Background: In a previous article, we introduced five major mountains affecting the energy storage industry. Recently, the "Blue Book on the Development of New Power Systems (Draft for Comments)" was released, which provides specific guidance on the development route and direction of the new energy storage industry, which undoubtedly provides a boost to the energy storage industry.

In the "Blue Book", there is such a passage worthy of attention: "Focus on long-life, low-cost and high-safety electrochemical energy storage key core technologies and equipment integration optimization research, improve the safety of lithium batteries, reduce costs, develop sodium Diversified technical routes such as ion batteries and flow batteries. Vigorously promote the development of technologies such as compressed air energy storage, flywheel energy storage, and gravity energy storage towards large-scale, high-efficiency, and flexible operation."

We can see that the "Blue Book" has clearly given the direction: compressed air energy storage, flow battery energy storage, sodium ion battery energy storage, gravity energy storage, and flywheel energy storage. These five new energy storage routes deserve the most attention. At present, these five types of energy storage occupy a relatively small proportion, but have huge development potential.

The principle of compressed air energy storage is similar to that of mechanical energy storage. During low periods, excess electrical energy is used to store high-pressure air in the air storage chamber, and the electrical energy is converted into pressure potential energy of the air. This type is suitable for large-scale energy storage stations (>100MW). The discharge and discharge time can reach more than 4 hours, and can be used as a long-term energy storage system.

Compressed air energy storage is currently in the transition stage between demonstration and verification and commercial promotion. It can be connected to the power grid system and play a role in peak shaving, valley filling, and renewable energy consumption. A complete compressed air energy storage system includes: compressor unit, expander unit, thermal storage system, electrical and control equipment, air storage chamber, etc.

An all-vanadium redox flow battery is a redox battery that uses vanadium as an active material in a circulating liquid state. Its energy storage principle is to store and release electrical energy through changes in the valence state of vanadium ions in the electrolyte. The all-vanadium redox flow battery has the advantages of extremely long cycle life, easy adjustment of capacity scale, and high safety. It can achieve more than 15,000 charge and discharge times and a service life of more than 20 years. But its shortcomings are also obvious: low energy density and high material cost.

At present, the initial investment of all-vanadium redox flow batteries is about 3,000-4,000 yuan/KWh, and the cost is about twice that of lithium batteries. However, its electrolyte will not degrade and the battery residual value is high. The problem of high initial investment can be solved with the right business model and recycling mechanism.

Sodium-ion batteries are an energy storage medium with extremely high cost advantages. Its initial capacity investment is 500-700 yuan/kWh. If the number of cycles is 6,000 cycles, the kilowatt-hour cost of the sodium-ion battery energy storage system can be 0.217-0.285 yuan/kWh. Research on sodium-ion batteries is also a hot topic at the moment.

The main application scenarios of sodium-ion battery energy storage are wind power stations, solar power stations and home energy storage. It has a stronger bidding advantage and can effectively increase the penetration rate of distributed power and improve the stability and economy of distribution network operation.

The suitable energy storage scale of sodium-ion batteries is 10kW-1MW

Gravity energy storage is a kind of mechanical energy storage that uses electricity to lift heavy objects to high places to increase their gravitational potential energy to achieve energy storage. Its advantages are: high energy conversion efficiency, high safety, high stability, and flexible site selection.

At present, gravity energy storage is still in the early stages of development and has not yet formed a mature commercial project. However, there are companies in China that have joined hands with central enterprises such as China Three Gorges Corporation to verify projects, and they are expected to make breakthroughs here.

Flywheel energy storage uses the high-speed rotation of the flywheel to store electrical energy in the form of mechanical energy. Compared with other energy storage methods, flywheel energy storage has performance advantages such as large energy storage density, deep energy release density, and fast response. It also has technical advantages such as safety, reliability, low maintenance, and no pollution. However, it also has shortcomings such as low relative energy density and large static losses.

At present, flywheel energy storage is still in the experimental stage in China. Small prototypes have been successfully developed and have been applied in actual applications, and the trend is towards the development of large computers. Foreign flywheel energy storage technology is mainly concentrated in flywheel frequency modulation power stations, UPS and other fields, and has been used on a certain scale.

In 2022, China's energy storage industry will continue to maintain rapid development. New energy storage added 7.3GW/15.9GWh, a year-on-year increase of 200%, surpassing the United States. China has become the backbone of the world's energy storage industry.

In the next five years, China's renewable energy installed capacity is expected to account for half of the global increase. For investors, these five energy storage tracks are all vibrant blue ocean areas. The issuance of the "Blue Book on the Development of New Power Systems (Draft for Comments)" will also greatly promote the improvement of the rational investment system and market mechanisms. The energy storage industry is ready for development!

The operation of energy storage revolves around charging and discharging. In this process, a large number of transformer equipment will inevitably be applied. The role of the transformer is to make the power system operate safely and reliably and to improve energy utilization. In the entire energy storage system, it is the second largest source of loss after power devices, accounting for 30%-50% of the loss of a single machine. Through reasonable selection of transformers, costs can be reduced and efficiency improved.

In the fields of design, research and development, and production of transformers/regulators in the energy storage industry, Leilang Electric has also made early plans. Relying on the relevant intellectual property rights and core technologies that the company has accumulated, it focuses on and continues to promote the research and development of transformers/voltage regulators and other related technologies and products in the energy storage field, and has mature product solutions and practical application results. "Working hard for more efficient and energy-saving power development", we look forward to cooperating with you.