Storage Power Solutions’ C-2-CTM energy storage system offers cost-effective solutions for commercial and industrial power reliability and net-zero policies to eliminate electrical energy costs while generating revenue.
Storage Power Solutions Inc. (SPS) was formed in 2014 as a spin-out from three major storage and electronics companies. With the support of their past affiliates, Founders Laszlo Lakatos-Hayward and Mike Oreskovic formed SPS in Canada to service the behind-the-meter commercial and industrial space.
Backed by a carefully curated team with well over 100 years of combined experience, SPS designs, manufacturers, and distributes lithium-iron-phosphate-(LFP)-based battery energy storage. The company’s portfolio of C-2-CTM cell-to-cabinet energy storage systems fills a specific market need for behind-the-meter sub-10 MW systems.
There are many benefits that the C-2-C solutions bring to behind-the-meter systems, that may or may not have a solar component attached. It has become very difficult for users to find a system of this size with the features of many large energy storage facilities – the C-2-C bridges this gap. The design provides affordability and true revenue stacking, all with a 20-year performance guarantee. The system also offers superior safety and environmental performance with 100% system availability, ease of installation, and built-in operational flexibility.
What makes SPS different?
SPS designs from the cell up and therefore maintains design control of the whole energy storage system, driving value for its customers. Its proprietary system architecture is based on over 100 years of proven experience, and the deployment of over 1.5 GWh of lithium-based energy storage and over 4.5 GWh of Ni-Cd, Ni-MH and VRLA based critical infrastructure. SPS’ management has deep experience in power electronics, battery energy storage, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and renewable energy.
A highly experienced team
The SPS team is built on a deep background in energy storage, spanning up to more than 40 years. Many members of the team were initially involved in the uninterruptible power supply industry, responsible for the development of back-up power systems for data centres, banks, power plants, switchboards, and call centres. During this time, energy storage was focused on providing back-up power in case of failures and cleaning and filtering the energy that was brought into a facility to prevent damage to the equipment.
In around the year 2000, the team started to enhance their knowledge of different battery chemistries to add to their portfolio of lead-acid and nickel cadmium storage. Quickly, lithium-ion became a leader of the pack and specifically lithium-iron-phosphate.
SPS’ engineering team, already well versed in battery technologies and power electronics, began to recognise the value in a distributed architecture. Having proved useful in the telecommunications power systems architecture and now valued by the solar industry by using string inverters, the team saw that this architecture would dominate the energy storage space in the years to come. They also recognised the advantages it would offer to the client that simply could not be realised in a centralised architecture that uses a ‘container’ full of batteries connected to a single inverter/converter.
What is C-2-C energy storage?
SPS’ C-2-C energy storage technology is a single low-voltage string of large capacity prismatic LFP cells, housed in cartridges that are fully integrated with the power conversion system (PCS) and packaged in a custom, infinitely expandable cabinet. Each sub-system is simplified, miniaturised and integrated, with each cabinet including:
• Class A Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cells;
• A power conversion system (PCS);
• A cell monitoring and management system to optimise cell and string balancing and lifecycle;
• Thermal management;
• Fire prevention, containment and suppression;
• Safety circuits and security systems; and
• Autonomous Energy Gateway Information Software (AEGIS).
The cell-to-cabinet (C-2-C) architecture uses multi-million hours of field proven electronics and battery cells to create a block platform that expands to create the right amount of power, energy, and redundancy for each user’s needs.
From as little as 60kw/kva, up to hundreds of MVA/MW, and as little as 60kWh up to thousands of MWh, the C-2-C energy storage system provides the ultimate flexibility and adaptability for the needs of the user on day one and for many years into the future, in both front-of-the-meter and behind-the-meter configurations.
Layered on top of this is SPS’ AEGIS. The Autonomous Energy Gateway Information System is the user’s single point of connection for an asset management suite, system administration, database, communications and control and platform security. Using industry standard communication protocols, AEGIS can communicate with virtually any other device for the management of the facility.
Benefits of the C-2-C System
SPS’ customers have outlined the specific features that they appreciate in the C-2-C system below.
Solar-plus-storage in a single cabinet
The C-2-C system has a unique market offering whereby the solar array connects directly to the battery cabinet to eliminate the need for a solar inverter. This is expandable to any size required. The system can also be configured with a standalone solar or with no solar at all.
Highly scalable
The variety of sizes available means users can purchase the system in the exact size they require. There is also no need to over-purchase initially as more can be added if needed in the future.
100% availability
Engineered using principles from telecommunication applications, the system offers enhanced availability and provides value-generating N+x redundancy. This means that downtime is a thing of the past.
Maximum safety
The system has seven layers of safety – including four layers of prevention and three layers of containment – built in to ensure optimum protection against thermal events. The design has been thought through carefully to prevent any hazardous situations from occurring and mitigate any unforeseen circumstances. There are an additional six protection layers for public and worker safety.
Compact plug-and-play installation
When the energy storage systems arrive at site, they are ready to set into place and make the connection. This means that they are very quick and easy to install.
Optional medium voltage transformer connections
It is more cost effective to close-couple the transformer, eliminating the need for more switchgear.
Modularity
The system’s modularity makes it easy to service and to augment in the future, should the need arise to grow the system.
Low maintenance
The system removes the need for air conditioning, as all high-end electrical equipment uses convection and forced air cooling – making it more cost effective and reliable than air conditioning.
Optimisable
The energy storage system provides the ability to use many different types of cells to optimise configurations (future proofing). The distributed architecture means that different cells are never in contact with each other – they can be old and new cells or even different chemistries in the same system.
World-class excellence
The C-2-C has set a new standard of world-class excellence that is now available to smaller industrial and commercial facilities so that they too can operate in a manner that has, for far too long, been the domain of much larger systems.
Please note, this article will also appear in the twelfth edition of our quarterly publication.
