Peak Energy just shipped the US's first grid-scale sodium-ion battery

Summary

Peak Energy shipped out its first sodium-ion battery energy storage system, and the New York-based company says it’s achieved a first in three ways: the US’s first grid-scale sodium-ion battery storage system; the largest sodium-ion phosphate pyrophosphate (NFPP) battery system in the world; and the first megawatt-hour scale battery to run entirely on passive cooling – no fans, pumps, or vents. That’s significant because removing moving parts and ditching active cooling systems eliminates fire risk. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, 89% of battery fires in the US trace back to thermal management issues. Peak’s design doesn’t have those issues because it doesn’t have those systems. Instead, the 3.5 MWh system uses a patent-pending passive cooling architecture that’s simpler, more reliable, and cheaper to run and maintain. The company says its technology slashes auxiliary power needs by up to 90%, saves about $1 million annually per gigawatt hour of storage, and cuts battery degradation by 33% over a 20-year lifespan. “This isn’t just another product launch – it’s a breakthrough in energy storage,” said Paul Durkee, Peak’s VP of engineering. “The system is dead-simple with no moving parts, no planned maintenance, and negligible aux loads. It’s the lowest total-cost grid storage technology to be deployed anywhere in the world.” Advertisement - scroll for more content Sodium-ion batteries work well in hot or cold weather without auxiliary cooling systems. That makes them cheaper and easier to maintain, especially for utility-scale projects. They also use more abundant materials. The US holds the world’s largest soda ash reserves, a key sodium-ion ingredient, and the full raw material supply chain can be sourced domestically or from allied countries. “We see energy storage not only as an economic imperative, but also as a national security priority,” said CEO and co-founder Landon Mossburg. “We are committed to onshoring the manufacturing of this critic...