Solar power continues to grow across the globe but suffers from the same weakness it has for millennia: Sunset.  Once the sun drops below the horizon, the abundant energy drops too…until today.

Developments in solar power has driven the development of better ways of storing energy whilst El Sol is in the sky for use during or after the sun has gone off to bed.  This revolution has addressed some of the early challenges to solar power: what are you going to do at night?

3DOM’s cutting-edge Energy Storage Systems (ESS) is the perfect way for the Sun’s free energy to be used all night or for days, safely and reliably, until needed.  The key is Japanese technology, and, within 3DOM technology, the chemistry of the materials used.  Solar can be used for emergency power when power grids fail, to keep energy flowing when a generating unit cannot operate or where it loses its full load (derating), or merely to run the operations of a business, store or home through the night-time hours, all depending on how the ESS has been configured. 

3DOM ESS devices are reliable, enhancing utility, but they are also designed for safety.  Unfortunately, earlier and less well engineered, batteries could catch fire at the worst times.  Again, the culprit is the chemistry and that is where 3DOM engineering has raised the bar on safety with its entire range of storage cells.

Solar/ESS packages are scalable, and modular systems that can be quickly deployed at varying points along the grid to provide stability where there are other intermittent load generators like wind and solar.  When units lose power because the wind dissipates or a cloudbank rolls in, Solar/ESS replaces the lost power quickly and cleanly, so that when you turn on the switch, the lights come on.

The future is not likely to reduce our reliance on electricity.  Your 5G smartphone has more computing power than the system that sent Apollo 11 to the moon and still has enough room for photos of your last 247 meals and we love it.

We will need more electricity going forward, and large fossil plants release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.  There is no perfect candidate for the complete replacement of fossil fuels, but Solar/ESS systems provide a clean solution that can be plugged in where needed, can be scaled up where there is space, and can be constructed in 6-7 months, compared to 5-7 years for large hydro or fossil plants.  

Technology is not slowing down and 3Dom is at the forefront of using new materials, new chemistry and new designs to make ESS last longer, discharge more evenly and run safer.   Increasing power density takes up less space, increased reliability reduces likelihood of leakage and fires and number of cycles within the useful life means ESS components last longer, providing benefits to users.   3DOM is making those strides leading the way with its legacy of technological advancement with the scientists at Tokyo Metropolitan University.

Reliability and Safety: tt’s all in the chemistry…but more about that next month.