From pv magazine Germany
South Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem has unveiled two new battery series for residential applications that are said to have a 9% higher energy content than their predecessors.
The company claims to have increased their efficiency by 5.8% to over 90% and that the batteries can now be piled up to reach a storage capacity of 32 kWh.
The LG Resu Prime series will be available in two sizes, the Resu 10H Prime with a capacity of 9.6 kWh and a maximum discharge capacity of 5 kW, and the Resu 16H Prime with a capacity of 16 kWh and a maximum discharge capacity of 11 kW.
“We initially developed a new cell when we started with the new product generation,” said Stefan Krokowski, LG Chem's head of sales and marketing for residential energy storage systems in the EMEA region. This cell, named JH5, has a higher energy density, can be packed more tightly and at the same time the cobalt content has dropped by 37%. Cobalt is often extracted under poor conditions and costs can also be saved by reducing it.
Easy-to-deploy high-voltage batteries
The Prime batteries have a converter that enables them to operate with high-voltage battery inverters, for example with devices from major manufacturers such as Germany's SMA and Israel-based Solaredge. As with the existing Resu 10M series, the entire electronics are built into the main unit so that they can be easily replaced in the event of a fault.
As for the battery deployment, the manufacturer says feedback from installers was taken into account. For example, the battery can be screwed to the base plate on the side of the battery itself and not from below. Overall, the two battery modules, the base plate and the electronics for the 10 kWh storage unit weigh 110 kilograms.
The new batteries can be cascaded in a master-slave arrangement. With regard to the settings, the company praises the functionalities of the associated app. The installer can scan a QR code on an installed device and the battery is registered. LG Chem can then monitor the battery and carry out software updates — an important step as the guarantee depends on the registration.
“Resu 10H Prime will be manufactured in March 2021 and will then be available on the German market about two to three months later,” said Krokowski. The Resu 16H can be expected from February or March.
The Resu Flex series
In addition to the Prime series, LG Chem has also unveiled the Flex series, which can be used with hybrid inverters. The converter of the Prime series is not designed for this. The Flex series, on the other hand, does not require a converter.
In order to achieve a high voltage without a converter, smaller battery cells have been developed with JH5 technology and can be connected in series. As a result, they are not only suitable for this application, but also achieve an even higher level of efficiency.
During the launch of the two new products, LG Chem also announced that it had spun off its battery business into new subsidiary LG Energy Solution at the beginning of December.
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Can we please (all industry’s) stop referring things to a “master/slave” setup? It’s not 1850 anymore.
From the article’s author, Michael Fuhs: “Dear Frank, thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, in sectorial languages, you cannot replace a technical term with another one you like more. Do you know an alternative that is generally known?”
Master/slave is a configuration term
Primary/Secondary is how the batteries are ordered, referred to in install guides, etc. We should all be using those terms, for less confusion.
Beware the LG batteries many used in EVs cars like Hyundai Kona and GM Blot have caught fire as some home storage ones, the Tesla ones are better no storage incidents of fire as of now.
We use Primary & Secondary.
I like this suggestion. Thank you!
I recently noticed SolarEdge changed the naming convention of their comms devices to Primary / Secondary, too.
There is a discussion on the wording and alternatives at wikipedia (thanks for the link): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master/slave_(technology)
Thanks for the article but it’s really not that useful if it doesn’t show the cost of the product. That can only mean the product is overpriced and the manufacturer is trying to smokescreen it with fancy wording around specs.
Master/slave. FFS. At this rate we won’t be able to speak to one another in a couple of years. The TECHNICAL term master/slave refers to the setting of one of any number of units to the commanding or timing position among the rest. In some cases, the election of master is done on the fly – ie: who has the information – and can revert and assign a different unit at any point. The master doesn’t “own” the slaves or “feels” it is any better than any other device. Again, slaves can become masters and masters won’t resent this, if that makes some of us feel better about it.
I totally understand that costs are decisive. But at least in Germany they have a wholesaler business model which means, wholesalers make prices to installers and they make prices to clients. If they give prices, they upset both wholesaler and installers. So it is also understandable, that LG does not want to officially comunicate prices. Feel free to share your cost experiences here on the B2B platform once you make them.
ditto on the FFS.
while everyone was being offended by a descriptive technical term, they missed lack of pricing and as important predicted lifespan, operational environments, and target markets.
Quit the arguing about Master/Slave. The real question is when they will be available in the U.S.???? The LG RESU 10 is currently out of stock throughout the U.S., creating a dramatic shortage of available batteries for SolarEdge and other inverter manufacturers. What has caused this and is this LG’s way of saying, out with the old and in with the new? I wonder.