery has many variants and is responsible for powering most mobile phones. The various types are:
• lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2)
• Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)
• lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNiMnCoO2)
• lithium ion manganese oxide battery (LiMn2O4)
Top 3 Industry manufacturers
Ampetus
This Battery is made in Australia. Australia remains a strong market for solar installation with 2 out of 10 homes having one. The prospects are looking good for this firm mainly because it is relatively new and offers a 15 year cost per warranted kWh; the highest in the industry.
Tesla
The switch from Electric cars to Home power backup was a good strategy for Telsa. It built its $5 billion plant in Nevada to become the biggest battery factory. Its latest home battery is called the powerwall 3.
BYD
This Chinese company is the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles. It has the world’s second biggest Battery factory. It is however struggling to beat its rivals with pricing. It followed Tesla lead and started its successful B-Box models.
Cost
In 2015 the average price of LIB across all applications was $300–500/kwh. The main target is for the cost to get below the $1,000.
Ampetus leads telsa and BYD in pricing
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Conclusion
With over 50% of the world’s Cobalt supply coming from the Democratic republic of Congo, the lack of an equal translation of wealth is missing from it. Power is a vital resource for Africa’s development. We are hoping advances in technology will help make this resource available for the Continent's development.
Thanks for reading.
