Electric vehicle manufacturer, Tesla Motors has launched a new range of energy storage devices designed for homes, businesses and utilities.
The energy storage devices use the same lithium-ion technology batteries that the manufacturer uses for its range of electric vehicles, which will soon be manufactured at the company’s so-called Gigafactory in America in partnership with Panasonic.
The company claims that its new energy storage devices represent a “critical step in the mission to enable zero emission power generation”.
However, the most important detail revealed during Friday’s announcement was the price point at which Tesla is bringing the new storage systems to the market. Prices start at US$3,000, thought to be as little as a third of the price of comparable products previously available on the market.
The company’s flagship new storage product is the Tesla Powerwall Home Battery, which the company claims will enable self-consumption of solar-generated electricity, backup power as well as load shifting capabilities whereby the unit charges itself up during low rate periods. The Powerwall unit consists of the company’s lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system and software which communicates with a solar PV inverter.
The company says the Powerwall Home Battery, available in 10kWh for backup applications or 7kWh for daily use applications, will start at US$,3500 for the 10kWh model, while the 7kWh version is listed as US$3000. Deliveries in the US are expected to begin later this summer and the batteries will be offered with a 10-year warranty and optional 10-year warranty extension.
Speaking to Next Energy News, a Tesla spokeswoman confirmed that company would be launching the energy storage devices in three initial markets: the US, Germany and Australia. The company is aiming to launch in the UK “by the end of the year” and is actively looking for UK-based installation partners.
In addition, Tesla unveiled its storage products for businesses which scale up from the domestic offering. The company has partnered with a number of high-profile businesses to trial its offering including retail giants Amazon and Target.
Commenting on the companies’ partnership, James Hamilton of Amazon Web Services, said: “We’ve been working closely with Tesla for the past year to drive innovative applications of high-capacity battery technology in data center applications with the ultimate goal of reducing the technical barriers limiting widespread adoption of renewables in the grid. Batteries are important for both data center reliability and as enablers for the efficient application of renewable power. They help bridge the gap between intermittent production, from sources like wind, and the data center’s constant power demands. We’re excited to roll out a 4.8MWh pilot of Tesla’s energy storage batteries in our US West (Northern California) Region. This complements our strategy to use renewable energy to power our global infrastructure.”
Finally, Tesla has designed an energy storage solution to cater for utility-scale applications. The company is offering batteries in 100kWh blocks. These modular systems can be grouped together to scale from 500kWh to over 10MWh. Tesla foresees these huge batteries being used for peak shaving, load shifting and demand response.
Tesla concludes that its move into energy storage is “amplifying its efforts to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels to a sustainable energy future” by improving the “resiliency and cleanliness of the grid”.
Watch the full keynote below:
