South Korea’s Samsung SDI is to supply 1 megawatt-hour (MWh) of its lithium batteries to a solar farm project in Japan.
According to an item on GlobalPost, The facility will be constructed early next year by Japan’s Edison Power in Kagoshima Prefecture. Samsung’s batteries will be provided at a cost of USD $971 per kilowatt-hour capacity.
In other recent news from Samsung SDI, the company recently announced its partnership with BMW Group to supply lithium batteries will be expanded. Samsung SDI will supply the BMW Group with battery cells for the BMW i3, BMW i8 and other hybrid models.
The BMW i8 was launched in June and demand for the vehicle is already significantly higher than the planned production volume for the ramp-up phase. The i8 is being marketed as a sports car with the fuel consumption and emission values of a compact car.
Samsung SDI’s energy storage business has been growing in leaps and bounds in recent years. The company manufactures lithium ion batteries for everything from hand-held power tools to notebook computers and electric cars, plus energy storage systems for residential right through to utility applications.
Last month, Australian solar provider Energy Matters announced the local availability of the Samsung SDI All-In-One, a home energy storage system combining a solar/battery inverter and a lithium-ion battery offering 3.6 kilowatt hours capacity.
Samsung SDI All In One and AUO’s recently launched PowerLegato range, offering capacity of up to 7.2 kilowatt hours, mark the arrival of more affordable quality home energy storage solutions in Australia.
Home energy storage is in the early stages of a boom elsewhere, particularly Germany; where uptake is expected to grow from 6,000 units last year to an estimated 100,000 units in 2018.
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