SolarEdge Technologies has opened a 2GWh battery cell facility in South Korea to meet growing demand for battery storage.
The Sella 2 battery cell manufacturing facility is located in the Eumseong Innovation City of Chungcheongbuk-Do, South Korea, and is currently producing test cells for certification, with ramp-up expected during the second half of 2022.
Once ramped, Sella 2 will enable SolarEdge to have its own supply of lithium-ion batteries and the infrastructure to develop new battery cell chemistries and technologies, and can scale up to meet rising demand.
The facility is planned to manufacture battery cells for SolarEdge’s residential solar-attached batteries as well as battery cells for a variety of industries, including mobile applications, energy stationary storage solutions (ESS) and UPS applications.
SolarEdge, which specialises in smart energy technology, announced the opening with subsidiary Kokam Limited Company, a provider of lithium-ion batteries and integrated energy storage solutions.
Zvi Lando, CEO of SolarEdge, said the opening of Sella 2 is an important milestone for SolarEdge.
"It allows us to own key processes in the development and manufacturing of advanced energy storage solutions for our solar core business and additional applications, while further securing the resilience of our supply chain," he said.
"We are committed to growing our business in the energy storage market, as well as our investment in battery cell technology and cell manufacturing, further strengthening our storage product portfolio."
Consortium explores large-scale liquid hydrogen storage in Korea
McDermott's storage business, CB&I, and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) have signed an MoU to explore the development of large-scale liquid hydrogen storage to support Korea's Hydrogen Economy Roadmap.
Last year, South Korea announced plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 by replacing coal-fired power generation with renewable sources and internal combustion engine vehicles with hydrogen-powered and battery-based electric vehicles.
KOGAS has grown into the largest LNG-importing company in the world and operates four LNG regasification terminals and 4,945 km of natural gas pipelines in South Korea.
To mark the UN’s World Bee Day, Hanwha Group recently introduced South Korea’s first-ever Solar Beehive, a PV low-carbon solar beehive that uses electricity generated from solar energy.
Hanwha installed the Solar Beehive at the Korea National University of Agriculture and Fisheries (KNUAF) as a part of its pilot program. About 40,000 bees that live in the Solar Beehive will help pollinate the fruit trees on campus and vegetation in nearby wooded areas.
The Hanwha Solar Beehive consists of two parts: a smart internal beehive that controls a growing environment for bees and an external structure that provides electricity to the beehive. The solar panels installed on top of the Solar Beehive generate electricity used to automatically monitor and control the temperature, humidity, water, and food inside the structure.
The beehive also contains a smart system that monitors and controls this data through an app in real time. Prioritising the health and safety of the insects housed inside, the Solar Beehive can also detect the presence of hornets, the natural enemy of honey bees, by measuring and analysing ambient sound. When hornets approach the beehive, the entrance will narrow into a passage small enough that only bees can pass through.
