SimpliPhi has been providing affordable, safe and efficient energy to users around the world for over a decade.
The company's chief executive, Kathryn von Berg, wants to provide energy for everyone, and first, she wants to replace cobalt-based lithium-ion batteries and make them the primary energy storage chemistry in the United States and elsewhere.
Vonberg believes that despite the safety concerns of cobalt-containing batteries, one of the most important reasons why cobalt-containing batteries are still widely used is the entrenched supply chain and its cost advantages. And "now, we're closing the gap between the price per kilowatt-hour (of cobalt-free lithium batteries) and the price of NMC and NCA batteries."
Vonberg co-founded SimpliPhi in 2010 with Stuart Lennox, which began developing mobile portable batteries for the film industry.
The mods Lennox developed for the film industry replaced large lead-acid batteries and diesel generators, "because you can't shoot in scenes with diesel noise, pollution and everything else," and also became the company's development for the military. 's model.
When the military learned about the SimpliPhi company, the military banned lithium-ion electrochemistry, but later learned that the company was using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry, and eventually, under the Defense Department's certification, lithium iron phosphate The batteries were deployed to forward operating bases in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Creating these mobile portable systems allows soldiers to carry them with them while they're on a mission," Vonberg said. "As a result, we're able to help remove the bull's-eye and significantly reduce the number of fuel convoys."
The company plans to expand these mobile portable systems to residential and commercial areas around the world, addressing energy issues and changing the way people think about energy. They can become their own power plants, producing foldable solar panels and small wind turbines, or even optimizing diesel generators.
Vonberg believes there are growing concerns about the safety of traditional lithium-ion systems due to multiple examples of battery fires, but many in the industry still cannot distinguish between lithium-ion chemistry, adding that cobalt is harmful, while lithium is No, although some steps have been taken to reduce the risks posed by cobalt-based lithium-ion batteries, why bother with research and development to reduce the risks of high-risk batteries when there is an opportunity to use low-risk LFP batteries?
"We wanted to simplify the whole process, not requiring thermal monitoring, mitigation, liquid polymer cooling, and all the other toxic elements that can be used to cool cobalt-based batteries, and spending more on maintaining a narrow thermal environment." Although As such, SimpliPhi's system is also at risk, "where there is an electrical current there is a danger. But fundamentally, the non-toxicity of the chemical is important."
In addition, compared with typical cobalt-based lithium batteries, LFP batteries have longer cycle life, deeper discharge depth, and faster charge-discharge rates. SimpliPhi also has competitors in the LFP space, including BYD and sonnen. Although the latter does not design or manufacture batteries, it has developed a software platform to buy batteries from other manufacturers to compete in the residential market.
Von Berg referred to a project announced last week in Maryland with Pepco. Comprising a 70.2 kW rooftop PV and a 46 kW/56 kWh battery system, it is the center of resilience to grid disruptions. Today SimpliPhi's products are sold in the US and 43 other countries.
SimpliPhi will look for partners this year in areas such as working capital and project development. Those companies could include "some of the larger companies from gas to oil that are looking to fully integrate," Vonberg said. SimpliPhi has already been approached by several large multinationals.
Von Berg provided his own insights into the field of batteries: technology is constantly being updated, we always pay attention to different chemistries, but we don't have to live in fear of new technologies, because our platform will allow us not only to integrate and Innovation. When a more economical, efficient and durable energy storage technology emerges, we will also embrace it. We now use LFP batteries because we believe this is the best option at the moment.
