ASX-listed Lithium Australia’s 50 per cent-owned lithium battery subsidiary, Soluna Australia, has installed its first residential modular battery storage units in Perth. The lithium battery systems, which can be connected to roof mounted solar panels, store energy for later consumption – particularly at times when the sun is not shining.
The lithium battery revolution is all about longevity of storage, an issue that has consistently held the solar panel revolution back. Lithium Australia’s household lithium batteries will largely solve the storage issue for solar panels and the company is hoping that in time batteries will accompany every solar panel system deployed.
After receiving the initial customer orders for the residential batteries, Soluna confirmed the installations took place in the northern and southern suburbs of Perth over the past week.
The company recently reached the important milestone of getting its products accredited for electricity grid connection by the Clean Energy Council of Australia, paving the way for retail sales.
Given the grid imbalance currently experienced due to the large amount of installed solar power generation capacity coming back into the system and swamping the grid, an onsite storage solution is an elegant outcome for solar power households who want to store their energy for later use.
According to the Perth-based Lithium Australia, Soluna is expected to be into positive cash flow territory by the end of the December quarter as demand grows for its lithium-ion battery-based energy storage systems.
Lithium Australia says that ultra-high grid demand during peak periods in the summer months when air-conditioners are going full tilt may be markedly reduced by greater utilisation of battery storage systems.
The company says the domestic installation of these batteries is being supported by the WA Government in a bid to maintain more of a balance of energy distributed throughout the grid.
In addition, the Government says that a recent energy distribution report shows the popularity of rooftop solar photovoltaic systems, which have generally led to minimum demand for power from the grid in the middle of the day, is playing havoc with traditional or normal grid demand patterns.
Consequently, Lithium Australia says this situation creates power system stability issues, which are already occurring at times of low load and high solar generation.
Some grids are struggling around the country to cope with the solar influx and consumers are therefore being encouraged to store the solar power they generate, effectively kicking the door open for the Lithium Australia/Soluna solution.
Lithium Australia Managing Director, Adrian Griffin said: “Soluna Australia provides the most advanced residential energy storage available in the country. It can provide single-phase and three-phase systems with complete blackout protection, something lacking in many competing products.”
Lithium Australia has a number of lithium irons in the fire that are at various stages of advancement in multiple fields and will no doubt be pleased that its first offering is predicted to go cashflow positive by the end of the year.
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By Matt Birney
