ITP Australia begins Li-ion battery trial

ITP Australia has been awarded a $450,000 grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to conduct independent testing of the performance of six major lithium-ion battery brands, an ‘advanced’ lead-acid battery and a conventional lead-acid battery. 

ITP is building a test facility at the Canberra Institute of Technology to run repeated charge and discharge cycles on each battery type, simulating real-world applications and Australian environmental conditions.

The test will compare the batteries side by side in hot daytime and cool overnight temperatures similar to what they would be expected to face in real-world conditions. Despite recent reductions in the cost of lithium-ion batteries and the potentially significant advantages the technology offers, energy system designers and end users are cautious about transitioning to new battery technologies, especially for remote applications where reliability is critical. 

Users and industry will be consulted in order to design a testing regime and data structure that maximises the value of the findings. The regime will broaden the understanding of various storage technologies and how they can best be adopted as they begin to compete with lead-acid batteries on cost and reliability. The results will be shared broadly across the energy industry with investors, power companies and researchers.