Viridi Parente raises $95 million to develop safety technology for lithium-ion battery energy storage systems

　　U.S. lithium-ion battery supplier Viridi Parente has announced that it has raised $94.65 million in Series C financing. The company claims it develops safety technology to prevent thermal runaway of batteries, allowing lithium-ion battery systems to operate safely in almost any environment.

　　(New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Dorren Harris and New York State 63rd District Senator Tim Kennedy visited Viridi Parente's production facility last year)

　　Buffalo, N.Y.-based Viridi Parente is developing what it calls "safe and resilient battery energy storage technology," targeting applications primarily in heavy industry and the building, residential and commercial energy storage markets.

　　Founded in 2009 and headquartered in a large industrial complex built by General Motors in 1923, the company launched its first battery-powered all-electric excavator in 2010, which is believed to be the first in the world. class excavator.

　　Viridi Parente has two subsidiaries: Green Machine (produces battery-powered construction equipment) and Volta Energy (produces scalable lithium-ion battery packs for distributed energy storage systems, which can be configured from 50kWh to 5MWh).

　　According to industry media reports last month, Volta Energy has entered into a partnership with KULR Technology Group, the manufacturer of patented carbon fiber thermal management technology that can produce shields for battery thermal runaway.

　　The shield's passive anti-propagation (PPR) solution prevents thermal runaway of the battery, which can be caused by a short circuit or physical shock of the battery cells and can cause a fire to spread from one battery to another.

　　KULR has already supplied the technology for NASA's space missions, including the Perseverance rover for Mars. Volta Energy placed a $1.6 million high-volume delivery order with KULR this year as part of a three-year agreement.

　　"Volta Energy's battery pack architecture will use the same carbon fiber thermal management technology we have developed for NASA's space program, including manned missions," said Michael Mo, CEO of KULR.

　　Volta Energy is not only using these new technologies to innovate safety designs that prevent battery pack failure, they are also innovating ways to test battery safety under extreme conditions like no other company has ever tried. We are delighted to be working together to provide customers with safer lithium-ion battery energy storage systems. "

　　Volta Energy claims that integrating thermal shielding technology into its battery pack architecture allows for safe installation of battery energy storage systems both indoors and outdoors, and can be used in data centers, manufacturing facilities, residential and commercial locations, as well as medical facilities or research Center for any occasion.

　　Jon M. Williams, chairman and chief executive officer of Viridi Parente, said that most of the global innovation in lithium-ion battery technology is concentrated in the automotive industry. But he noted that some battery technologies designed for cars have not translated into other economic sectors where safety, resilience and cycle life are key design requirements.

　　"The automotive industry today accounts for about 3 percent of global GDP, and Viridi Parente is developing safe, resilient and cost-effective lithium-ion battery energy storage systems that will power other sectors of the industry," Williams said.

　　According to SES Power's knowledge, in addition to the usual testing methods such as UL and IEC, the safety test of the battery energy storage system does not clearly stipulate the safety standards within the battery energy storage system or between the battery packs. The International Fire Code and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 855 set limits on the number of battery energy storage systems that can be installed in any space and require a one-meter separation between battery energy storage systems and from the exterior walls of buildings . As a company that has been customizing lithium-ion battery pack products for nearly 20 years, SES Power believes that safety is the first priority of lithium-ion batteries from the perspective of lithium-ion batteries, and we cannot sacrifice safety performance to meet other performance. From our 12V100Ah, 12V200Ah, 24V100Ah, 24V200Ah, 36V100Ah, 48V50Ah, 48V100Ah, etc. using square aluminum-shell lithium iron phosphate cells, as well as 12V30Ah, 12V50Ah automotive starting batteries using high-performance lithium battery A123 (the maximum peak current can reach 1500A )can prove. Frankly speaking, many customers are very concerned about cost performance, but SES Power insists that safety performance cannot be reduced to reduce costs. We usually use the price advantage of echelon batteries to make SES Power's customized lithium-ion battery packs based on guaranteed performance. , to meet the needs of customers who are discerning enough about price. So we are very supportive of Volta Energy's philosophy.

　　Another player innovating in the battery industry is Cadenza Innovation, a Connecticut-based startup that has developed a lithium-ion battery and pack architecture designed to prevent thermal runaway between cells. and fire spread. Cadenza Innovation's battery products are currently being tested in offices at the headquarters of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).