Lightsource bp has selected Hithium as the supplier of battery storage technology for a 222MW/640MWh solar co-located project in Queensland, Australia.
The UK-headquartered renewable energy developer owned by oil & gas major bp, and the Chinese battery manufacturer specialised in stationary energy storage shook hands on the deal (pictured above) at a contract signing ceremony, Hithium announced yesterday (17 December).
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The contract covers Lightsource bp’s Woolooga Stage 1 battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Queensland’s Lower Wonga region. The battery storage will be co-located with Woolooga Solar Farm project, which comprises three sites that total 214MWp generation capacity and share a 176MWac grid export connection.
The developer recently announced the start of construction of Woolonga Solar Farm, along with Goulburn River, a 450MW PV plant in New South Wales (NSW) to which Lightsource bp plans to add a 49MW/392MWh 8-hour duration BESS at an unspecified later stage.
First deployment in Australia for 5MWh containerised BESS
Hithium said the deal marks the first deployment in Australia of the company’s 5MWh containerised standard 20-foot BESS solution, using Hithium’s own prismatic 314Ah lithium iron phosphate (LFP) lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells.
The cells come with 25-year warranties, packed into double-length modules with IP67 ingress protection rating that Hithium claims enables 40% higher energy density than previous models.
Hithium is among the growing number of BESS manufacturers and integrators to introduce 20-foot containerised solutions of 5MWh capacity or more to the global market in recent months.
Others offering the increasingly standardised form factor include fellow Chinese companies Sungrow, CATL and Trina Storage along with international rivals like Wärtsilä ES&O, Fluence and Powin.
The Woolooga Stage 1 site will feature 128 containerised units. Hithium is partnering with Germany-headquartered engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm INTEC Energy Solutions for the project’s operation and maintenance (O&M).
“This cooperation marks a significant move for Hithium into the Australian market,” Hithium president of global business Mizhi Zhang said.
The batteries will charge up with excess energy generated at off-peak times for injection into the grid when demand peaks, providing grid management and stability services as well as energy capacity.
Hithium expands global reach with deployments, overseas factories
Notable overseas market deals and projects this year from Hithium include the largest operational BESS in Bulgaria, Eastern Europe, at 22MW/55MWh for independent power producer (IPP) Renalfa, and a multi-year master supply agreement (MSA) for an undisclosed volume of 5MWh DC blocks with EVLO, a system integrator subsidiary of Canadian utility Hydro-Quebec.
In July, Hithium announced plans to construct a BESS assembly plant in Texas, US, with 10GWh annual production capacity for modules and complete systems, and in October said it intends to build a 5GWh production facility in Saudi Arabia with a local partner as it launched a BESS solution aimed at use in harsh desert conditions.
More recently, as the company noted in this sponsored article published on Energy-Storage.news yesterday, it has just debuted a 6.25MWh containerised BESS utilising 587Ah cells (2-hour duration model), and 1175Ah cells (4-hour duration), bringing it in line with a recently launched product from CATL.
That ‘world premiere’ came alongside the launch of sodium-ion (Na-ion) BESS products and a new home energy storage system with islanding microgrid capabilities at Hithium’s second annual Eco-Day, hosted in Beijing, China, on 12 December.
