Energy Storage - Part I: Batteries and Energy Conversion Systems

This special issue presents a review of recent advances in electrochemical energy storage, battery management systems, and power electronics for grid-scale energy storage applications. The importance of energy storage across the entire electricity infrastructure is growing rapidly. In particular, this is highlighted by the urgent need to address the intermittency challenge caused by the large-scale deployment of renewable energy sources. Significant deployment of energy storage can also provide infrastructure deferrals, as transmission and distribution infrastructure has not kept pace with demand. There have been a number of recent studies highlighting benefits that energy storage can provide across the entire electricity value chain. While large centralized facilities such as pumped hydro storage reservoirs and large compressed energy storage systems can address base load storage needs, these are capital-intensive projects with significant permitting, regulatory, and financing challenges. Distributed storage systems employing batteries and electrochemical storage systems with modest storage capacity can benefit a wide range of applications, including community storage, storage for SmartGrid applications, backup power support for buildings and industrial facilities, regulation services, and support for off-grid solar and wind. These applications benefit from energy storage technologies that are readily scalable from kilowatthour systems on the consumer side to large megawatthour class utility-scale systems. Advances in electrochemical energy storage have improved the reliability and lifetime of batteries along with reduced cost. Pilot-scale deployment of storage systems employing lithiumion, leadYacid, and sodiumYsulfur batteries have validated the usefulness of these systems. In addition to these established technologies, emerging technologies such as flow batteries and regenerative fuel cells may provide low cost, modular, and scalable solutions for grid-scale storage applications. The special issue on energy storage is divided into two separate issues. Papers in the current issue cover batteries and electrochemical storage technology, battery management systems, and power electronics and power conversion systems. The second issue will be focused on aspects related to the The special issue includes papers on batteries and electrochemical storage technology, battery management systems, and power electronics and power conversion systems.