In energy storage systems, energy storage inverters are second only to battery cells in cost, accounting for about 20% of the total. Currently, it has become one of the most concentrated areas of competition among enterprises.
With the continuous expansion of the market, the demand forenergy storage PCS is increasing
According to statistics from the Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance, as of the end of 2022, China’s cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage reached 13.1GW, and it is conservatively estimated that the annual added energy storage capacity in the next 5 years will be approximately 16.8GW. The booming market demand has also attracted a large number of companies to enter the market.
Since this year, the demand for purchasing energy storage inverters separately has been increasing. According to incomplete statistics, major state-owned enterprises have issued centralized procurement of PCS with a scale exceeding 3GW, among which Southern Power Grid has the largest procurement scale, with a total procurement demand for 1500V energy storage PCS, low-voltage energy storage PCS, and string PCS reaching a total procurement demand of over 1.25GW.
Industry insiders point out that energy storage PCS is a tool for controlling the battery charging and discharging process and converting between AC and DC. With more and more energy storage cell companies and increasingly diverse specifications, the supporting energy storage PCS solutions also need to be updated and upgraded.
Under the trend of “large battery cells”, in order to ensure the operational efficiency and reduce unit investment costs of energy storage systems, PCS energy storage are generally moving towards high-voltage levels and high-power directions. In practical market applications, different application scenarios have also led to different PCS technical routes.
However, regardless of the technical route, the strength and practical experience in the field of power electronics are essential conditions for customers to choose.
The homogeneity between energy storage inverters and photovoltaic inverters is very strong. For professionals with a background in power electronics, it seems easy to enter the field of energy storage. However, the high after-sales cost brought by the continuous and stable operation of energy storage products may become a turning point for energy storage companies in the long run.
Energy storage PCS fully guarantees the safe operation of energy storage systems
The biggest challenge faced by future centralized energy storage power stations may come from the communication capabilities of the systems— the communication interference between EMS and PCS, or between BMS battery system and PCS, which is currently prevalent in the industry. In specific environments, such as wind power paired with energy storage power stations, this interference phenomenon will be more evident, some of which may cause signal interruption or even shutdown.
Energy storage PCS is the core component of energy storage systems that realizes bi-directional energy conversion and grid adaptation. It has multiple functions such as virtual synchronous generator (VSG), virtual inertia, SVG, and eventually can realize the virtual power plant function (VPP). It serves as the central hub for energy management and control in energy storage systems, as well as the key for collecting and distributing data and information throughout the energy storage system. By using PCS as the energy center and information flow control channel of the entire data system, it collects and recovers the operation status of the entire energy storage system and some components.