Sharp Developing Home Solar Power Batteries

[sparky]

Sharp Corp. (TSE:6753), Daiwa House Industry Co. (TSE:1925) and Dai Nippon Printing Co. (TSE:7912) have agreed to work together to commercialize a storage battery for household solar power systems as early as fiscal 2009, The Nikkei learned Monday.

The trio plans to develop a lithium ion battery that can store up to 18kwh of power to enable the electricity generated by solar panels during the day to be used at night. Existing household solar power systems do not store power, so they typically supply just around three quarters of the roughly 12kwh daily power requirements of an average household.

The effort will be handled by Eliiy Power Co., a lithium ion battery development joint venture between Daiwa House and Dai Nippon Printing. By purchasing 600 million yen ($5US.59 million) in new shares next month, Sharp will acquire an Eliiy Power stake equal to that of the other two partners. The three plan to issue more new shares in Eliiy Power around the autumn, inviting general contractors, trading houses and other companies to join the partnership.

Following this capital increase, Eliiy Power is expected to spend around 15 billion yen and build a factory in Kawasaki. This factory is expected to begin mass-producing the world's first large-capacity household-use lithium ion battery. The battery's initial price has yet to be determined, but the three firms hope to eventually sell the product for less than 500,000 yen.

Lithium ion batteries, which are now used in mobile phones and notebook computers, can store more than twice as much power per unit of weight as the lead-acid batteries used in automobiles. But the price of materials used in lithium ion electrodes is rising. Eliiy Power has developed a configuration that cuts down on the material used in the electrodes. It has also developed a feature that automatically shuts off the batteries when they overheat, making them safer.

By increasing use of clean power, the solar power battery venture will help Japan curb its emissions of global warming gases. In fiscal 2006, CO2 emissions from households reached 166 million tons, or about 12 per cent of global warming gas emissions in Japan. Household electricity usage has risen more than 30 per cent since fiscal 1990, now accounting for 30 per cent of total domestic power usage.

Sharp is the world's biggest manufacturer of solar power generation equipment. Daiwa House aims to boost the value added to its homes by equipping them with energy-saving technologies. And Dai Nippon Printing possesses technology to process electrode materials for lithium ion batteries.

[LMagic007]

re; article

Existing household solar power systems do not store power

I question that statement. Nothing new in batteries being used for solar power storage, but it's good to see another major manufacturer on board.

[Besoeker]

Originally Posted by LMagic007

re; article

I question that statement. Nothing new in batteries being used for solar power storage, but it's good to see another major manufacturer on board.

I agree.
Solar thermal also stores energy.

[Besoeker]

Originally Posted by sparky

The battery's initial price has yet to be determined, but the three firms hope to eventually sell the product for less than 500,000 yen.

That's about £2,400.
Or about 6 years worth my electricity bill.
VRLA is very much less expensive for the same capacity.

[geodome]

Good point Besoeker, I can't see why household batteries need to be light weight or compact. They seem a lot more expensive without proving any real advantage over lead acid batteries.

I hate spending money on energy storage, it's like a £6,000 car having a fuel tank that costs £2,000.

[Besoeker]

Originally Posted by geodome

Good point Besoeker, I can't see why household batteries need to be light weight or compact. They seem a lot more expensive without proving any real advantage over lead acid batteries.

In my experience, where energy storage is required on any significant scale for static installations VRLA (valve regulated lead acid) is the predominant choice.