The grant, which was awarded by the Solar Energy Program of Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Financing Authority, will total $300,000 and will allow Axion to use its PbC PowerCube battery technology in a system that uses renewable energy. After creating energy via the sun or wind, the batteries will be used to store the energy during times without an energy source so it can be utilized during peak hours.
The Axion batteries will be coupled with a power conditioner created by Eaton Corporation, as well as an electric conversion system and a vehicle charging station from Envision Solar.
"Energy storage is a key component in the operation of a Smart Grid system and a perfect vehicle to demonstrate the value of our PbC battery products," said Axion CEO Thomas Granville. "In order to best leverage the value of renewable energy sources like the sun and wind, the energy gained during high generation periods must be stored in batteries like ours and then discharged during periods of high demand, or peak load."
The addition of the Axion battery to a solar energy system will hope to address one of the chief complaints regarding many current solar energy systems and their inability to retain energy that is not utilized instantly and therefore lost during the night hours.
