THE FUTURE OF ENERGY STORAGE
EVLO, the Hydro-Québec subsidiary specializing in energy storage systems, has launched one of its most advanced storage system, EVLO 1000.
EVLO’s unique position, which benefits from 40 years’ worth of research at Hydro-Québec’s research institute (IREQ), gives the company a headstart in understanding the issues surrounding its customers’ present and future energy needs. Thanks to its history, EVLO can, for example, provide its customers with advanced modelling and simulation capabilities at its Varennes test facility, enabling them to test their storage system, validate its configuration and provide a unique opportunity for the current and future clients to “use and feel” the technology.
EVLO 1000 is a 1-MWh battery energy storage system designed for large-scale projects. Aimed mainly at electricity generators, transmission providers and distributors, the system has varied applications, including renewable-energy integration, microgrids, peak shaving, backup power and grid resilience.
Powerful, safe and sustainable, the EVLO 1000 uses no cobalt or rare-earth elements. Its lifespan can reach 20 years, at the end of which its constituent elements are 99% recyclable.
The EVLO 1000 system, which is 8.84 m long and 1.82 m wide, contains advanced safety systems and a powerful software solution enabling remote control and monitoring.
This launch of the EVLO 1000 came just seven months after EVLO deployed a 4-MW / 20-MWh battery energy storage system on the Hydro-Québec grid based on the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology—the largest energy storage system deployed in Quebec.
“The Parent substation project will be the first energy storage system on our grid that will meet the transmission system’s need for service continuity by providing an auxiliary energy source through islanding during outages and planned de-energizations. The project will increase the area’s power grid resilience,” noted Maxime Lajoie, Senior Director–Planning, Expertise and Operational Support in Hydro-Québec’s Groupe–TransÉnergie et Équipement.
“The energy storage system can be charged at night and used during the day to supply the city while the line is de-energized for work to be performed. This innovative solution will limit the use of generators, which run on fossil fuels, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions, noise pollution and the transportation of fuel,” added Alain Aubuchon, EVLO’s Business Relationship Director
Innovative solutions designed to accelerate
the energy transition
EVLO’s energy storage products are designed to be modular for the large-scale needs of utilities and come with EVLO’s advanced control software suite.
EVLO has been leveraging the 40 years of work that Hydro Québec has invested in battery research with a focus on bringing to market energy storage systems, with regards to the chemistry and making it a viable product to accelerate the energy transition.
“Energy Storage can accumulate energy and keep it until it’s needed,” says Francis Labbé, Spokesperson. “It can be used during power outages, to balance intermittent energy sources or to replace energy production during maintenance, for example.”
“Other than hydropower, renewable energy is often intermittent energy (less power when wind stops or sun sets). Storage captures energy while it’s available and deploys it when needed,” says Labbé. “Our system not only provides renewable integration, but it also mimics the behavior of diesel machines and again, optimizes consumption of the existing energy you have in your community.”
A Step Above
As a company operating in a dynamic market, in which renewable energies and power–grid decentralization are increasingly important, EVLO sets itself apart by the high level of safety at the core of its storage systems’ design.
These systems use patented lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries that offer better thermal and chemical stability than traditional batteries. The EVLO 1000 is fitted with over 200 sensors for real-time temperature monitoring, an ultrafast hydrogen-emissions detector and an innovative active-ventilation system. Each system also has a dry-pipe sprinkler system. In addition, EVLO 1000 is ready for integration with utilities’ cybersecurity infrastructures.
“The launch of EVLO 1000 puts us in a favorable position in the energy storage market. With our storage systems’ cost, modularity and density, we can provide a made–to–measure response to our customers’ needs, while helping accelerate the energy transition with safe, powerful, sustainable systems,” says Guillaume Hayet, President and CEO of EVLO Energy Storage.
The units stand up to the Quebec winters. “Our units can support minus 40 degrees right away and have the ability to go a bit lower in survival mode in those systems. Batteries are quite sensitive to temperature, hot and cold temperatures. Because we’ve been deploying our solutions up north in Québec, we know it’s something that will be suitable for basically all communities throughout Canada. We’ve designed our systems to be well insulated and well designed for Canadian weather and one of the ways is to support this replacement of diesel generation.”
Key projects in Québec and France
The first EVLO 1000 systems will be delivered in the coming months for work on a high–voltage transmission line in the Haute-Mauricie region. The energy storage system deployed will supply power to the region’s residential and business customers while the work is underway. This will be one of the most powerful energy storage systems in use in Canada.
Meanwhile, EVLO product installations are advancing well at Gabrielle-Bodis solar generating station in La Prairie, and in France as part of the Tonnerre project carried out in collaboration with Innergex for French transmission-system operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité.
EVLO has been leveraging the 40 years of work that Hydro Québec has invested in battery research with a focus on bringing to market energy storage systems, with regards to the chemistry and making it a viable product to accelerate the energy transition.
Energy Storage can accumulate energy and keep it until it’s needed. It can be used during power outages, to balance intermittent energy sources or to replace energy production during maintenance, for example.
About EVLO Energy Storage Inc.
Established in Québec, Canada, EVLO Energy Storage Inc. is a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, North America’s largest renewable energy producer. EVLO is a full storage system service provider offering customized battery energy storage systems, control software, installation, inspection and management, and an end-of-life battery recycling program. EVLO’s energy storage products are designed to be modular to meet the large-scale needs of utilities and come with EVLO’s advanced control software.
For more information: www.evloenergie.com/en/
