LG Energy supplies batteries to world’s largest ESS facility

LG Energy Solution said it has supplied batteries to the world’s largest Energy Storage System (ESS). The scale of the deal accounts for 20% of the North American market. In fact, North America is one of the biggest ESS markets, responsible for more than half of the global ESS market.

The South Korean battery maker announced Thursday that it has completed the supply of lithium-ion batteries for U.S. power generation company Vistra Energy’s 1.2 GWH-hour ESS facility at Moss Landing in Monterey County, California. Vistra is currently running a project replacing traditional thermal power generation facilities with renewables.

Vistra’s ESS in Moss Landing is the single biggest ESS grid in the world, capable of powering about 225,000 households during the peak times of California. The South Korean battery producer provided the facilities in California with its latest ESS innovation called “Transportable Rack” (TR1300). Previously, a “pack” of battery cells had to be shipped first to be assembled on the ground, but the assembling process of TR 1300 battery racks can be finished in factories before shipping, cutting the amount of time and costs.

ESS is broadly divided into two types, a power grid ESS for thermal, solar, or wind power plants, and a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for commercial use, households, and IT facilities. According to SNE Research, the entire scale of ESS in North America is a total 6.5GWh, with LG’s latest supply deal taking up 18.4% of it.

With President Joe Biden’s increasing emphasis on renewable energy, the size of the ESS market in North America is expected to expand to 55.3GWh by 2025. In particular, a battery-based ESS is trending up in California thanks to its operational stability after suffering massive blackouts last year.


will@donga.com