Skip to main content

Overview of Lithium-Ion Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems

Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports volume 4, pages 197–208 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This paper provides a reader who has little to none technical chemistry background with an overview of the working principles of lithium-ion batteries specifically for grid-scale applications. It also provides a comparison of the electrode chemistries that show better performance for each grid application.

Recent Findings

Two of the main causes driving the growth of stationary energy storage technologies are the increasing environmental regulations that promote a high penetration of non-dispatchable generation and policy changes in the electricity markets that benefit the profit of fast response energy resources such as a battery. The combination of these two factors is drawing the attention of investors toward lithium-ion grid-scale energy storage systems.

Summary

We review the relevant metrics of a battery for grid-scale energy storage. A simple yet detailed explanation of the functions and the necessary characteristics of each component in a lithium-ion battery is provided. We also discuss the chemistries currently used for cathode and anode materials. Discussed will be the trade-off of several materials with respect to cost, thermal stability, cyclability, environmental friendliness, and other important characteristics to be considered for grid applications. This paper also discusses the commercial availability of lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale storage and presents some of the containerized battery storage solutions available in the market.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. Department of Energy. DOE Energy Storage Database. 2016. http://www.energystorageexchange.org/.

  2. G. research and ESA US Energy Storage Monitor. U. S. Energy Storage Monitor: Q2 2016 Executive Summary. Tech. Rep. June, 2016.

  3. IRENA. REmap, Roadmap for a renewable energy future. Tech. Rep., 2016.

  4. Blume S. Global Energy Storage Market Overview & Regional Summary Report. Energy Storage Council, Tech. Rep., 2015.

  5. C. P. U. Commission. Energy storage goals for utilities. 2014;1–2.

  6. S. O. F. California, E. L. Material. Senate Bill No. 350. no. 350, 2015.

  7. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC order 755. no. 755, 2011.

  8. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC order 784. no. 784, 2013.

  9. Zhang SS. Status, opportunities, and challenges of electrochemical energy storage. Front Energy Res. 2013;1:1–6.

  10. • Diouf B, Pode R. Potential of lithium-ion batteries in renewable energy. Renew Energy. 2015;76:375–80. Makes comparison of other batteries to lithium ion. It presents states and explains the electric vehicle industry as the driving factor of lithium-ion technological development. It points out the challenges that need to be overcome in order to have a better lithium-ion battery for stationary use.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Omar J, Posada G, Rennie AJR, Martins VL, Marinaccio J, Barnes A, et al. Aqueous batteries as grid scale energy storage solutions. Renew Sust Energ Rev. 2017;68(Part 2):1174–82.

  12. Krieger EM, Cannarella J, Arnold CB. A comparison of lead-acid and lithium-based battery behavior and capacity fade in off-grid renewable charging applications. Energy. 2013;60:492–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. • Zhao B, Ran R, Liu M, Shao Z. A comprehensive review of Li4Ti5O12-based electrodes for lithium-ion batteries: the latest advancements and future perspectives. Materials Science and Engineering R: Reports. 2015;98:1–71. A detailed review on anodes, their characteristics, and methods to improve them, with a focus on Li4Ti5O12. It offers a heavily chemistry-loaded explanation of Li4Ti5O12 anodes, their latest improvements, and challenges.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Akhil AA, Huff G, Currier AB, Kaun BC, Rastler DM, Chen SB, Cotter AL, Bradshaw DT, Gauntlett WD. SANDIA REPORT DOE / EPRI electricity storage handbook in collaboration with NRECA. 2015; February.

  15. Rahimi-Eichi H, Ojha U, Baronti F, Chow M. Battery management system: an overview of its application in the smart grid and electric vehicles. Industrial Electronics Magazine, IEEE. 2013;7(2):4–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Lawder BMT, Suthar B, Northrop PWC, De S, Hoff CM, Leitermann O, et al. System (BESS) and battery management system (BMS) for grid-scale applications. Proc IEEE. 2014;102(6):1014–30.

  17. Piao C, Wang Z, Cao J, Zhang W, Lu S. Lithium-ion battery cell-balancing algorithm for battery management system based on real-time outlier detection. Mathematical problems in engineering, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2015;2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/168529.

  18. Ko Y-S, Na K-S, Park W-H, Seong H-J, Won C-Y. Dual battery pack charge/discharge system for ESS using 3-level NPC inverter. June 2016;497–502.

  19. Such MC, Hill C. Battery energy storage and wind energy integrated into the Smart Grid. 2012 I.E. PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies (ISGT), 2012;1–4.

  20. Schoenung S, Hassenzahl W. Long- vs. short-term energy storage technologies analysis: a life-cycle cost study: a study for the DOE energy storage systems program. Power Quality. 2003;SAND2011-2:84.

    Google Scholar 

  21. McKeon BB, Furukawa J, Fenstermacher S. Advanced lead- acid batteries and the development of grid-scale energy storage systems. Proc IEEE. 2014;102(6):951–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Zeng YK, Zhao TS, An L, Zhou XL, Wei L. A comparative study of all-vanadium and iron-chromium redox flow batteries for large-scale energy storage. J Power Sources. 2015;300:438–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Liao Q, Sun B, Liu Y, Sun J, Zhou G. A techno-economic analysis on NaS battery energy storage system supporting peak shaving. Int J Energy Res. 2016;40:241–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Nazri GA, Pistoia G. Lithium batteries science and technology. New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Schaber C, Mazza P, Hammerschlag R. Utility-scale storage of renewable energy. Electricity Journal. 2004;17(6):21–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Scrosati B, Garche J. Lithium batteries: status, prospects and future. J Power Sources. 2010;195(9):2419–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Kang SW, Xie HM, Zhang W, Zhang JP, Ma Z, Wang RS, et al. Improve the overall performances of lithium ion batteries by a facile method of modifying the surface of cu current collector with carbon. Electrochim Acta. 2015;176:604–9.

  28. Song MK, Park S, Alamgir FM, Cho J, Liu M. Nanostructured electrodes for lithium-ion and lithium-air batteries: the latest developments, challenges, and perspectives. Materials Science and Engineering R: Reports. 2011;72(11):203–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. SBC Energy Institute. Electricity storage factbook. IEA workshop on energy storage Sep, 2013, 2013;1–13.

  30. Spotnitz R. Lithium-ion batteries: the basics. Chem Eng Prog 2013;29.

  31. M. E. V. Team. A guide to understanding battery specifications. Curr 2008;1–3.

  32. •• Scrosati B, Abraham KM, van Schalkwijk W, Hassoum J. Lithium batteries: advanced technologies and applications. Pennington: Wiley; 2013. This book offers a detail explanation of how the batteries works; it opens the door to electrochemistry with a focus on lithium-ion batteries. It offers a good review of the chemistry, history, developments, and emergent technologies of lithium-ion batteries.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  33. • Hu M, Pang X, Zhou Z. Recent progress in high-voltage lithium-ion batteries. J Power Sources. 2013;237:229–42. Shows a comprehensive review of the cathodes for lithium-ion batteries, digging really deep on their flaws and advantages for different applications.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Wu MS, Lee RH. Nanostructured manganese oxide electrodes for lithium-ion storage in aqueous lithium sulfate electrolyte. J Power Sources. 2008;176(1):363–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Deng Y, Fang C, Chen G. The developments of SnO2/graphene nanocomposites as anode materials for high performance lithium ion batteries: a review. J Power Sources. 2016;304:81–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Choi NS, Chen Z, Freunberger SA, Ji X, Sun YK, Amine K, et al. Challenges facing lithium batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition. 2012;51(40):9994–10024.

  37. Glaize C, Genies S. Lithium batteries and other electrochemical storage systems. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2013.

  38. Bryner M. Lithium-ion batteries. Linden’s handbook of batteries 2013;36.

  39. Chiang Y-M. Electrochemical energy storage for the grid. World 2010.

  40. Nunes-Pereira J, Costa CM, Lanceros-Mendez S. Polymer composites and blends for battery separators: state of the art, challenges and future trends. J Power Sources. 2015;281:378–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Fergus JW. Recent developments in cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. J Power Sources. 2010;195(4):939–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Lee S-W, Kim H, Kim M-S, Youn H-C, Kang K, Cho B-W, et al. Improved electrochemical performance of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material synthesized by citric acid assisted sol-gel method for lithium ion batteries. J Power Sources. 2016;315:261–8.

  43. Ohzuku T, Ueda A, Nagayama M. Electrochemistry and structural chemistry of LiNiO2 (R(3)over-bar-M) for 4 volt secondary lithium cells. J Electrochem Soc. 1993;140(7):1862–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Kraytsberg A, Ein-Eli Y, Kraytsberg A, Ein-Eli Y. Higher, stronger, better ... a review of 5 volt cathode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries. Adv Energy Mater. 2012;2(8):922–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Liu S, Wu H, Huang L, Xiang M, Liu H, Zhang Y. Synthesis of Li2Si2O5-coated LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode materials with enhanced high-voltage electrochemical properties for lithium-ion batteries. J Alloys Compd. 2016;674:447–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Shi W, Wang J, Zheng J, Jiang J, Viswanathan V, Zhang J-G. Influence of memory effect on the state-of-charge estimation of large- format Li-ion batteries based on LiFePO4 cathode. J Power Sources. 2016;312:55–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Gong C, Xue Z, Wen S, Ye Y, Xie X. Advanced carbon materials/olivine LiFePO4 composites cathode for lithium ion batteries. J Power Sources. 2016;318:93–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Kim JH, Woo SC, Park MS, Kim KJ, Yim T, Kim JS, et al. Capacity fading mechanism of LiFePO4-based lithium secondary batteries for stationary energy storage. J Power Sources. 2013;229:190–7.

  49. Satyavani TVSL, Kumar AS, Subba PSV. Methods of synthesis and performance improvement of lithium iron. Engineering Science and Technology, an International Journal. 2015;19(1):178–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Xu T, Wang W, Gordin ML, Wang D, Choi D. Lithium-ion batteries for stationary energy storage. JOM. 2010;62(9):24–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Gong H, Xue H, Wang T, He J. In-situ synthesis of monodisperse micro-nanospherical LiFePO4/carbon cathode composites for lithium-ion batteries. J Power Sources. 2016;318:220–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Polat BD, Keles O. Designing self-standing silicon-copper composite helices as anodes for lithium ion batteries. J Alloys Compd. 2016;677:228–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  53. Voelker P, Scientific TF. Trace degradation analysis of lithium-ion battery components. April, 2014;1–9.

  54. Deng T, Zhou X. Porous graphite prepared by molybdenum oxide catalyzed gasification as anode material for lithium ion batteries. Mater Lett. 2016;176:151–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Zhang W, Zhang Y, Yang Z, Chen G, Ma G, Wang Q. In-situ design and construction of lithium-ion battery electrodes on metal substrates with enhanced performances: a brief review. Chin J Chem Eng. 2014;24(1):48–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Huang X, Wu J, Cao Y, Zhang P, Lin Y, Guo R. Cobalt nanosheet arrays supported silicon film as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. Electrochim Acta. 2016;203:213–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Zhang M, Zhang T, Ma Y, Chen Y. Latest development of nanostructured Si/C materials for lithium anode studies and applications. Energy Storage Materials. 2016;4:1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Fukata N, Mitome M, Bando Y, Wu W, Wang ZL. Lithium ion battery anodes using Si-Fe based nanocomposite structures. Nano Energy. 2016;26:37–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Liu C, Massé R, Nan X, Cao G. A promising cathode for Li-ion batteries: Li3V2(PO4)3. Energy Storage Materials. 2016;4:15–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Liu H-P, Wen G-W, Bi S-F, Wang C-Y, Hao J-M, Gao P. High rate cycling performance of nanosized Li4Ti5O12/graphene composites for lithium ion batteries. Electrochim Acta. 2016;192:38–44. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0013468616301797

    Article  Google Scholar 

  61. Liu G, Zhang R, Bao K, Xie H, Zheng S, Guo J, et al. Synthesis of nano-Li4Ti5O12 anode material for lithium ion batteries by a biphasic interfacial reaction route. Ceram Int. 2016;42(9):11468–72.

  62. Mu D, Chen Y, Wu B, Huang R, Jiang Y, Li L, et al. Nano-sized Li4Ti5O12/C anode material with ultrafast charge/discharge capability for lithium ion batteries. J Alloys Compd. 2016;671:157–63.

  63. Swiderska-Mocek A, Naparstek D. Physical and electrochemical properties of lithium bis(oxalate)borateorganic mixed electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. Electrochim Acta. 2016;204:69–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Suo L, Borodin O, Sun W, Fan X, Yang C, Wang F, et al. Advanced high-voltage aqueous lithium-ion battery enabled by “water-in-bisalt” electrolyte. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2016:1–7.

  65. Zeng Z, Wu B, Xiao L, Jiang X, Chen Y, Ai X, et al. Safer lithium ion batteries based on nonflammable electrolyte. J Power Sources. 2015;279:6–12.

  66. Ma J, Hu P, Cui G, Chen L. Surface and interface issues in spinel LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4: insights into a potential cathode material for high energy density lithium-ion batteries: Chemistry of Materials; 2016. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b00948.

  67. Saikia D, Ho SY, Chang YJ, Fang J, Tsai LD, Kao HM. Blending of hard and soft organic-inorganic hybrids for use as an effective electrolyte membrane in lithium-ion batteries. J Membr Sci. 2016;503:59–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  68. Zhang J, Ma C, Liu J, Chen L, Pan A, Wei W. Solid polymer electrolyte membranes based on organic/inorganic nanocomposites with star-shaped structure for high performance lithium ion battery. J Membr Sci. 2016;509:138–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  69. Thangadurai V, Narayanan S, Pinzaru D. Garnet-type solid-state fast Li ion conductors for Li batteries: critical review. Chem Soc Rev. 2014;7(12):3857–86

  70. Lee H, Yanilmaz M, Toprakci O, Fu K, Zhang X. A review of recent developments in membrane separators for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Energy Environ Sci. 2014;7(12):3857–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  71. BYD. Byd web site. http://byd.com/energy/ess.html.

  72. NEC. Nec energy solutions web site. https://www.neces.com/assets/NECES-Grid-Poster116142.pdf.

  73. Kokam. Kokam web site. http://kokam.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016-Kokam-ESS-Brochure.pdf?PHPSESSID=67430cfb8734b8f2df678d7def11c3ed.

  74. S. SDI. Samsung sdi web site. http://www.samsungsdi.co.kr/upload/essbrochure/Samsung%20SDI%20ESS%20brochure.pdf.

  75. L. Chem. Lg chem web site. http://www.lgchem.com/upload/file/product/ESSLGChemENG[0].pdf.

  76. SAFT. Saft web site. http://www.saftbatteries.com/battery-search/intensium%C2%AE-max.

  77. Enerdel. Enerdel web site. http://www.enerdel.com/se210-600-z-secure.

  78. Tesla. Tesla energy web site. https://www.tesla.com/enCA/powerpack.

  79. SigmaAldrich. Sigma-aldrich website. http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog.situ. Design and construction of lithium-ion battery electrodes on metal.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Juan Arteaga & Hamidreza Zareipour

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Venkataraman Thangadurai

Authors
  1. Juan Arteaga
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hamidreza Zareipour
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Venkataraman Thangadurai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan Arteaga.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Energy Storage

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Arteaga, J., Zareipour, H. & Thangadurai, V. Overview of Lithium-Ion Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems. Curr Sustainable Renewable Energy Rep 4, 197–208 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40518-017-0086-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40518-017-0086-0

Keywords

  • Energy storage system
  • Lithium-ion batteries
  • Grid-scale energy storage
  • Electrochemical energy storage
  • Electrode materials