China’s Datang Group has made a significant achievement by successfully connecting the first phase of its sodium-ion energy storage project in Qianjiang, Hubei Province, to the power grid. This marks the project as the largest operational sodium-ion battery system in the world.
The project has a capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and can store 100 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy. This is just one part of the larger Datang Hubei Sodium Ion New Energy Storage Power Station. The first phase includes 42 storage containers and 21 boost converters, which help manage and distribute the stored energy.
The batteries for this project were supplied by HiNa Battery Technology. These are large-capacity sodium-ion batteries, which are an alternative to the more commonly used lithium-ion batteries. The system also includes a 110 kV transformer station, which is crucial for converting and transmitting the stored energy to the grid.
Building and connecting this project was not without challenges. However, the Datang Group was able to overcome these difficulties, highlighting China’s leadership in developing and implementing large-scale sodium-ion battery technology.
This technology is important because it provides a new way to store energy that can help balance supply and demand on the electrical grid, especially as more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power are used.
