Energy Storage

The purpose of the Energy Storage portfolio is to develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective large battery technology that enables the storage of surplus energy and the integration of renewables, in particular solar, with grid. It aims to address technical barriers (scientific and engineering) in battery technologies to enable their adaptation for solar energy applications; the objectives also include the development and deployment of battery field demonstrations to assist in testing, validation and benchmarking of battery technologies that can meet solar technology needs. Energy storage portfolio also aims to explore emerging energy storage technologies to identify opportunities and develop innovative solutions (discover/invent materials, processes, systems and intellectual property). The energy storage Laboratory with state of the art equipment can host and train Qatari students, post-doc and professors.

The key deliverables of the Energy Storage Portfolio are:

Mid-size energy storage battery systems (Lithium –ion and Redox flow battery) that could be coupled with solar panels to be deployed in farm/villa (1-30KWh);
A best cycling operation/mode condition and maintenance for a large lithium ion battery (250KW/500KWh) deployed in STF facility;
New materials, electrolytes or process (IPs: for lithium, sodium and flow battery systems) with a possibility of scale up few hundred grams of materials to enable a battery prototype with a capacity of ~ 50Ah.

PILLARS

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Lithium and sodium batteries and cell safety and diagnostic

In this pillar, we will develop an advanced battery systems based on lithium and sodium technologies. New cathode materials will be synthetized and coin cells will be fabricated and tested. We will also study the battery safety and diagnostic based on cathodes, anodes, electrolytes and their interfacial behavior under the influence of temperature or overcharging and tested under Qatar climate.

Redox flow battery

The goal of this pillar is to develop high performance and cheaper battery materials and designs in order to make flow batteries economically viable for mass market and be deployed in a number of remote locations (e.g., livestock farms).

Battery Systems prototype and demonstration

In this pillar, a large size 250kW/500kWh Li-ion battery deployed at the Solar Test Facility will be tested under solar farm conditions which include the development of battery performance diagnostic tools, the optimization of the battery operation and the study of its durability and ageing behavior under Qatar climate. We will also develop and demonstrate a full-scale commercially viable renewable power system based on flow battery technology for off-grid applications (e.g., farms).

PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

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QEERI and Venergate (consortium of Korean companies) signed a joint development agreement to develop cost effective battery system for solar applications.
Catalonia Institute of Research for Energy, Clemson University, Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Argonne National Laboratory, Istanbul technical University.

Venegrate

QEERI has developed close contacts with Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) in order to identify research topics of common interest. QEERI plans to use silicon produced by QSTec to design and fabricate wafers and cells of high performance.

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland

QEERI and EPFL (Switzerland) established a strong partnership to design and produce silicon solar cells that perform better in desert environments and to develop the emerging Perovskite-based PV technology.