Energy Storage for Illinois Institute of Technology’s Perfect Power Micro-Grid Project

U.S. Department of Energy Awards ZBB a Contract With City Cottage Group to Deliver a 500kWH Energy Storage System to the IIT Campus, Utilizing Its Third Generation Zinc-Bromide Flow Battery

 ZBB Energy Corporation, the leading developer of intelligent, renewable energy power platforms, has announced a contract from City Cottage Group to provide a 500kWH energy storage system for use in a micro-grid application at the Illinois Institute of Technology Campus in Chicago, IL, utilizing ZBB’s third generation Zinc-bromide flow battery.

The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in collaboration with Exelon, the Galvin Electricity Initiative (GEI), and other key partners, is working to develop, demonstrate, promote and commercialize a system and supporting technologies that will achieve “Perfect Power” at the main campus of IIT.

A “Perfect Power” system, as defined by GEI, is a system that cannot fail to meet the electric needs of the individual end user. The Perfect Power micro-grid designed and implemented at IIT is replicable to campuses, complexes, developments, critical facilities, Department of Defense facilities, communities, investor-owned and municipal electric systems.

The new ZBB EnerStore(TM) V3 Zinc-bromide flow battery will be integrated into the Perfect Power micro-grid to provide critical system backup, load-shifting, peak load reduction, improved integrated of distributed renewables, and to offset the addition of new electric vehicle charging stations by charging the battery with off-peak power for use during day-time peak charging periods.

The Principal Investigator, Professor Mohammad Shahidehpour, Ph.D., is the Director of the new IIT Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation, and has been leading efforts for IIT to implement and demonstrate a number of micro-grid technologies to provide load management, fault detection, power rerouting, energy efficiency, distributed generation, renewable integration, smart electric vehicle charging and off-grid, islanded, capability.

“This project is an outstanding demonstration of where the smart grid can add value with smart, cost effective storage. As the cost of distributed renewables approach grid parity, architectures like this will enable their seamless use and the ability to scale beyond 20% penetration. We are proud to have been selected and look forward to working with such a strong team,” said Eric Apfelbach, President & CEO of ZBB Energy.

ZBB’s flow battery is designed to serve as an advanced electrical energy storage device, constructed from environmentally-friendly materials that provide for long service life and advanced performance when compared with traditional chemical batteries.

City Cottage Group was awarded a sole-source turn-key construction contract to include the integration of the system infrastructure requirements and project management required to support the design, installation, testing and servicing of the energy storage interconnection contract for the micro-grid deployment at IIT.

ZBB will work closely with the City Cottage Group, IIT, and the Galvin Electricity Initiative’s design team to define operational standards for advanced energy storage systems on micro-grids such as this project and for use at future campus and utility-scale facilities

Tags: clean energy storage, energy awards, energy storage, energy storage system, flywheel storage, illinois institute of technology, micro grid, renewable storage, technology campus

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