Developing the Next Generation of Battery Power with Viridi
National Grid Partners, the investment and innovation arm of National Grid, actively looks for solutions that can help increase the capacity, reliability, and efficiency of the power grid. And we know that sometimes the best way to jumpstart innovative projects is simply to get energy leaders in a room together to discuss what the future can look like.
That’s exactly what happened at a recent meeting at which our portfolio company Viridi presented its technology to National Grid’s New York Electric Operations leadership team.
Viridi, a Buffalo-based startup, designs and builds fail-safe battery energy storage systems, and its presentation highlighted how emerging battery technology can enable safety, flexibility, and efficiency in the field. While traditional lithium-ion batteries can store a great deal of energy, they run the risk of overheating and going into “thermal runaway,” creating a fire hazard. This has hindered large-scale adoption of the technology.
But Viridi’s architecture prevents the effects of thermal runaway by trapping and capturing energy before it can propagate to other cells in a battery pack. This unique design allows Viridi’s batteries to meet the stringent standards for installation in buildings, where large-scale storage batteries previously haven’t been able to be placed. Multiple units can also be bundled together to store hundreds of kilowatts of energy in a small physical footprint, making Viridi’s solution extremely flexible.
The ability to store power behind the meter on-site is a game-changer for reliability and efficiency. Cities could potentially use these batteries to provide power for critical infrastructure or to help manage energy loads during times of peak demand. Some estimates suggest the market for stationary, behind-the-meter storage could be as big as $1 trillion.
“Energy storage is in many ways the Rosetta Stone of the energy transition, from storing renewable power, to decongesting the grid, to lowering utility costs, to improving resiliency, there are a lot of different things batteries can enable.”
The initial presentation in New York was just the start. Viridi’s batteries have a long lifecycle and low maintenance requirements, which could make them a potential source of power at hundreds of sites in National Grid’s New York Telecom network. The network is a critical component of the energy grid, enabling control of the entire transmission system and wireless communication between engineers and technicians on-site. Given the essential nature of the infrastructure, downtime is simply not an option.
The Upstate New York Telecom team quickly scheduled a visit to Viridi’s Buffalo factory to see its products in action. The team then worked with National Grid Partners on a pilot project to test whether a Viridi battery unit could provide adequate backup power at one of National Grid’s telecom sites.
“With the current system, we need to send technicians out at least once a year for testing and monitoring, and lead-acid batteries only last five or six years at most, the Viridi units are essentially maintenance-free. You can monitor them remotely, and they can last up to 20 years, which is a massive improvement.”
National Grid structures can be installed in remote locations that need off-grid power solutions, and the Viridi System could result in substantial savings in monitoring and maintenance. “The low maintenance requirements for the Viridi units was a light-bulb moment for me,” said Barry.
During the pilot program, Viridi’s engineers worked with National Grid’s operations team to ensure their products provided 100% uptime during failover events (when the system automatically switches to backup power). Both teams saw this capability as an opportunity to innovate “off-the-shelf” products into unique solutions that can be implemented throughout telecom and station sites.
The pilot exemplifies how collaborations between utilities and startups can benefit all parties. Not only did National Grid secure a more reliable, more cost-effective source of backup power, but Viridi proved the value and adaptability of its technology to National Grid and other utilities and telecom providers. “This new battery unit is opening up a whole new vertical segment that Viridi hasn’t had a chance to play in before,” said Stein.
Now the National Grid and Viridi teams are testing a number of different unit configurations and modifications to see if the batteries can be deployed along other sections of the telecom network for increased versatility and compatibility.
“This pilot project is a great example of how we work with startups, to achieve 100% uptime with a longer-lasting backup battery — why wouldn’t we see if we can make that work?”
