Lithium Technology Corporation said its German subsidiary, GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH, has been selected to participate with Volkswagen AG, energy supplier E.ON AG, and others in “Fleet test: electric drive vehicles,” a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) project sponsored by the German federal government.
Over the next three years, GAIA will deliver a total of seven lithium ion batteries based on iron phosphate cathode chemistry, with energy content of about 12kWh. The project aims to demonstrate the use of electricity generated by renewable energy such as wind and solar for powering up 20 PHEVs in a fleet trial under real-time conditions. The project will also evaluate ways to integrate PHEVs into the electric power grid.
"This project will not only demonstrate the viability of the use of lithium ion batteries to power PHEV's, but also the use of the large energy storage capabilities that the batteries of such a PHEV fleet represent to the power grid," said Klaus Brandt, Lithium Technology chief executive officer and managing director of GAIA.
The increased use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar put stress on the grid stability as power generation becomes less predictable. PHEV batteries can help stabilize the grid by charging at times of excess power generation capability and feeding power back to the grid when there is a power generation shortage.
Brandt said Lithium Technology is one of a few companies capable of constructing large PHEV batteries. " Moreover, with regard to the grid and renewable energy, we currently target even larger applications, such as grid stabilization and peak shaving, which will require batteries of 2-20 Mega Watt hours, the largest of their kind in the world," he said.