Chinese battery manufacturer Rept Battero launched its North American subsidiary earlier this month with an event in Irvine, California, US.
The official opening of its offices in the Californian city took place on 9 September, just as the RE+ trade show for solar PV, energy storage and related industries opened its doors in nearby Anaheim.
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At the show, considered North America’s biggest event of its type with more than 50,000 visitors at the 2024 edition, Rept Battero showcased a new large format 564Ah battery cell and a 20-foot containerised battery energy storage system (BESS) solution claimed to enable more than 6MWh of installed capacity on the DC side.
According to research group Infolink Consulting, the company ranked third for global energy storage cell shipments in the first quarter of 2024—after CATL and EVE Energy. Rept was second in household battery storage cell shipments.
It has already supplied or agreed to provide products and solutions to players in the US BESS space, including Mitsubishi Power Americas’ storage development platform Prevalon with which it targets 2.5GWh of deployments during 2024 and a multi-year 12GWh framework deal with system integrator Powin.
Rept Battero equipment was used in a recently completed 100MW/200MWh BESS integrated by Energy Vault for developer Jupiter Power in Texas’ ERCOT market. The battery maker and the integrator have a 10GWh supply deal for Rept liquid-cooled storage solutions.
“The US has always been a strategic focus for us,” Rept CEO and chairman Dr Cao Hui said at the Irvine office’s opening.
“To stay ahead, we’re building an innovative and localised team to serve our customers better and drive the adoption of advanced energy storage technologies.”
Rept has also just opened an R&D facility in Southeast Asia. The company opened its first European offices last year. There was no mention in the latest announcement of any plans from Rept to establish battery cell, module or system manufacturing plants in North America.
564Ah cell officially launched to US market
Launched at RE+, Rept Battero’s new WENDING 564Ah cell uses the company’s WENDING proprietary structural design, which improves the tab bending and length of the cell’s jelly roll (JR). Rept claimed this means it improves internal space utilisation by 5% and direct current internal resistance (DCIR) is reduced by 16%.
This enables 96.4% efficiency, while the cell’s design also includes a so-called ‘double high electrode technology’, improving the ion migration rate by 30%. The manufacturer said this technology solves problems associated with mass production of pre-lithiated batteries, meaning fewer lithium ions are lost at initial charging, increasing efficiency and energy density of the cells.
Meanwhile, the company’s new Powtrix containerised BESS solution has container-level efficiency exceeding 95% with a service life of more than 25 years. Rept claimed it is durable against corrosion in dusty, humid or hot environments, with all internal components tested according to high temperature ageing at 60°C. It also features active balancing technology across cells and modules.
Increasing industry appetite for higher energy density is leading many integrators and manufacturers to offer 20-foot ISO standard container-sized battery storage with 5MWh or more capacity. Rept claimed Powtrix enables a 20% energy density increase, 16.6% reduction in footprint and 15.7% lower investment cost than a ‘standard’ 5MWh BESS.
