A U.S.-based company, Peak Energy, has launched the first grid-scale sodium-ion battery energy storage system in the United States, featuring a patent-pending passive cooling design.
Peak Energy, a U.S.-based innovator in grid-scale energy storage, today announced the successful launch and shipment of its groundbreaking sodium-ion battery energy storage system (ESS). This development marks a significant leap forward in the quest for more reliable, cost-effective, and safer energy storage solutions for the nation's electric grid.
Peak Energy's new ESS stands out with its revolutionary patent-pending passive cooling design, which fundamentally re-engineers battery storage by removing nearly all moving parts. This innovative approach directly addresses a critical industry challenge: the root cause of an astounding 89% of reported battery storage system fires in the United States, as meticulously documented by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). By eliminating active cooling and ventilation components, Peak Energy's sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery architecture eradicates the most common failure modes in traditional battery storage systems, promising unprecedented reliability and drastically reduced operating and maintenance costs.
This system is both the world’s largest sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery installation and the first-ever fully passive, megawatt-hour-scale battery storage system to be deployed. Furthermore, it represents the very first grid-scale sodium-ion storage solution to be integrated into the U.S. electric grid. The company is currently deploying the system in a shared pilot program with nine leading utility and independent power producer (IPP) customers this summer, fast-tracking its commitment to onshore battery manufacturing and solidifying the U.S.'s position in the global battery industry.
"We see energy storage not only as an economic imperative, but also as a national security priority. Time is of the essence if the U.S. wants to take ownership and maintain control of its energy future," stated Landon Mossburg, CEO and Co-Founder at Peak Energy. He emphasized the company's commitment to "onshoring the manufacturing of this critical industry," underscoring the launch as a testament to their rapid execution capabilities in establishing the U.S. as a global leader in battery manufacturing.
Extensive performance testing of the ESS has yielded impressive results, indicating record-level cost savings and reliability. This translates to annual operational cost savings of at least $1 million per gigawatt-hour installed, with auxiliary power usage reduced by up to 90%. Furthermore, the system promises approximately 20% in lifetime cost savings compared to LFP (lithium iron phosphate) in an average deployment, alongside a notable 33% reduction in battery degradation over a 20-year project lifespan.
