Something that the highly adaptable engineering, product development and manufacturing wizards at Galenfeha, Inc. (OTC: GLFH) have known for years, and which is just now really starting to be understood by the investment community, is that not all lithium battery technologies are made the same. Certain variations to the design and underlying chemistry can make a world of difference when it comes to crucial factors like discharge rate, output capacity over the life of the system, overall weight, and safety. The company has been steadily advancing the state-of-the-art in lithium iron phosphate cells and with Tesla so much in the news lately, it makes sense to take some time out and look at the compelling advantages of this technology compared to the off-the-shelf lithium ion cells in use by Tesla.
The recent announcement by Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), commonly known for their high-end EV sedan, the Model S, that they are getting into the home power game with a new division called Tesla Energy, focused on developing home backup battery systems using technology similar to the lithium-ion array of small cylindrical cells used in the Model S, has sparked renewed interest in battery technology within the investment community. Tesla has made great strides in recent years to address the safety risks of their high energy density battery arrays, with the development of a proprietary cooling system that snakes through the pack and tighter system monitoring controls. The new home based battery systems, designed to work in concert with rooftop solar power or store energy from the grid during off-peak hours when electricity is cheapest, could be mounted on consumer’s walls in the very near future.
The initial rollout system, called the Powerwall, has already been described as essentially a boutique solution, much like the Model S is within the car market, sporting a sticker price in the $3k range for a 7kWh unit. Nevertheless, the Powerwall is being built to be hooked up in series, allowing as many as nine units to be stacked together to create a large uninterruptible battery backup for homes and businesses, meaning that if Tesla can effectively scale up to mass market penetration, such systems could change the way we look at powering residences and businesses forever. With over 50 million commercial rooftops in America alone, the fact that this system is designed to work with solar, improving the logistical viability of rooftop solar by allowing energy to be stored during peak harvesting times and then used when needed, could trigger a big push in residential solar applications, something that has been stalled due to the absence of such a solution. This distributed model could change the utility-dominated energy sector forever, giving consumers the power to buy grid electricity when it is cheap and also easily hook up rooftop solar to a redundant and uninterruptable supply.
Tesla has been successful in the EV market due to using relatively cheap, off-the-shelf type lithium-ion batteries with an NMC (nickel, manganese, cobalt oxide) cathode and then proprietarily arraying them into specialized packs, helping to keep the costs down and the energy densities high, meaning that the Model S has an effective range of 265 miles, or more than triple that of the Nissan (OTC: NSANY) Leaf. The increased costs of having to offset the danger of large high energy density cells, by using numerous smaller cells with an added cooling system and stacking them into a skid array that sits at the wheelbed of the vehicle and actually makes up part of the undercarriage, have mostly been addressed by Tesla and the company is now looking to produce more affordable cars in the $33k range, as well as smaller, more affordable versions of the Powerwall, in the near future.
One of the keys to successfully realizing widespread adoptance of a potentially revolutionary distributed energy model based on home storage systems, given that the 7kWh Powerwall ($300/kWhr for a 10 year warranty battery) clocks in at around $0.12/kWhr-cycle (or just over the price of a genset), will be getting the unit costs down and the life cycle up. Luckily there are companies out there like Galenfeha, which already has an established lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP) cathode battery technology, offering a longer life cycle, greater energy density over the total life cycle of the battery, and electrochemistry that is inherently safer than lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2), due largely to the thermal stability of iron. LiFePO4, which was historically less viable from a commercial standpoint due to technical limitations of electrical conductivity, is now rapidly emerging as a leading alternative to the typical lithium-ion batteries developed by the electronics industry, given that the technical limitations have been overcome by a variety of cost-effective design innovations.
LiFePO4 batteries have a higher current or peak-power rating than LiCoO2, as well as a lower discharge rate (slower rate of capacity loss and thus longer life cycle), and the avoidance of cobalt saves quite a bit of money, while also eliminating the environmental risks associated with having to dispose of cobalt batteries. Perhaps more importantly, given the improved thermal safety, LFP technology works great in larger cell sizes, making the technology ideal for developing large uninterruptible battery backups like Tesla’s Powerwall. Galenfeha’s LFP technology can also be easily scaled into economy/compact or large array systems, without a great deal of technical hassle or the need to develop new linkage systems. This means that the company has a ready-to-go solution that could seriously help accelerate the trend towards a home-based energy storage model. This distributed energy model, built around home storage units like Tesla’s proposed Powerwall system, has disruptive potential that is already forcing utility companies who thrive on the basis of centralized architectures, racing to think up some way to contain the potential damage to their pricing schemes.
With a solid history developing robust battery systems that can meet even the taxing requirements of oilfield operations, with features like rugged external packaging that is still designed to meet a small form factor, internal chemistry that is able to accommodate an extended shelf life and provide power during even extended usage, the ability to tolerate extreme temperatures, as well as high shock and vibration, Galenfeha’s LFP technology is a natural fit for uninterruptible distributed energy systems. Moreover, the company’s extensive knowledge amassed developing their proprietary BMS (battery management system), including a field-proven, remotely accessible, cloud-driven, integrated and GPS-enabled performance and asset tracking system, puts the company’s advanced LFP systems at the forefront within this increasingly attractive market. The ability to inspect the status of a battery system using code division multiple access (CDMA, radio communications channel access method used in many mobile phone standards) and actively track the battery via unique ESN identifiers and standard satellite geo-location, a solution which has already proven successful as an anti-theft mechanism in oilfield operations, gives Galenfeha’s LFP a fully integrated, user interface driven, real-time monitoring capability that should appeal to homeowners and businesses alike.
The company’s proprietary BMS keeps tabs on LFP battery status parameters like voltage, current and internal temperature during charging and discharging, giving users peace of mind and real-time situational awareness about the operational health and safety of their battery system, while also ensuring that the maximum life cycle is achieved by keeping the cells balanced and operating within the appropriate ranges. With internal over-charge, low voltage and short circuit protection, Galenfeha’s environmentally friendly LFP batteries are already ahead of the curve, without even taking into account performance characteristics like LiFePO4 chemistry that delivers 90% charge efficiency resulting in faster charge times and extremely low discharge rates if left dormant for extended periods of time, despite these batteries being exceptionally light.
Take a closer look at Galenfeha’s innovative battery tech by visiting www.galenfeha.com
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