A new performance standard for home energy storage is being developed in Australia.
The proposed new Australian Battery Performance Standard will help residential and smaller commercial consumers make more informed buying decisions and drive confidence in the nascent domestic-scale energy storage market.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $1.4 million in funding to develop the $3.12 million project, led by project partner DNV GL.
The project will analyse Australian and international battery performance testing and consult with stakeholders in order to come up with a proposed standard.
This will initiate the formal standard development process with Standards Australia.
The project has also received $500,000 in funding from the Victorian Government.
To develop the standard, DNV GL has put together a consortium of leading Australian storage organisations, including Deakin University, CSIRO and the Smart Energy Council.
The battery standard is intended to cover battery systems ranging from residential to small commercial systems, with an estimated maximum size estimates of 100kW peak power and 200 kWh stored energy, connected to a solar PV system.
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said a performance standard for home batteries will help Australian consumers decide what’s best for them.
“The difficulty for consumers to make a well-informed choice presents a barrier to uptake of battery storage,” he said.
“This project will give consumers a more informed choice and increased confidence in deciding to invest in home batteries and rooftop solar.
“This project will give people easy to access information on how reliable the batteries are and how well they perform over their lifetime in Australian conditions.
DNV GL vice-president of technology and innovation for energy Lucy Craig said the company looks forward creating a “vibrant and lasting energy storage market” for Australia.
“Energy storage is a vital component in the transition to a greener energy future, and through efforts of providing the industry with performance Standards, we are supporting the safe and sustainable development of the energy storage sector,” she said.
A draft proposal of the new standard is expected to be available within two years.
