Attractive costs for solar and wind power and cutting-edge innovations are making clean energy a compelling proposition in Sub-Saharan Africa, which faces the world’s largest gaps in electricity access. But solar and wind power are variable by nature, making it essential to find effective ways to store the electricity they produce to use when it is needed most.

Energy storage – batteries in particular – can help solve that problem.

Today, battery technology is costly and not widely deployed in large-scale energy projects. The gap is particularly acute in Sub-Saharan Africa, where nearly 600 million people still live without access to reliable and affordable electricity, despite the region’s significant wind and solar power potential and burgeoning energy demand.

Catalyzing new markets will be key to drive down costs for batteries and make it a viable energy storage solution in Africa.

A recent partner- and investor-focused conference sought to do just that.

The “Batteries, Energy Storage & the Renewable Future” event in Cape Town on Feb. 24 and 25 was attended by more than 200 participants from companies including Tesla, General Electric, Fluence, Siemens, the Southern Africa Power Pool, and national research labs and utilities from many countries.

South Africa’s Minister for Energy, Mr. Jeff Radebe, delivered opening remarks, and underscored the country’s commitment to the application of battery storage in its energy systems.

The event focused on the potential for batteries and other forms of energy storage to complement renewable energy by supporting off-grid and mini grids, which supply electricity to millions of people living in remote communities or areas that are not supported by traditional infrastructure.

It also demonstrated the tremendous demand that exists in the region today for energy solutions that do not just boost the uptake of clean energy, but also help stabilize and strengthen existing electricity grids and aid the global push to adopt more clean energy and fight against climate change.

Global demand for battery storage is expected to reach 2,300 GWh by 2030, while power systems around the world will need nearly ten times more — 22,000 GWh — of storage capacity by 2050 to integrate more wind and solar energy into the electricity grid.

The World Bank is already taking steps to address this growing need.
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​A new, first-of-its-kind $1 billion World Bank Group (WBG) program aims to help fast-track investments in battery storage by raising $4 billion more in public and private funds and convening a global think tank with the ultimate goal of financing 17.5 GWh of battery storage by 2025 – more than triple the 4-5 GWh currently installed in all developing countries.

“Last year, almost twice as many energy storage projects were announced globally – and the same is expected this year. The market is still small, but exponential growth has begun,” said Michael Solomon, the Chief Executive Officer of Clean Horizon.

To that end, the World Bank, in partnership with the Climate Technology Fund (CTF) and the African Development Bank, will support a large-scale distributed battery storage program in South Africa.

The WBG is also developing solar parks with 150 MW of PV and some 200 MWh battery storage each in Mali and Burkina Faso – the largest in the region. Other projects include a combined solar and battery storage project in Haiti, an emergency solar and battery storage power plant in the Gambia and mini-grids in island states to improve resilience.

In recent years, the WBG has also been working with other countries to support the deployment of batteries with solar and wind power, with projects currently under preparation in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The World Bank event, “Batteries, Energy Storage & the Renewable Future,” was held in Cape Town, South Africa on Feb. 25-26, 2019 with the support of the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the Middle East and North Africa Knowledge and Innovation Program (MENA KIP).

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The Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is at an advanced stage of setting up factories that will supply gigawatt factories with manganese, a key ingredient in most lithium-ion batteries.

Coega Development Corporation (CDC) business development metallurgic sector manager Sadick Davids says the SEZ is the “most ideal location in terms of readiness for the beneficiation of the base material for this industry”.

He added that the Coega SEZ has the infrastructure nodes in place to provide services for exporting manganese, as well as the skills capacity.

The local industry, Davids notes, is known for historical battery manufacturing such as Eveready Batteries, in Port Elizabeth.

From a jobs perspective, the value chain in the development of manganese at Coega for the battery or energy storage markets has the potential to create more than 10 000 direct jobs and 15 000 indirect jobs plus an investment value of more than R20-billion.

“What makes Coega SEZ an ideal location for the manufacturing of lithium-ion battery capacity is experience in this sector. The CDC is also located near the Nelson Mandela University which could provide research based insight for advancing and growing the sector,” highlights Davids.

The university is already a key technology player and boasts a testing facility specifically for battery development, while the CDC’s partnership with other key State institutions in the province is making headway for the first investment in lithium-ion battery factories within the next two years.

“The CDC believes the local production of manganese-based batteries will position the Eastern Cape to benefit from the emerging energy storage and electric mobility or e-mobility markets,” adds CDC energy sector manager Sandisiwe Ncemane.

The urgent relocation of the current manganese facility from the Port of Port Elizabeth to Ngqura will serve as an enabler to the Coega SEZ, which has the capacity and infrastructure for a battery storage and manufacturing, Ncemane concluded. 

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Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), part of Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA), the front runner in electric trucks, has delivered the first units of its eCanter, in two ceremonies to its first Japanese customers, Seven-Eleven and Yamato Transport.
The eCanter is the first all-electric light-duty truck in series-production by a global manufacturer. The truck made its worldwide debut last month in New York City, and is being leased initially in a small series-production in Japan, Europe and the US. Today’s handover ceremonies mark the first worldwide delivery of FUSO’s eCanter into customer hands.
Kazuo Matsunaga, Chairman of MFTBC & DTA stated, “In times of rapid urbanization, manufacturers, forward thinking customers, and municipalities have to cooperate in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions and make cities greener and quieter. FUSO has taken the leadership role in the electrification of trucks, and is very happy to hand over these first eCanter to its customers today.”
He added: “We are grateful we could convince such iconic and forward thinking companies like Seven-Eleven and Yamato, to become the first customers to receive the eCanter and operate it in their fleets, setting a benchmark for corporate citizenship”.
The handover ceremonies were held at Seven-Eleven’s Chilled Hino Center (Hino City, Tokyo) and Yamato Transport’s Haneda Chronogate (Ota Ward, Tokyo). Seven-Eleven will gradually start to operate the eCanter in eight of their centers in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba. Seven-Eleven is committed to reduce the burden on the environment by optimizing their distribution systems. Yamato Transport also plans to use the eCanter for its transport operations in the Kanto region to contribute to a sustainable urban environment. Seiichi Awa, Managing Director of Yamato, said: “As the largest logistics company in Japan, trucks are at the heart of our company. We are excited to be the first to integrate the electric eCanter into our operations and make deliveries emission-free. We believe electric trucks are the future of urban delivery.”
The FUSO eCanter is a light-duty truck that emits zero local emissions and zero engine noise. This enables businesses to have deliveries, even in dense neighborhoods, in early morning hours and late into the night. It is also a positive business case, as customer fleet tests have shown that the electric eCanter can save up to approximately 1000 Euro per10.000 kilometers in operating costs. The electric truck has a GVW of 7.5 tons, carries 6 lithium-ion battery packs and offers a range of roughly100km on a single charge. Charging takes around 1.5 hours (DC quick-charging system) and 11 hours with a regular system (200 V). The body comes in various configurations such as box body and flatbed. MFTBC has a long history and experience in alternative drivetrains. Since 2005, we are manufacturing and selling the Canter Eco Hybrid. In 2010, we presented the first prototype of our all-electric light-duty truck “E-CELL”.

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Bushveld Minerals Limited , a mineral project development company with a portfolio of vanadium and coal assets in Southern Africa and an investment in tin, is pleased to announce that its 84%-owned energy subsidiary, Bushveld Energy Limited ("Bushveld Energy") has confirmed its first vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) deployment in South Africa.
The system will be deployed with Eskom, the South African national power utility, at its Research, Testing and Development (RT&D) Centre in Rosherville, South Africa.
This follows Eskom's identification of the need for potentially up to    2,000MW of additional, daily balanced energy storage within the existing grid earlier this year. The project is co-developed by Bushveld Energy and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC) and will allow Eskom to test the VRFB, its performance and applications under numerous simulations. This will include minimum load shifting, wind generation smoothing, solar generation smoothing, power quality improvement and self-black-start capability. The VRFB commissioning is expected in the first half of 2018.

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With the increasing demand for mounting structure products and Li-Ion batteries, we continually strive to provide high quality products and related support. As an additional value we are therefore conducting product training on mounting structures and Li-Ion batteries. The training will take place on 25 October 2017 at Valsa’s premises from 9.00 to 16.30 - and is free of charge.

The following topics will be covered in the training:

Mounting Structures:

• Various types of roofs and methods of application
• Sizing and correct calculation of the shading of PV Solar System panels
• Carport application and sizing of the system
• Best practise for the application of mounting structures in Africa
• Hands on training

Lunch break

Li-Ion Batteries:

• Difference between Lead Acid and Li-Ion
• Li-Ion vs. other storage technologies
• Dominance of LiFePO4 in ESS worldwide
• Product design and components
• Battery Management System design and functionality
• Overall system overview and scalability

Networking after training.

Please revert with your booking no later than 20 October 2017 at info@valsa.co.za as seats are limited. All participants in the training session will be notified via e-mail and receive further details.
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... with our Lite Mini, bringing the joys of solar power and LiFePO4 battery technology to the small, off grid and informal house owner...
 
Freedom Lite Mini – from Freedom Won – offers the same extraordinary LiFePO4 service life and efficiency as the Freedom Lite Home and Business range but with lower cost internal electronics. This means the purchase cost is minimised specifically for entry level UPS and residential energy storage solutions. These models do not communicate with any other device but they do have complete internal cut-out protection and monitoring to prevent damage to the battery. The Mini is available in both 26V and 52V nominal for up to 120A continuous output. The design incorporates handles for easy mobility, feet for placing on the floor, and keyholes on the back for mounting on the wall.
 
Models available:
 

• Freedom Lite Mini 2,5/2 (2,5kWh max available and 2kWh daily cycling recommended)
• Freedom Lite Mini 4,0/3.2 (4kWh max available and 3.2kWh daily cycling recommended)

 
Both models have a 5 year unlimited cycle warranty.
 
Freedom Won has partnered with Treetops Renewable Energy in Cape Town to pair their Sunplug with the Mini for bringing the joys of solar power and LiFePO4 battery technology to the small, off grid and informal house owner. The Sunplug is an all in one energy management and power distribution wall mount unit that only needs to be plugged into the Mini and some solar panels to provide a complete off grid solution.
 
The Mini is suited to all 24V and 48V inverters, but would likely find the most favour amongst owners for matching with the inexpensive hybrid inverters like the Axpert range.
 
The June 2017 suggested retail price excl VAT of the two models is:
 

• Freedom Lite Mini 2,5/2 – R18 400 (USD1395)
• Freedom Lite Mini 4,0/3.2 – R26 900 (USD2050)

 
Solar solution integrators may contact Freedom Won for trade prices.

Phew, it’s been electrifying to say the least!
Since the official launch in May ‘15 of our next generation energy storage Battery, Team-Freedom Won has been doing flick flacks and summersaults to keep up with the fantastic volume of enquiries and orders for our Freedom Lite Battery (previously also known as FreedomCOR) - please see attached data/spec sheet. Not to mention the cartwheels we’re making to spruce up our game, brand and products. Hence we thought it only just to update our valued media partners, who have been so magnificently instrumental in plugging SA (and beyond) into the current future with Freedom Won. There’s no doubt in our minds that without our media partners’ substantial coverage and support, our growth and development could have been a far more delayed process…
If you haven’t yet, we invite you to please visit our new website, where we believe you’ll get a very good idea of just how many summersaults and cartwheels we’ve been making - all in an effort to continue plugging SA even bigger and better into the current future…
The branding, appearance and packaging or our products and brand have been significantly improved.
          We have set up a valuable reseller and installation partnership network across southern Africa which is still growing - particularly in Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, DRC and Nigeria.
·         We have received more than a hundred Freedom Lite Battery orders and installations are ongoing. Our order book for 2015 is closed and we are now taking orders for January 2016.
·         Our expansion plans are in progress to increase production capacity to service the fast growing demand. Our production workshop has already been moved to bigger premises.
·         Equity investment negotiations are under way in order to further exhilarate growth.
·         Early discussions have been held for exporting to Philippines, Pakistan and USA.
·         Our days are filled with great volumes of enquiries as we steadfastly continue to educate/inform the consumer on the importance and value of our next generation battery energy storage solutions – Freedom Lite!
 Download specsheet and pricing here.....